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.
The Niagara Falls may seem old to us, but as far as geology is concerned, they’re actually young – 12,000 years young, to be exact. They were formed at the end of the last ice age, when all of the melting ice started to drain into what is today known as The Niagara River.
The base was formed naturally, and still continues to form to this day, although man has definitely left his mark on the falls. Once it was discovered it was possible to harness the hydroelectric power, that was the end of its natural state of being.
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.
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."
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.