The History
Characters are composites of various historical accounts. The playwright acknowledges that the names of the characters are based on real people, but some personality traits and actions have been fictionalized. The events of the Cataract House, however, are true and historically documented.
The characters represented in “Cataract House” have been developed from the real names of those who worked at the hotel, as well as the histories of those who traveled on the Underground Railroad through the Cataract House. These historical accounts can be learned via the award-winning Freedom Conversation Tours and the extensive Historical Resources Survey available through the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center Website. According to the site:
“Research efforts for the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area have focused on the people, places, and stories in and around the City of Niagara Falls that illuminate our understanding of the Underground Railroad and celebrate the courage of the men and women who sought, and/or helped others to achieve, freedom from enslavement during the mid-nineteenth century. As part of the Heritage Area Management Plan, a Historic Resources Survey was prepared by the award-winning Underground Railroad historian, Dr. Judith Wellman. The survey included reviews of primary and secondary sources such as manuscripts, census records, historical maps, memoirs and autobiographies, local and county histories, newspapers, and oral traditions, as well as interviews and collaboration with local historians and extensive community outreach.”
In particular, Dr. James Ponzo (Historical Content Specialist) and Saladin Allah (Director of Community Engagement) at the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center, have been instrumental in advising the playwright and guiding the plot's development. The Oakwood Cemetery in Niagara Falls and the many historical articles written by Michelle Anne Kratts have also informed the play. Additional local information has also been gathered from the collections found at the Niagara Falls Historical Museum in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and the Historical Museum of Niagara on the Lake, in Ontario, Canada.
The text, “The Underground Railroad Records” by William Still was also utilized to further deepen and understand the stories of those who escaped to freedom and the various ways in which their journeys unfolded.