First European Explorers
Niagara’s First European Explorers
By Adam Shoalts
The first European explorers to arrive in the Niagara Peninsula were French trailblazers nearly four centuries ago. What they found was a vast wilderness of deciduous forests, two great lakes, the thundering cataract of Niagara Falls, an agricultural aboriginal society with communities numbering in the low thousands, and a land of rattlesnakes, black bears, wolves, cougars, and many other species now extirpated from the area.
Starting in 1610, Samuel de Champlain, a skilled explorer and accomplished leader, dispatched from his fledgling colony of Quebec young Frenchmen to journey deep into the heart of the continent. These youths became known as “coureur de bois” meaning “runners of the woods” and travelled with native allies, from whom they learned invaluable wilderness skills and generally adopted their customs. The coureur de bois helped cement alliances between the French and Hurons, as well as other native peoples, facilitated the fur trade, and greatly advanced French geographic knowledge of North America.
It is probable that at least some of the coureur de bois had reached the Niagara Peninsula by the early 17
th century, including quite possibly the colourful rogue Étienne Brûlé. It is even possible that Champlain himself visited Niagara. However, the first known written account of Niagara does not appear in the historical record until 1683, by the Recollet missionary Louis Hennepin. Hennepin was a member of the 1678 expedition led by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle to explore the Great Lakes, which took them partially up the Niagara River and then overland across the peninsula.
The expedition had earlier in the year established a small fort on the mouth of the Niagara River at Lake Ontario, which would remain an important French stronghold until its capture in 1759 during the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). The original fort was only a small wooden structure, but in 1726 was replaced by a stronger stone “castle”. Fort Niagara, as it is known, still stands today and is a popular historic site in New York State, directly across the river from Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Past the fort, La Salle’s expedition journeyed upriver until they reached the impassable rapids of the Niagara gorge. From there, the expedition commenced a gruelling portage that brought them to the spectacular sight of Niagara Falls. Hennepin, in the first written account of Niagara Falls, described it as “a vast and prodigious cadence of water” and stated that it produced “a sound more terrible than that of thunder”. Hennepin subsequently wrote about his travels in several books, which became enormously popular in Europe, but the veracity of his accounts soon came into question.
As it turned out, Father Hennepin proved to be a less than scrupulous character. In his books he attempted to steal credit for making important geographical discoveries, such as the headwaters of the Mississippi River, which rightly belonged to La Salle. As a result of his false claims, he was disgraced and exiled from France, and died in 1705, age seventy-nine.
Nonetheless, Hennepin’s place in history is secured by his observations of Niagara Falls, which are the oldest recorded account of this natural wonder.
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Adam Shoalts has compiled a series of articles about Niagara's history, arranged chronologically. Adam has been recognized for his writing on local history, most recently being awarded Brock University's Niagara Peninsula Society (Archaeological Institute of America) Prize in Classical Archaeology and History. Adam was also recently awarded the Niagara Regional Environmental Award for an individual making a signficant contribution to the environment.
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