This episode brings you to one of the world's biggest tourist destinations for honeymooners- the Niagara Falls Region of New York. We cover both natural and dark history of the falls, as well as some Native American Folklore, the Underground Railroad, and some of the fantastic exploits of people like Annie Edson Taylor and Monsieur Charles Blondin trying to tame the falls in barrels and on tightropes. We cover one of the first attempts at advertising the area as a hot vacation spot and how it went terribly wrong. This place was so popular even an Egyptian Pharaoh made it to the region, though not by choice... Strap in and hold on as we plunge into Niagara Falls History!
References:
Abbott, K. (2011, October 18). The Daredevil of Niagara Falls. Retrieved from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-daredevil-of-niagara-falls-110492884/
History.com Editors. (2019, June 11). Niagara Falls. Retrieved from History: https://www.history.com/topics/landmarks/niagara-falls
Likens, T. (2018, April 3). Worst Niagara Falls promotion ever: Sending helpless animals in cages over the waterfall in a “pirate” boat. Retrieved from The Vintage News: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/04/03/niagara-falls-animals-boat/?Exc_D_LessThanPoint002_p1=1
McKinley, J. (2019, May 1). Overlooked No More: Annie Edson Taylor, Who Tumbled Down Niagara Falls Into Fame. Retrieved from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/obituaries/annie-edson-taylor-overlooked.html
Scholosser, S. E. (2022, August 28). The Maid of the Mist. Retrieved from American Folklore: https://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/09/the_maid_of_the_mist.html
Strand, G. (2010). Secrets of Niagara Falls. Retrieved from New York Archives: https://www.nysarchivestrust.org/application/files/5015/6467/3657/archivesmag_summer2010.pdf
The intro theme for this podcast are sections of Nightmare Machine by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
