Niagara originates from the Neutral Indian name "Ongniaahra" meaning "Thunder of Waters", the noise these towering waterfalls make, as water drains from the Upper Great Lakes via the Niagara River.

The Niagara Falls area has seen continuous settlement since the 17th century, first by the native Iroquois people and then by Europeans who were drawn to the spectacular falls. Louis Hennepin, a French priest, is regarded as the first European to visit the area in the 1670s.

European explorers and missionaries arrived in the New World at the beginning of the 17th century, but did not make their homes here until after the War of 1812. This was a turning point in this area’s history, when the fledgling United States army fought British Loyalists who fled America for the new lands that would become Canada.

Niagara Falls Tourism started in the early 19th century and has been a vital part of the local economy since that time. As well as the obvious attractions of the falls, Niagara Falls markets itself as a honeymoon destination and is self-proclaimed as the “honeymoon capital of the world”.

In 1759, Daniel Joncairs was the first person to have harnessed the gravitational power of Niagara, digging a narrow ditch above the falls on the American side to draw enough water to turn a waterwheel to power his small sawmill.

In the future, his optimism was mirrored by many electro-chemical and electro-metallurgical industries who noted the plentiful and inexpensive source of hydroelectric power via the waterfalls and located here because of them.

In the mid-1990s the Ontario government introduced legal wagering to the local economy with Casino Niagara. The late-1990s witnessed an economic boom as numerous luxury hotels and tourist attractions were built.

The first casino was followed in 2004 by the larger Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort. The casino business has been successful in attracting American tourists with the currently lower Canadian dollar.

With the creation of a Niagara regional government in 1970, the city amalgamated with the village of Chippewa and surrounding Willoughby, Crowland, and Stamford Townships, creating the present-day municipal boundaries