Homan Walsh and His Kite
A boy’s kite spanned the Niagara Gorge, connecting two countries and leading to the world’s first international suspension bridge.
In 1832, when Homan Walsh was just a baby, his family immigrated from Ireland to the United States and, in 1840, settled in Niagara Falls, New York. In 1848, sixteen-year-old Walsh decided to participate in a kite-flying contest being held by Charles Ellet, Jr. An American engineer, Ellet was hired to build the first suspension bridge over the Niagara River. In the middle of winter dozens of eager young men entered the contest.
The goal of the contest was to land a kite over the 800-foot wide, 200-foot-deep Niagara Gorge between the U.S. and Canada. Determined to win the contest and anchor his kite, Walsh fittingly named it “The Union.”
For his first attempt, Walsh decided to cast from the Canadian side of the gorge since the winds were more favorable. To reach his destination, he traversed the Maid of The Mist--a new tourist attraction that launched in 1846. Walking “two miles along the top of the cliff to the [future] bridge site,” he discovered that he had to wait to fly his kite until the winds improved.
The next day, “Walsh continuously unfurled the twine of his kite […] and let it fly all day.” Onlookers and contestants cheered on. Near midnight, the string of Walsh’s beloved kite slackened, became tangled in the rocks of the gorge, and snapped, dropping into the icy waters below.
Homan then ran toward the ferry in hopes of returning home to revive his kite, yet the ice consumed the water and prevented the ferry from running. Stuck in Elgin, Canada, until the ice melted, Walsh was sheltered for eight days by Canadians sympathetic to his plight.
After returning to America, Walsh repaired The Union. Its “string was fastened to a tree on the American shoreline, and a cord attached to it was pulled across. This time it didn't break. Next came a heavier cord, then a rope, and finally a wire cable, which was the beginning of the new bridge.”
Walsh’s kite laid the foundation for the world’s first international suspension bridge. The bridge transported goods and people across the Niagara River, which greatly increased the region’s commercial growth. It was also part of the Underground Railroad in Niagara Falls. One of the most notable figures to cross was Harriet Tubman, who led many freedom seekers into Canada.
Walsh spent the rest of his life retelling the kite story and how he bridged two nations with a single kite string. Although he spent most of his adult life in Nebraska, he wished to be buried in historic Oakwood Cemetery in Niagara Falls, New York and was interred in 1899.
To learn more about the early history of Niagara Falls, visit discoverniagara.org.
Niagara Falls National Heritage Area
