VIDEO: Maid of the Mist started as Niagara Falls to U.S. ferry service

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Published June 2, 2022 at 12:59 pm

The Maid of the Mist may not operate out of the Canadian side anymore - that stopped 10 years ago - but nonetheless, it had a long history with this country.

While the Maid of the Mist only operates out of Niagara Falls, New York these days, that is a relatively new wrinkle.

Back in 2012, a financial dispute ended the 166-year-old relationship between Niagara Falls and boats bearing the Maid name when the Niagara Parks Commission chose a new company to operate the lucrative tours.

For a time, Hornblower Cruises & Events (which operates boat cruises to the Statue of Liberty and Alcatraz Island) took over but now, Canadians are more familiar with Niagara City Cruises as the operator.

However, from the very beginning way back on May 27, 1846, the very first Maid of the Mist boat was introduced but not as a tourist attraction. It ferried people, cargo, and mail across the river between Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, NY for a small fee.

That ended starkly when the first Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge was completed. The year 1848 saw a temporary bridge introduced and in 1854, a lower deck was opened for pedestrian and carriage purposes.

The bridge measured 250 metres (825 feet) long and connected Niagara Falls, New York to Niagara Falls, Ontario. It was located about four kilometres (2.5 miles) miles downstream from the waterfalls. But more significantly, it became a cheap route for goods to cross the border.

Taking money away from the ferry service, Maid of the Mist had to come up with an innovative way to still make money during these times, so they transformed their transportation ferry into a tourist ferry.

It would take people closer to the falls than ever before by going straight into the mouth of the roaring Horseshoe Falls. The Maid of the Mist has given millions of people the water-soaked experience every year.

Within the Niagara Great Gorge, boats from both journey past the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and into the very heart of the famous Horseshoe Falls and is considered by most to be the premium tourist attraction for both sides.

Indeed, it’s likely half the people boarding on the Canadian side still think they’re on the Maid of the Mist in some form. Little concern is given to a name. They just want to go on that boat ride where they wear the head-to-toe blue poncho and get super close to the falls.

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