ROOTED HERE

A city with its own story.
Explore the places behind the name.

Niagara Falls, New York pairs the river’s dramatic edge with Pine Avenue kitchens, Third Street stops and the stories of freedom seekers. Explore the American side at the pace of a neighborhood visit.

People made the city.

Follow the sourced timeline and use museum and library collections to explore Niagara Falls in more depth. Read the historical source.

1. 1885

   Protecting the landscape

   The State Reservation at Niagara opened in 1885, preserving public access to the falls and their landscape.

   Local history source ↗
2. 1892

   Two villages become a city

   The villages of Niagara Falls and Suspension Bridge merged under a city charter signed on March 17, 1892.

   Local history source ↗
3. 1896

   Power reaches Buffalo

   Electric power transmission from Niagara Falls to Buffalo demonstrated the possibilities of alternating current at a regional scale.

   Local history source ↗
4. 1901

   A daredevil milestone

   Annie Edson Taylor survived a barrel trip over the falls in 1901, becoming part of the region’s daredevil history.

   Local history source ↗

See the history for yourself.

Choose a museum or cultural stop and check its current visiting schedule before traveling. City history source.

For deeper research, the Niagara Falls library resources is a starting point for archival material and research help. Historic photographs have their own permissions; we link to the collection instead of treating every old image as free to reuse.

Selected milestones researched September 13, 2026. This is an introduction, not a complete account of the city’s history.