Letter from B.H. Thompson to Mary Thompson, August 6, 1848

Abstract

A letter from B.H. Thompson, dated at Stanwix Hall, Albany, August 6, 1848, to Mary Thompson, New York. The letter describes Thompson’s trip from New York to Albany, and from there to Buffalo and Niagara Falls. He comments on the sites he expects to see on his trip, stating that “…I shall proceed to the falls, & probably have courage enough to pass both under & over the great cataract. Mr. Elliott has driven a pair of horse & carriage over his high (wire) suspension bridge, and surely a person after that may venture to walk over it. When I return, if my money holds out & my courage holds good, I may visit the Springs where the great, the powerful, the talented & the beautiful do annually congregate to while away a few idle hours, and spend a few useless dollars.” The St. Catharines mineral baths and salt springs became very popular around the middle of the 19th century, attracting the elite in Canada, as well as wealthy Americans.