NIAGARA FALLS (formerly

See also:

• CLIFTON

Clifton or Suspension

See also:

• BRIDGE

Bridge)  , a town and port of entry of Welland county, Ontario, Canada, 40 M . S.S.E. of Toronto, on the west bank of the Niagara river and opposite the Falls . Pop . (1901) 4244 . It is a station on the Grand Trunk, Michigan Central and St Catharines & Niagara Central railways, and has electric railway communication with the chief towns in the neighbourhood . Three large steel bridges connect it with the American town of Niagara Falls on the opposite bank . Its importance is chiefly due to the tourist traffic, but the unrivalled water power is being more and more employed . Factories have sprung up, and power is transmitted to Toronto and other cities . A beautiful park, named after 1 On the night of the loth of December 1813 the American general George McClure (1771-1851), upon abandoning Fort George, set fire to Newark, almost destroying the town and causing great suffering among the inhabitants . McClure attempted to justify this act by a strained construction of a letter to him from the secretary of war, but it was promptly disavowed by the United States government . The burning of Newark led to severe reprisals on the part of the British . above the Falls .