Ice forms at the base of the American Falls, viewed from the Canadian side in Niagara Falls, Ontario, as cold weather continues through much of the province this week.
Ice forms at the base of the American Falls, viewed from the Canadian side in Niagara Falls, Ontario, as cold weather continues through much of the province this week.
Visitors take photographs at the brink of the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ont., Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. Almost every year frigid temperatures transform the falls into an icy winter wonderland when the mist is blown back, freezing on the landscape. (Aaron Lynett/The Canadian Press via AP)
Visitors take photographs at the brink of the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ont., Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. Almost every year frigid temperatures transform the falls into an icy winter wonderland when the mist is blown back, freezing on the landscape. (Aaron Lynett/The Canadian Press via AP)
A frozen Niagara Falls is seen in views from Stedman's Bluff on Goat Island of the American Falls and Prospect Point beyond. Almost every year frigid temperatures transform Niagara Falls State Park into an icy winter wonderland when the mist of the falls is blown back, freezing on the landscape. (James Neiss/The Niagara Gazette via AP)
A frozen Niagara Falls is seen in views from Stedman's Bluff on Goat Island of the American Falls and Prospect Point beyond. Almost every year frigid temperatures transform Niagara Falls State Park into an icy winter wonderland when the mist of the falls is blown back, freezing on the landscape. (James Neiss/The Niagara Gazette via AP)
Water flows over the American Falls as viewed from the Canadian side in Niagara Falls, Ont., Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. Almost every year frigid temperatures transform the falls into an icy winter wonderland when the mist is blown back, freezing on the landscape. (Aaron Lynett/The Canadian Press via AP)
Water flows over the American Falls as viewed from the Canadian side in Niagara Falls, Ont., Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. Almost every year frigid temperatures transform the falls into an icy winter wonderland when the mist is blown back, freezing on the landscape. (Aaron Lynett/The Canadian Press via AP)
Visitors take photographs at the brink of the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, as cold weather continues through much of the province on Friday, Dec. 29, 2017. (Aaron Lynett/The Canadian Press via AP)
Visitors take photographs at the brink of the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, as cold weather continues through much of the province on Friday, Dec. 29, 2017. (Aaron Lynett/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ice and snow are seen on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada, on Dec. 30, 2017. Canada experienced extreme cold weather recently. (Xinhua/Zou Zheng)
Ice and snow are seen on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada, on Dec. 30, 2017. Canada experienced extreme cold weather recently. (Xinhua/Zou Zheng)
WASHINGTON: As temperatures drop in the north-east corner of the US, icy water that goes over the roaring Niagara Falls crashes into the rocks below and turns solid. Blocks of ice floes freeze together, forming a solid mass wide enough to connect the US and Canada.

It’s called the ice bridge. Children in the late 1880s rode their sleds there, tourists strolled between the two countries, and entrepreneurs sold food and hot drinks from makeshift concession stands.

Mounds of ice piled up high enough to almost reach the top of the falls.

Great was the geological wonder of the ice bridge and the three falls that form Niagara Falls in New York. American and Bridal Veil falls are next to each other on the US side. Horseshoe Falls, the biggest of the three, straddles both countries. Collectively, more than 3000 tons of water flows over the falls each second, making Niagara Falls a major source of hydroelectric power for the US and Canada.

It is also truly spectacular. As Paul Gromosiak, a Niagara Falls historian, wrote: “It diminishes even those skyscrapers on the Canadian side.”

But behind the white, pristine beauty was a tragedy that changed the history of Niagara Falls.

About three-dozen people were on the ice bridge that broke at noon on February 4, 1912. A large block of ice fell on the bridge, causing it to crack and the floes to break apart. Many made it to either side of the bridge; three didn’t.

Eldridge and Clara Stanton were paralysed with fear as they stood on a moving ice floe. Clara collapsed, while Eldridge screamed for help. They held each other, looking like a mere dot in a photo taken from a distance. Farther up to their left was Burrell Hecock, who would’ve made it to the Canadian side had he not stopped to help the Stantons after hearing the screams. Together, they were swept to their deaths.

Their bodies were never found.

Walking over the ice bridge is no longer allowed.

The Washington Post