The History of the Niagara Falls Old Scow + Now & Then Comparisons

The History of the Niagara Falls Old Scow + Now & Then Comparisons

On August 6th, 1918, two men were working on a sand barge being towed in the Upper Niagara River.

The tug boat that was doing the towing got stuck on a sandbar, and in the efforts to free it, the towline snapped, and the black steel Scow began drifting downstream.
Other tug boats gave chase, but were not able to throw the crew a line.

Full Story and Photo Gallery:

The men on board, Gustave Lofberg and James Harris of Buffalo New York, dropped the Scow's 6-ton anchor, but the chain broke and the barge's drifting towards the thundering Falls continued.
Then, the barge ran aground on a shoal 2500 feet (762 metres) from the brink of the Horseshoe Falls.

The five power stations on the river ran their turbines at full speed to keep the river level as low as possible, while The Niagara Parks Police, The Niagara Falls Fire and Police Departments and The U.S. Coast Guard used a cannon, lines and a breeches buoy to set up a rescue from the roof of the Toronto Power Plant.

It was gruelling work, and the lines shot to the Scow kept tangling.
At 3:00 a.m., with the block and tackle twisted halfway out, Niagara Falls Riverman hero and daredevil, Red Hill volunteered to go out on the breeches buoy and untangle them.

Eventually, both Lofberg and Harris were retrieved safely after more than 18 hours stranded on the barge.

A local urban legend states that one of the men trapped on the boat came back with white hair from the terror of the rescue.

Since that day in 1918 the Scow has sat firm in its position, jammed up against rock, pummelled year after year by water, ice, wind and rain. The old Iron Scow has been a tourist destination for decades and its story has been by locals time and time again.

The Scow suffered a great deal of erosion over the years, eventually the US facing side of the scow was completely eroded away but the Canadian facing side remained recognizable as a boat,
until Halloween, 2019.

On October 31st, 2019 a wind storm flipped the Scow over onto its side and blew it about 50 metres closer to the brink of the Falls.
News of the shifting Scow gripped the city of Niagara Falls with locals flocking to the scene to see the Scow for themselves.

Watch the video to get the rest of the story and check out my website for more photos and information

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Thanks to the following for some of the footage used in the video:

Some Footage Courtesy Of:
Niagara Falls Public Library Archives

Karin Miedema/Karins Photography

DaveTV/YouTube

The Vanishing Point

R.S. Douglas/YouTube

Christine Hess Photography

Maxim Gladkoff
Niagara History and Trivia

[karinmiedema]

I just seen, I am in it and my pictures. Thank you for leaving my watermark on it. Nice history story about the barge you put up.

[thejapanesezombie]

We live about an hour away from the falls, and we've gone so many times and I've always taken the time to look at the scow, when I heard this happened it's just kind of bothered me a lot. I regret not taking more pictures of it on my visits.Just goes to show you nothing on this earth lasts forever, this is why it's important to document it! What a cool helicopter ride you got to take!

[sherrypriddle]

I am from Niagara falls too born and raised. I loved your video it brings back childhood memories for me thank you soo much

[esstee]

I've lived in the Falls all my life and always referred to it as "the barge". Great video, thanks.

[torrey]

I can’t be the only one who would like to see it go over the falls, right? 😅😅

[mistydawn]

Very cool! You're a great photographer! Love your work!!😊

[timesgirl]

Absolutely amazing shots! Thank you for sharing.

[raymorley]

Very interesting. Thanks for posting this.

[HiddenJackpots]

this was a great video. Jay is a great guy, Great work!

[njh]

Just found your channel and subscribed video titles look very interesting can’t wait to watch.

[jeniw]

Awesome work and documentation. Thanks for the behind the scenes look too.

[danrichard]

Great work! I was at the 100th anniversary ceremony last year. My brother was hired to light up the scow at night for the anniversary. We had access to the catwalk behind the power plant. I got some nice shots of the scow from there. Its crazy how much it moved.

[Freaktography]

The Iron Scow – Moving a Centuries History | A New Chapter for the Niagara Falls Old Scow

On August 6th, 1918, two men were working on a sand barge being towed in the Upper Niagara River when that barge became stuck and it stayed there for over 100 years.



Full Story and Photo Gallery:

On Halloween 2019 a new chapter for the old barge was written when a brutal wind storm knocked the barge off of its home and shifted, flipped and sent the barge upstream.




Thanks to Gig Guys Production and Event Services for sponsoring this initiative and making this possible




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[angiewanders]

Great photos and video!! Very informative!! Thank you for sharing!!

[maryjaneburdett-holcroft]

Fantastic video and photos . Thanks for sharing this with us !! I don't live too far away and always take a look at the falls when in the city.

[grandmapbj]

What an interesting story. It was so cool to see it from the helicopter view, must've been an exciting ride! You are a very talented photographer! I really enjoyed this video, thank you for documenting a piece of history!

[cindyjofaithful]

This was very interesting. Thanks for sharing 😊

[wrightcargle]

Congratulations! That's awesome! Great job!

[Bobenhimen]

Thank you for this well made and different than the house tours. The Iron Scow can be seen from google maps! i'm surprised it's not marked with a pin.

[bakercarl]

Very informative. Iam liking how you where seletived VIP . Great pictures and narrative voice. You could have helped my history grades.