Exploring Great Destinations in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada

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The History of Niagara

If we trace the history of European settlement in Niagara we only have to go back a mere 200 years. If we trace the history of Niagara’s indigenous people we have to go back 10,000 years. And if we trace the history of the Niagara Region itself we have to go back 250 million years.

Glaciers thousands of years ago carved out a landscape so unique that it cannot be seen anywhere else in Canada. Early European settlers tamed the rivers, harnessing their power to run their mills and eventually for electricity and irrigation.

brocks monument
Brock's Monument, Queenston, Ontario

The early settlers as well as the native people fought wars and died to defend it, with the intention of always remaining true to Britain. By the turn of the 20th century farming in the area had intensified. The Niagara Region, with it’s abundance of warm summers and moderate winters became known for its exceptional produce, and the communities flourished.

In fact, so much so that today the future of the Niagara Region as a prime agricultural area is threatened by urban sprawl, and often a lack of foresight by leaders and politicians.