Niagara's Daredevils

Niagara Falls has always been a place of wonder. For centuries, the mighty cataract has entranced people to the area and sparked the imaginations of sightseers, immigrants, entrepreneurs, engineers, poets, writers, and artists—to name a few. For a small portion of people, Niagara Falls has represented a formidable challenge and opportunity: a way to conquer nature and achieve fame and fortune.

In 1859, Jean François Gravelet, also known as “The Great Blondin,” became the first person to walk across the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope as some 25,000 spectators watched in awe. At the midpoint where the tightrope inevitably sagged, he was only 190 feet above the churning waters of the Whirlpool Rapids. By 1896, it is estimated that Blondin “walked the Falls” 300 times.

After this stunt, other daredevils came to Niagara Falls. Each tried to outdo the competition by finding new and impressive ways to conquer Niagara. In the summer of 1860, William Hunt, also known as “The Great Farini,” tried to rival Blondin’s performances. Some of his stunts included walking the tightrope while carrying a person on his back or hanging from the tightrope by just his toes. In July 1876, Maria Spelterini made four tightrope walks, once while blindfolded and another with peach baskets strapped to her feet.

Other daredevils chose to swim or shoot the Whirlpool Rapids in a barrel. Captain Matthew Webb tried to swim the Lower Niagara River rapids in 1883, but tragically lost his life in the attempt. On July 11, 1886, Carlisle Graham took the first of five barrel trips through the rapids. After swirling in the intense rapids for 30 minutes, Graham arrived on shore, dizzy and ill, but alive. In 1901, Maud Willard attempted to brave the rapids in Graham’s barrel, but it got stuck in the raging whirlpool for six hours and she died of suffocation.

The most famous of all barrel stunts occurred on October 24, 1901. On her 63rd birthday, widowed schoolteacher Annie Edson Taylor got inside her custom–made oak and iron barrel, which was padded with a mattress and cushions. After her assistants readied the barrel, they set it adrift on the Upper Niagara River, just south of Goat Island. Taylor made history 17 minutes later as the first person to survive plunging over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Although Taylor’s motivation was fame and fortune, she died in poverty in 1921.

Over the years, several other barrel–riders challenged Niagara though not all lived to tell the tale. It was the death of William “Red” Hill, Jr. in 1951 that made it illegal to stunt at Niagara Falls.



Eight of Niagara’s daredevils are buried in the “stunters’ section” of historic Oakwood Cemetery. 

Niagara Falls Heritage Area