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I wrote this Viewpoint
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useful information to put to good use.
Historical backdrop
While the name “Niagara” is stated to come from an Iroquois phrase “Onguiaahra”, or “The Strait”, I have discovered the folklore to be a more captivating story. The legend from Native American Indians tells of Lelawala, a gorgeous maiden betrothed by her father to an Indian warrior she detested. She opted to sacrifice herself to the Thunder God He-No instead of marrying a man she did not love. The story says that she paddled her canoe over the falls and into He-No’s arms. Together their souls will live evermore in the Thunder God’s sanctuary behind the Falls.
You most likely already know that tourism is the areas main source of income. This really commenced during the early 1900's and even Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte visited with his bride. After our country's Civil War the railroads began publicising the area as a holiday spot. It wasn't difficult given the history to glamorize Niagara Falls as an idealistic honeymoon destination.
The touristry industry savored a second boom immediately after World War One. It was the auto that furnished a much need boost to the industry. Travel to the area became much easier and was one of the best holiday destinations that New Yorkers could drive their shiny new motorcars to.
Almost from the time that Niagara Falls was found man has been seeking to harness the monumental water flow as an perpetual supply of energy. The first successful campaign to use the falls as an energy source was documented in 1759 when Daniel Joncairs powered his lumbermill with a little man made channel. The major growth came in 1883 when Nikola Tesla devised the three-phase system of alternating current power transmission. This engineering made it possible to transfer electrical energy over long distances. Today Niagara Falls supplies approximately 4.4GW of power to the surrounding areas of both the United States and Canada.
Conservation efforts
Once Europeans started to settle in the Niagara Falls area it was rapidly targeted by developers and entrepreneurs alike as a way to attain a fast fortune. Unlike today most of the land in the area was privately owned and was easily acquired for growth. This came at a cost to the innate beauty of the region. Luckily a group of concerned citizens directed by noted artist Frederick Church conceived the Free Niagara campaign. This establishment was successful in convincing the general community that Conservation of the area was in its best concern.
In 1885 the Niagara Reservation State Park, chartered by New York State, set out buying land from developers in an attempt to slow the consuming development in the region. The Canadians followed suit in the same year with the Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park. Both organizations have been enormously successful at preserving the area and restraining development so that succeeding generations will be able to enjoy this natural wonderment.
Niagara has so very much to offer. From a robust chronicle of romance and adventure to a major natural wonder. If your debating a holiday to the metropolitan area, I’m sure you’ll be able to discover plenty to do. I have numbered several adept books at the closing of this article or you can visit Amazon for a complete list of books on Niagara Falls. Please remember to leave the area as nice as you discovered it and to leave the barrel at home.
Niagara Falls : An Intimate Portrait - by John Grant
Fodor's Toronto 2006 : With Niagara Falls & the Niagara Wine Region (Fodor's Gold Guides) - by Fodor's
In the Mad Water: Two Centuries of Adventure and Lunacy at Niagara Falls - by T. W. Kriner
Niagara Falls Volume II (Images of America) - by Daniel M. Dumych
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