Dear Folks, First of all, I'm certain that Vince Olscamp meant the following message to be posted to our Niagara Co. list. And without his prior permission I'm forwarding it on to you. Vince, I bow to you regarding your knowledge of the geology of the formation of Niagara Falls. Now I don't know about you or the rest of you but it's only been in the past week or two that I saw the documentory our local PBS station broadcasted that really opened my own eyes to the history of formation of the falls. From my/our local point of view, it received a standing ovation. But now I have a confession to make. I promised you that I would check out my local history books and give you the history of the Schoellkopf Power Plant and the circumstances of its collapse in 1956. This evening I managed to get up enough mental strength to dig up the details from the local history books that I have and write up the whole story. But here's the bottom line. I peered at the old history books I have still stacked up on my desk, took feeble note of the their dates of publication, realized that they were too old to report a 1956 incident and when I dug up the most modern of them, published in 1955, I realized that I can't tell you one single thing about the rock slides that demolished the power plant. But from what Vince posted, I hope you will contact him to learn further information. And hey, Vince, I hope you'll share your knowledge with all of us. You've got my curiosity up! You were there at the time and I wasn't. That ain't fair!.:-) vee ----- Original Message ----- From: <Instman50@aol.com> To: <nbvena22@worldnet.att.net>; <housman@adelphia.net> Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2000 9:13 AM Subject: Re: Niagara Views Web Site > I was a resident of Niagara Falls and took interest in the remains of the > power plant when I was growing up. I will give you some information but Vee > has promised more so I will cover only what her books won't tell her. > > The power plant was built in the gorge down river from the falls. It was > built against the wall of the gorge by people that did not know as much about > geology as they thought. The gorge was created over the last 10,000 years by > the soft rock under the Falls giving way and collapsing. Then the Falls would > start again on the new rock. The reason there is a falls at all is that Lake > Erie where the Niagara River begins, is at an elevation about 160 feet higher > than Lake Ontario, where it ends. > > The gorge wall behind the plant just plain couldn't take the weight and > collapsed. > > If you would like further information please let me know. > > instman50@aol.com - Vince Olscamp

> -----Original Message----- > From: Vee L. Housman [mailto:housman@adelphia.net] > Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2000 11:36 PM > To: NYNIAGAR-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Fw: Niagara Views Web Site > > But now I have a confession to make. I promised you that I would > check out > my local history books and give you the history of the Schoellkopf Power > Plant and the circumstances of its collapse in 1956. There is some info on this in Pierre Berton's book 'Niagara,' which I will quote/summarize from. It happened on 8 June 1956 at 5 in the afternoon, and brief experiences of some witnesses are included. It is described: "The top of the gorge began to shake, and for several moments it seemed that hundreds of tons of rock hung in the air as if suspended by wires. Then the entire mass - four hundred feet across and forty feet thick - tumbled down, crushing the roof of the powerplant below...." One of the workers in the plant heard a rumbling, and as they had been warned to keep an eye out for 'seepage' from the cliff above, he phoned the operator at the switching station above. "At that moment, the plant's windows began to pop. The floor heaved alarmingly. A huge crack opened in the end wall of the plant. In less than 30 seconds it widened to a two-foot gap. The building split open. The ceiling began to fall." 40 men ran through the building as a blast of water came in and blew out a generator "like a piece of paper", but one man, Richard Draper, was blown out a window and killed. The other 39 did make it out just before the foundations gave way and most of the plant slid towards the river. Another source, 'Images of America - Niagara Falls Volume II' mentions that the collapse (which it dates as 7 June 1956) was later attributed to an earthquake in 1946, which created a fault at the site. Water leaking from a station tunnel forced this fault to open wider, causing the slide. Berton's "Niagara" is a great book. It covers the history of the Falls beginning with a little of the geological formation, and telling the stories of lots of people around the Falls from the first explorers up to Love Canal. I'm not really a big history buff, but I found it fascinating. :) Berton also wrote "Niagara Falls: A Picture Book," a mix of old and new photos which is nice to accompany the history, or just to browse through. No, I have no connection to the author, but I thought it was a fun read and worth mentioning. ;) Rene' Nilsson [Looking for HEWITT in Niagara County.]