Niagara Falls has long existed as a place where myth and reality collide, starting with its very name. While early explorers like Samuel de Champlain only knew of its power through rumor.
By the 18th century, the falls transitioned from a rugged frontier mystery into a scientific curiosity and romantic destination. This shift was cemented by the early 1800s, which ignited a centuries-long tradition and gave rise to tourist oddities like the “Burning Springs” and the iconic Maid of the Mist.
Beyond the scenic vistas lies a darker, more daring history defined by ancient legends and modern adrenaline seekers. Native lore tells of Heno, the God of Thunder, who battled a Great Serpent to protect his people.
A sense of danger attracting daredevils, beginning with the penniless Michigan schoolteacher Annie Edson Taylor. The first to survive a plunge over the falls in a barrel. Her success sparked a century of high-stakes stunts—some ending in survival. And other … in tragedy.
by Ghost Guide Daniel
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EXPLORERS | TOURIST HISTORY
MAID OF MIST LEGEND | DAREDEVILS
*Join us on the other-side of the Niagara Scenic Drive with tours of the historic Niagara-on-the-Lake*
Finding Niagara Falls
The origin mystery confusion surrounds the origin of the name “Niagara.” While its Native roots are certain, no single source has been officially confirmed.
Some claim it stems from an Iroquois town called Ongniaahra, while others credit the Mohawk word onyara, meaning “the neck.”
This remained unknown to the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, the “Father of New France” (now the Province of Quebec).
He is regarded as the first outsider to hear about the falls in the early 1600s, though he never saw them personally. At that time, they existed for him only as rumors shared by Native peoples.
First Witnesses
The first European to lay eyes on Niagara Falls was a Belgian missionary named Father Louis Hennepin. While traveling with the explorer La Salle, he encountered the falls and wrote:
“…four leagues from Lake Frontenac there is an incredible Cataract or water-fall which has no equal…”
However, the best detailed account came from Swedish naturalist Pehr Kalm in 1750. He is considered the first scientist to document the natural wonder.
Here are excerpts from his description…
“I doubt not that you desire to learn the exact height of this great fall. Some say 600 feet perpendicular; however, those who have measured it with mathematical instruments find the perpendicular fall of the water to be exactly 137 feet… you may remember to what great distance the noise of this fall may be heard.
“All the gentlemen with me agreed that the farthest one can hear it is 15 leagues [80 kilometers or 50 miles]… It is said the falls make a much greater noise at certain times than others. When I was there, it did not make an extraordinary noise; standing by the fall, we could easily hear one another without speaking much louder than common.”
History of Niagara Tourism
Explorers turned Niagara Falls into a global mystery, but ordinary people couldn’t experience it firsthand until the early 1800s.
First Honeymoon
This era included a notable “first” … honeymooning couple to visit the falls! Beginning a romantic tradition that has lasted for centuries.
The couple consisted of Joseph Alston and his new wife, Theodosia Burr.
She was the daughter of the controversial American Vice President Aaron Burr, who served under Thomas Jefferson.
Yes, the guy who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. And was later exiled after being charged with treason in 1807 for allegedly planning to seize Louisiana.
Theodosia’s husband, Joseph Alston, was a politician who later became the Governor of South Carolina. Tragically, Theodosia died at only 29 years old, presumably in the shipwreck of the schooner Patriot.
Although the couple popularized Niagara Falls as a honeymoon destination, the area remained largely unvisited until after the War of 1812.
First Attraction
This led to the opening of the first tourist attraction in the 1820s. Called Burning Springs.
It was a natural gas deposit bubbling through the water near today’s Dufferin Islands Park. Entrepreneurs built an enclosure, placing the springs in a darkened room and lighting the gas on fire.
Eventually, the gas ran out, and the wax museum built on the site was destroyed by fire in 1969.
Nevertheless, this sparked a tourism boom, leading to the establishment of hotels, the Cave of the Winds (1841), and the Maid of the Mist (1846).
Ghostly Legend of the Maid of the Mist
Speaking of the Maid of the Mist, have you ever wondered where that name originated? This legend comes from the Iroquois people.
The Legend that Made Niagara
A beautiful maiden lost her husband, her true love, and with him, all hope.
She paddled her canoe onto the Niagara River above the falls, softly singing death songs. As the current swept her toward the edge, she was plunged over the side.
She would have perished if not for Heno, the god of thunder. Who lived within the falls.
Heno caught the maiden and saved her life. Then helped her overcome her grief. In time, the youngest of Heno’s sons professed his love for her. They married and eventually had a son.
The Maiden Returns Home
The maiden’s only regret was being separated from her people. She begged to return home, even briefly. Especially to warn them of the Great Serpent!
It was an evil entity which caused death for humans. The serpent poisoned her people’s water, intending to devour their bodies once they died.
Heno informed the maiden of the threat, and she begged to go back and warn them. Heno agreed.
She reached her people in time, allowing them to move to a secret, safe location.
When the Great Serpent arrived and found no one, it hissed in rage. Heno rose from the mist and struck the beast with lightning.
The serpent’s massive body lodged in the rocks at the edge of the falls, diverting the water and flooding Heno’s home. Creating Niagara Falls.
Consequently, Heno and his family fled to the sky.
Today, the thunder heard in the clouds echoes the roar of the falls where Heno once lived.
Daredevils of Niagara Falls
While daredevils have been banned since the early 1900s, it was once considered unthinkable for a sane person to go over the falls in a barrel.
That didn’t stop Annie Edson Taylor, a schoolteacher from Michigan.
Annie Edson Taylor
On October 24, 1901, her 63rd birthday, Taylor was penniless and alone. Her son and husband had both died years prior.
She commissioned a barrel 4.5 feet high and 3 feet wide, weighted at the bottom to stay upright. Before risking her own life, she tested the barrel by forcing a house cat inside and pushing it over Horseshoe Falls.
Thankfully, the cat survived! Reasoning that she could too, Taylor took her turn.
Her barrel floated to the edge, caught momentarily on a rock, and then disappeared behind the curtain of water. When men retrieved the barrel at the bottom, a small hand reached out. Annie was alive!
Bruised and bleeding, she cried, “I prayed every second, except after the fall, when I was unconscious.” She then asked, “Did I go over yet?”
Annie sought fame and fortune to escape poverty. She toured as “The Queen of the Mist”. But her shows were described as boring and overly scientific.
Then her first manager stole the barrel! Causing her to spend all her savings to recover it. And then her second manager stole it too!
She died penniless in 1921 and is buried in the “Stunter’s Rest” section of Oakwood Cemetery.
Her headstone reading, “First to go over the Horseshoe Falls in a barrel and live.”
Some Other Daredevils
Many followed in Annie’s footsteps. Surprisingly, several survived, including…
- Bobby Leach (1911): Broke his jaw and both kneecaps but lived.
- Jean Lussier (1928): Escaped with only minor bruising.
- Nathan Boya (1961): The first African American to complete the stunt; he later wrote two novels and lived to be 98 years old.
And in 1984, Czech daredevil Karel Soucek achieved it too by surviving a plunge over Niagara Falls.
However, just one year later, he attempted to capitalize on his fame and recoup lost money from Niagara Falls. Planning an even more perilous feat … a barrel drop from the ceiling of the Houston Astrodome.
The stunt was widely condemned as too dangerous. Even the legendary Evel Knievel personally tried to dissuade him.
Soucek remained undeterred and proceeded with the jump. But the barrel struck the water tank with devastating force.
Though he was still alive when rescuers cut him from the wreckage, he succumbed to his injuries shortly after. All while the event at the Astrodome was still underway.
Sacrificed to Niagara Falls
While many survived, others became cautionary tales.
Charles Stephens
Stephens went over in 1920. A barber from England who got a reputation as an amateur daredevil. Nicknamed the “Demon Barber of Bristol”.
He came to Niagara Falls for the sole reason of conquering it. Many tried to warn him, including “Red” Hill Sr. The savior River Man of Niagara and father of another cautionary tale you’ll hear soon.
The authorities heard about Stephens and wanted to stop him. Leading to a small, secret gathering with only a few witnesses.
Stephens is considered the first one to die as a Niagara Falls Daredevil. They never found his dead body. Just the broken barrel and a severed arm with tattoos confirming Stephens was most certainly dead.
George Stathakis
Stathakis went over the Falls in 1930.
He was a former chef from Buffalo, New York. His dream was to publish mystical books. Planning this stunt to create world fame and fund it all those dreams.
But George didn’t want to be alone. Bringing along his beloved pet turtle, Sonny Boy. Who legend states was 150 years old!
Both sealed up in the barrel with some onlookers, including River Man “Red” Hill Sr.
Together, George and Sonny went over Niagara Falls. Falling a bit before rocks angled the barrel behind the Falls. Being caught beyond a curtain of raging waters stopped Hill Sr and the rescue crew from getting to Stathakis.
The barrel remained there for up to 22 hours, before water knocked it free to an accessible spot.
The men rushed in and pried open the barrel to find George had long since drowned. Then seeing something moving beside the corpse. It was Sonny Boy the Turtle. Who climbed out, alive and well!
And ironically, Sonny Boy took the fame Stathakis so desperately wanted. Becoming the sensation who toured all over North America.
And Sonny’s still talked about in Niagara Falls lore to this day.
“Red” Hill Jr.
As promised … “Red” Hill Jr. went over in 1951.
He was the son of the most famous River Man in Niagara Falls history. So famous, I’ve already talked about him.
Red Sr was credited with saving many lives. A darker part of his duties, as with George Stathakis … corpse retrieval for suicides and accidents.
It’s said he retrieved around 200 bodies over his career.
Red Jr was also a River Man. Growing up under the shadow of this great father. May be why he was prone to grand acts of attention seeking.
Starting in 1945 for a crowd of 200,000 people. Red Jr successfully rode a barrel all along the Niagara River to Queenston.
Then in 1948 he tried again. It was more of a failure when the barrel got caught in the Whirlpool Rapids, tying him up and causing his brother to save him.
The only way to truly honour his father, in Red Jr’s mind … go over Niagara Falls!
Meeting the Falls
It happened in 1951. Red Jr went over at 3:30pm. Many seeing his “barrel like contraption” getting broken apart by the waters before disappearing behind the raging falls.
His mother screamed from the Maid of the Mist below, “Where is he? My eldest boy, I want him back!”
Alongside his mother were Red Jr’s wife, daughter and brother. And other men all looking for him.
He wasn’t found until the next morning.
Red’s beaten body drifted by the Maid of the Mist’s dock. Broken and badly mangled, with a large cut on his head which was deemed the reason for his death.
And after Red Jr’s death, stunts at the Falls were banned on threat of arrest.
But the Hill family was not discouraged. Swearing in public that one of their kin would eventually concur the falls … this has yet to happen.
*Join us on the other-side of the Niagara Scenic Drive with tours of the historic Niagara-on-the-Lake*