[7] [dead link‍] Their efforts succeeded later that year when, on April 30, 1883, a bill authorizing the "selection, location and appropriation of certain lands in the village of Niagara Falls for a state reservation" was signed into law by then-governor Grover Cleveland.

[3][10] New York State Assemblyman Thomas Vincent Welch figured prominently in getting the bill signed, and served as the first Superintendent of the Park for 18 years from its inception until 1903.

[3] The impetus to protect the falls and improve their accessibility to the public was international; early lobbying for the park's creation was bolstered by similar plans that were proposed for the Ontario side of the Niagara River.

The team completed their designs in 1887, with a focus on improving public access while preserving the landscape's natural and scenic elements, to the exclusion of commercial and resort-style attractions.

[citation needed] The park also offers a museum, food concession, a movie theater, a gift shop, fireworks, hiking and nature trails, picnic tables, recreation programs, and fishing.