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A boat got stranded in the rapids above Niagara Falls in 1918. Last week, it finally broke free. [View all]
By Kayla Epstein
November 3, 2019 at 5:25 p.m. EST
For over a century, the iron boat clung to the rocks in the rapids above the Niagara Falls, defying the forces of both time and nature. The vessel, known as the Iron Scow, has been lodged there ever since a fateful accident in 1918, when it broke free of a tugboat and swept downstream toward the falls with two men still on board.
It somehow stayed put just a third of a mile from the brink of the Horseshoe Falls, until this Halloween, when a storm bearing intense wind and rain knocked it from its perch. It came to a stop about 164 feet downstream, according to park officials, and appeared to have rotated and flipped on its side.
Last year, the park observed the centennial of the Iron Scow’s stranding and the daring rescue that ensued. The boat had deteriorated throughout the years, but the story of how it got there has lost none of its thrill.
/snip
After a brief moment of freedom on Oct. 31, the scow became stranded in a different part of the rapids. Park officials said they would monitor the vessel for any other changes. “It could be stuck there for days, or it could be stuck there for years,” said Jim Hill, senior manager of heritage for the Niagara Parks Commission. “It’s anyone’s guess.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/11/03/boat-got-stranded-rapids-above-niagara-falls-last-week-it-finally-broke-free/
November 3, 2019 at 5:25 p.m. EST
For over a century, the iron boat clung to the rocks in the rapids above the Niagara Falls, defying the forces of both time and nature. The vessel, known as the Iron Scow, has been lodged there ever since a fateful accident in 1918, when it broke free of a tugboat and swept downstream toward the falls with two men still on board.
It somehow stayed put just a third of a mile from the brink of the Horseshoe Falls, until this Halloween, when a storm bearing intense wind and rain knocked it from its perch. It came to a stop about 164 feet downstream, according to park officials, and appeared to have rotated and flipped on its side.
Last year, the park observed the centennial of the Iron Scow’s stranding and the daring rescue that ensued. The boat had deteriorated throughout the years, but the story of how it got there has lost none of its thrill.
/snip
After a brief moment of freedom on Oct. 31, the scow became stranded in a different part of the rapids. Park officials said they would monitor the vessel for any other changes. “It could be stuck there for days, or it could be stuck there for years,” said Jim Hill, senior manager of heritage for the Niagara Parks Commission. “It’s anyone’s guess.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/11/03/boat-got-stranded-rapids-above-niagara-falls-last-week-it-finally-broke-free/
Me and my sisters and family drove up to Niagara Falls about 5 years ago and stayed a couple days - on the Canadian side. We took a bunch of tours but I had no idea that was there and I don't recall any mention of it. They celebrated the 100th anniversary of its capsize last year and apparently this latest storm to come through was finally too much (am guessing too it was really rusted after all that time so whatever part of the boat was holding it wedged where it was, probably broke off and away it went).
Pic from the OP article when it first capsized in 1918 while on the Niagara River that feeds into the falls -
Since there are all sorts of tour boats that run along both sides of the border at the bottom of the falls, let's hope that thing doesn't suddenly break free and go over the side while the boats are idling around nearby!
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