Several decades after Champlain’s map was created, a missionary named Father Louis Hennepin would create the first printed description of the falls. In 1683, he published a book that was originally comprised as his journal.
In it, excerpts of what he had seen at the falls read along the lines of, “Betwixt the Lake Ontario and Erie,” he continued, “is a vast and prodigious Cadence of Water which falls down after a surprising and astonishing manner, insomuch that the Universe does not afford its Parallel.”
Although scientists have been able to determine the age of the falls, there is no way for them to know for certain who the first people were to lay eyes on it. It is widely speculated that there likely would have been Native Americans living in the vicinity at some point early on to have witnessed their glory.
Even so, no one is completely sure who made the initial discovery. Although the first time a documented discovery was made is another story.
The Native Americans were no doubt the first to catch a glimpse of the beauty of the falls. But it wasn’t until 1632 that French explorer Samuel de Champlain would document the area.
He first wrote about the falls on a map of his travels of what was at that point called New France. At the time the original map was drawn, the base of the river was nearly seven miles further back than it is today.
In the late 19th century, Niagara was known as the Honeymoon Capital of the World. After more and more publications were released about the wondrous sight, more people became interested in seeing it for themselves. And once the Erie Canal was completed in 1825, it was easily accessible to tourists, which caused an even larger influx in travel to Niagara.
But it wasn’t just young couples eager to wed by the falls that were attracted to the area.
Entrepreneurs of all sorts flocked to Niagara, ready to open hotels and restaurants and cater to all of the newlyweds and other tourists. But another group of individuals soon had their eye on the area: industrialists that realized there was something about the falls themselves that they could harness for power and finance.
Once they made the connection that this incredible hydroelectric power source could provide the electricity, they needed to power their factories – and that’s just what they did.