Modernizing the Landscape - Industrialization at Niagara Falls

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About the Collection

The Niagara Peninsula was first settled by Indigenous humans about 13,000 years ago (Niagara Falls History Museum). It was not until 1678 that Father Louis Hennepin came to Niagara and published the first pictorial representation of the Falls (Spencer, 1). Following them was a barrage of explorers aiming to make the “New World” their home. In the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution had begun, and the lines between nature and culture became blurrier and blurrier as the European settlers industrialized the area. Eventually, industry became inextricable from our views of the landscape, and this intertwinement is evident in the visual culture produced throughout these decades. This exhibition explores the visual culture of 19th century Niagara that displayed this relationship between factory and nature, and presented industry as an embedded, inexorable feature of Niagara’s environment.

In the 19th century, there was an ideal of the “unspoiled landscape”, prized because it was supposedly unmarred by human activity (even though the Indigenous populations had been there for centuries). Wild nature became a symbol of national pride and uniqueness, and Niagara was no exception (Haila 131). These attitudes are reflected in many critical articles from the turn of the century, such as Alton D. Adams’ “Niagara Falls Already Ruined!” (1906), Henry M. Hyde’s “Who Owns the Earth and How Did They Get It?” (1909) and particularly in Mary B. Hartt’s “The Passing of Niagara” (1901), all which disparage the overtaking of the Falls and the changes hydroelectricity makes to their appearance, as well as the exhaustion of resources such as coal and anthracite (Hyde, 562).

Industrial development at, in and on the Falls began in the late 1800s. The Porter Brothers bought the American Falls and began brainstorming how to harness the water’s power. American civil engineer Thomas Evershed devised plans for water diversion that would allow the water in the areas both above and below the falls to be utilized for hydropower. He proposed a canal to divert the water from the Niagara River to a location above Goat Island, distributing water to various mills and power companies along its way before discharging the used water near Rainbow Bridge (Oxley, 71). This resulted in a string of industrial stations along the river banks, merging Niagara’s natural cliffs with a man-made mechanical facade. Even the water itself is both a mix of nature and culture, having been utilized, expended and recycled through the many powerful generators for human consumption, before being released back into the river.

Other developments in the area included Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge, the cofferdam, the tailrace tunnel, underground conduits, the Cataract House, Terrapin Tower and more.

The area was also adapted for tourist attractions in and across the Falls, such as on Goat Island and Queen Victoria Park. Various bridges and tunnels were constructed to enable tours through the falls and the islands, while several bridges crisscross over the rapids, connecting Canada and America technologically. Many images show the vista populated by travellers and tourists, even sometimes overwhelming photos of the Falls with their presence. The crowds of people serve as an integral part of the view, showing how the fast-growing population encroached on the nature of the Falls.

The template repository features all of its objects from the Brock University Library’s Digital Collections Repository.

Sources:

Haila, Yrjo. “ ‘Wilderness’ and the Multiple layers of Environmental Thought.” Environment and History 3, no. 2, Ecological Visionaries/Ecologised Visions (June, 1997): 129–147. doi:10.3197/096734097779555935

Hennepin, Louis, Victor Hugo Paltsits, and Reuben Gold Thwaites. A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1903.

Hyde, Henry M. “Who Owns the Earth and How Did They Get It? A New Monopoly on Water.” The Technical World Magazine, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 553-564.

Klein, Jeff Z. “Heritage Moments: ‘This Horrible Precipice’ — Father Hennepin bears witness to Niagara Falls.” WBFO, 14 March 2016, https://www.wbfo.org/heritage-moments/2016-03-14/heritage-moments-this-horrible-precipice-father-hennepin-bears-witness-to-niagara-falls. Accessed 28 November 2021.

Oxley, J. MacDonald. “The Enslaving of Niagara.” August, 1903.

R. D. Barnett, “Energy in Niagara Falls: International Niagara Commission [History],” in IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 76-86, July-Aug, 2020, doi: 10.1109/MPE.2020.2967906.

Spencer, J.W. “Niagara as a Timepiece.” Appletons’ Popular Science Monthly, vol. 49, pp. 1-19, May 1896.

The Niagara Falls Museums. “Indigenous History: a brief summary.” Niagara Falls History Museum, https://niagarafallsmuseums.ca/discover-our-history/reclaiming-cultural-identity/indigenous-history-a-brief-summary. Accessed 28 November 2021.

The Niagara Falls Museums. “Terrapin Bridge & Tower.” Niagara Falls History Museum, https://niagarafallsmuseums.ca/discover-our-history/history-notes/terrapintower.aspx. Accessed 28 November 2021.

The Niagara Falls Museums. “The Lower Niagara Bridges.” Niagara Falls Museums, https://niagarafallsmuseums.ca/ts4fsuww-yyl.aspx. Accessed 29 November 2021.

“Site of the Cataract House – Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center.” Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center, https://www.niagarafallsundergroundrailroad.org/underground_railroad_site/site-of-the-cataract-house/. Accessed 30 November 2021.

Werle, Kerstin J.S. “Landscape as an Area of Unspoiled Nature.” Landscape of Peace: Mechanisms of Social Control on Lamotrek Atoll, Micronesia, VS Verlag für Sozialw., 2014, pp. 81-83, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-05832-6_14. Accessed 16 November 2021.