Artist Unknown

Architectural historian Francis Kowsky, Ph.D., wrote: "I would date it before 1887-1889. In 1887, the Olmsted and Vaux's plan for the Niagara Reservation was adopted. It called for the removal of the stone wall at Prospect Point, which is what is partially visible in the lower left corner. The wall was replaced by a railing; I am sure it was in place by 1889.

"I cannot see if the Terrapin Point Tower is depicted at the brink of the American Falls (the image gets very fuzzy when I enlarge it), but if it is, we could say the painting is before 1873. That's when the tower was taken down.  (The boardwalk out to the tower, however, remained in place until the early 1900s.) If the tower is not there, I would give the painting a date of mid-1880s."