Niagara was first settled by indigenous people of the Neutral Nation. Early English settlements included Newark (the first seat of government) now called Niagara-on-the-Lake and St. Catharines (site of the first Welland Canal).

Following the American Revolutionary War, a strong influx of British settlers migrated to the counties of Lincoln and Welland. They brought with them strong roots of loyalty to King and country. Many played key roles in the agricultural, economic, industrial and educational development of the area.

Niagara Region is the successor government to the former counties of Lincoln and Welland created in the late 1860’s. Over the next century the counties prospered as 26 cities, towns, townships and villages were born.

In 1909, the United States and Canadian governments signed the Boundary Waters Treaty which required that the two Parties, together, approve projects that affect the levels and flows of waters along their common boundary. See Appendix 1 for Article V of the Treaty. This Treaty specified diversion rates “to limit the diversion of waters from the Niagara River so that the level of Lake Erie and the flow of the stream shall not be appreciably affected.” The treaty limited the total amount of water diverted from the Falls by both nations to approximately 56,000 (20,000 in the US and 36,000 in Canada) cubic feet (1,600 m³) per second.