Joseph Avery stranded on the rock in the Niagara River

Joseph Avery stranded on the rock in the Niagara River

On back of photo: This is a picture of Avery on the rock in the rapids above the American Fall. It was taken July 19, 1853, on a copper plate by P.D. Babbit, who was the photographer at Point View (now Prospect Point). All-day efforts to rescue Avery failed and he went over the falls that afternoon. The day of the tragedy, Judge Thoe. passed the hat among the crowd that gathered and collected $182.22 which he turned over to Augustus S. Porter, president of the village board of trustees.

Joseph Avery went rafting on the Niagara River in 1853. During the trip, the team's boat capsized, and Avery's two companions drowned. A strong swimmer, Avery managed to get to a log, which is where this photograph was taken. Unfortunately, nobody had the equipment or the expertise to mount a successful rescue, and after 18 hours he lost his grip. Avery's body was swept over Niagara Falls.

Three men boating in the Niagara River were overwhelmed by the river's strong current, lost control of their boat, and crashed into a rock. The current carried two men immediately over the Falls to their deaths. The daguerreotype shows the third man, stranded on a log which had jammed between two rocks. He weathered the current for eighteen hours before succumbing to the river. The image is an early example of a news photograph.

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