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http://www.fepl.ca/localhistory/files/original/1587cc3e7ca0899eae640f6aeb0dc6c3.pdf
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48
The
City of the Falls
,.
THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS ADDRESS
Father Louis Hennepin,
followed him, many of whom were artists, the
Falls of Niagara became known to the people
who first saw the
Falls of Niagara in 1678, was the forerunner of
of
the 9,000,000
Jamestown, Virginia. As each year passed more
visitors who
come
to Niagara
Europe
even
before
Plymouth Rock
and
Falls each year. While there are indications that
and more men came to see the Fal}s and conÂ
other explorers may have seen or heard about
tributed
the Falls of Niagara before Hennepin, it was
widely published accounts of the
he who first wrote about them and depicted them
the
imagination
of
the people
the
written
records.
Dozens
(J ea� ty
of
of the
Falls and the works of art reproduced in them
in his now famous sketch. He was the man who
stimulated
to
made
of
a
trip to Niagara Falls the fashionable
thing in the nineteenth Century_ George Heriot's
Europe, making them want to come to see the
"Travel Through Canada" published in 1807 is
Falls for themselves.
Through the writings of Hennepin and the
a
noteworthy example of the valuable works left
to us.
priests, soldiers, explorers and fur traders who
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49
Forsyth was aggressive and in order
to assure
A City
Early visitors to the Falls of Niag;i.r a came by
by
wagon,
ship
from
horseback, stagecoach,
Toronto, Buffalo and other lake ports, some
came on foot. AH were obliged, at first, to find
Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake)
accommodation ei ther at Chippawa, or at one
to Niag a ra Falls.
of the inns along the Portage Road.
The first
man to see the financial possibilities in catering
to the needs of tourists was William F o rsyth,
who built the Pavilion Hotel.
In 1798 Forsyth's father, James, received a
Crown Grant of
388 acres,
fronting on the
N iagara River, right at the crest of the HorseÂ
shoe Falls.
\Vhilc this was a choice piece of
property , the boundary line stopped one chain
length (66 feet) short of the river bank. This
66 foot frontage along the river was reserved
,
that his hotel would get the bulk of the trade,
by the Government for possible use as a military
Military Reserve, or the
Re serve . The foresight of this action is
road and was called the
Chain
evident today, when we realize that the Military
.eserve extended from Lake to Lake. Because
this strip of land was held in reserve we have
the Niagara River Parkw ay, which runs unÂ
obstructed from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario .
In 1822, Forsyth built the Pavilion Hotel, on
he ran stage coaches on the Po rtage
He provi d ed
R oad, from
and Fort E rie
fo_r
the diversion
of his visitors when in 1818, he built the first
stairway down the bank at Table Rock and
began the first ferry service ;icross the lower
river: He undertook these ventures without the
formality of asking for Government p ermission
to operate these projects on the Military Reserve.
Later, others applied for the righ t to ope rate
the ferry and Forsyth Jost this busin ess.
Other
obstacles were placed in his way by people who
In retaliation he built
feared and envied him.
a fen ce down to the river bank in 1827, enclosÂ
ing his property and shutting off acce ss to the
Falls
and
M i litary
the
Only those
Reserve.
staying at his hotel were to be allowed to view
the cataract from this point. Government interÂ
vention, instigated by Sir Pe regrin e
Maitland,
brought F orsyth into litigation with the Crown.
The cost of this legal battle finally broke Forsyth
and he sold his holdings in 1832, estimated by
the hill overlooking the Falls, just north of the
him in 1829 to be worth $50,000, to his arch
Seagram Tower. James Morden in his
book "Historic N iagara Falls" wrote: "It was
enemy
for many years the principal hotel in the vicinity
then moved to Bertie
present
of the Falls and retained that proud distinction
until the era of the steam railway was ushered
in.
From the balconies of this house, a fine
view could be had". The popular and far f amed
Pavilion and the Ontario House, built farther
south on Portage Road, by John Brown, were
listed in all early guide books.
The Pavilion Hotel, Portage Road,
Ja m es Cockburn.
Samuel
Street.
The
sale
price
rep or ted to be no more than $15 ,000,
was
Forsyth
Township.
While in bu siness, he was always active an d
at t im es co-operated with his competitor John
Brown
of
Brown and
the
Ontario
House.
Parkhurst Whitney
To
of
Forsyth ,
the Eagle
Hotel in the "United States Falls" belongs the
dubious credit of having staged the first sensaÂ
tional stunt with the avowed aim of e nticin g
c.
1829, by
visitors to the Falls.
In 1827, they co-operated
in promoting the voyage of "The Pirate MichiÂ
gan ", a lake schooner fitted out like a pirate
ship and sending it , with a cargo of animals,
over the F alls .
The event took place on September
an d was witnessed
n umber from
by
a
15,000 to
8, 1827
crowd estimated to
30,000
people .
On
board at the be g i nnin g of the trip were two bears,
•
a buffalo, two racoons, a dog and
a
goose .
All
�48
The City
of the Falls
followed him, many of whom were artists, the
THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS ADDRESS
Father Louis Hennepin, who first saw the
Falls of Niagara became known to the people
before
Plymouth Rock
Falls of Niagara in 1678, was the forerunner of
of Europe even
the 9,000,000 visitors who come to Niagara
Jamestown, Virginia. As each year passed more
Falls each year. While there are indications that
and more men came to see the Falls and conÂ
other explorers may have seen or heard about
tributed
the Falls of Niagara before Hennepin, it was
he who first wrote about them and depicted them
in his now famous sketch. He was the man who
stimulated the
imagination of the
people
of
Europe, making them want to come to see the
Falls for themselves.
Through the writ i ngs of Hennepin and the
priests , soldiers, explo rers and fur traders who
to
the
written
records.
Dozens
and
of
widely published accounts of the beauty of the
Falls and the works of art reproduced in them
made a trip to Niagara Falls the fashionable
thing in the ninet e'enth Century. George Heriot ' s
"Travel Through Canada" published in 1807 is
a noteworthy example 9f the valuable works left
to us.
Public Archives of C:rnad.,
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Louis McDermott Collection
Subject
The topic of the resource
Local history, Fort Erie and surrounding area.
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of historical documents, photos, news clippings, letters, and writings, assembled by local historian, Louis McDermott, and donated to the Fort Erie Public Library.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Louis McDermott
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
FEPL-LH -Louis McDermott
Language
A language of the resource
English
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Included in this collection are writings, historical documents, news clippings, images, maps, and more. They were written and compiled by Louis McDermott into a series of binders. The digital collection has been scanned from these physical copies.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Fort Erie Public Library and Louis McDermott
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The City of the Falls
Description
An account of the resource
Listed here is a document titled "City of the Falls", about Niagara Falls, but includes references to Fort Erie figures.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Louis McDermott Collection
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Undated
Fort Erie
Louis Mcdermott Collection
undated