 In 1825, British explorer John Franklin visited the falls while passing through New York en route to Cumberland House as part of his second Arctic expedition, calling them "so justly celebrated as the first in the world for grandeur".In March 1848, an ice blockage caused the falls to stop; no water (or at best a trickle) fell for as much as 40 hours.Waterwheels stopped, and mills and factories shut down for having no power.