Annie Edson Taylor: The First Woman To Go Over Niagara Falls In A Barrel

July 3, 2022

Former charm school teacher Annie Edson Taylor. public domain

The name Annie Edson Taylor probably doesn’t mean anything to you. However, she helped inspire a long line of people who have attempted completely insane feats for fame and fortune. In 1901, Taylor, a former charm school teacher, elected to climb into a wooden barrel and fall the hundreds of death-defying feet over Niagara Falls.

A scant few daredevils ever reach their end game of notoriety like Evel Knievel or Houdini. Unfortunately, Taylor’s dream of financial security and widespread acclaim never came to fruition. Nevertheless, her tale of challenging Niagara Falls in a pickle barrel remains an incredible one.

She chose her birthday as the ideal day to go over the falls.

The Thrill Of Danger

While the pinnacle of Taylor’s story came in 1901, her fearless ways began much earlier. After a brief unhappy marriage that ended with the death of her husband in the Civil War, Taylor canvassed the country. Apparently, she was “fueled by an insatiable thirst for adventure stories.”

During her travels, she survived a house fire, an earthquake, and being held up at gunpoint during a stagecoach robbery. Reportedly, when the thieves placed a gun to her temple, she replied, “Blow away, I would as soon be without my brains as without money.” Incredibly, she said that while staring death in the face and harboring some $800 hidden in her dress.