The Day Rochester Disappeared
One of the most famous mirages in history are the sightings of the Flying Dutchmen, a ghost ship believed to be a harbinger of death, that has been witnessed by sailors around the world for centuries. Another mirage is a fata morgana or an atmospheric phenomenon that is usually seen on or just above the horizon. The origin of the name came from the Italian spelling of Morgan le Fay, a powerful sorceress in Arthurian lore. By their very nature these mirages seem to appear out of magic. The shores of Lake Ontario have been the setting for fantastical and magical fata morganas, including the famous Rochester Mirage.
Mt. Hope Cemetery is as much a park as it is a burial ground. People would take picnic lunches on the graves as well as stroll along the paths that winded through the rolling hills that made up the grounds. At the highest point, there once stood a wooden observation tower called the Fandango. It was a popular destination for visitors because inside the tower was an elevator and for a small fee the operator would take them to top to experience a wonderful view of the city. Sunday, April 16, 1871 was a beautiful bright, clear day and more people than usual waited their turn to go to the top of the Fandango. The people expected the usual breathtaking view of downtown Rochester and Lake Ontario, however on this spring day they witnessed a once in a lifetime event.
Instead of the Rochester skyline, Canadian landmarks and its beautiful countryside were laid out before them clear and distinct, even though there was more than 70 miles between Rochester, NY and Belleville, Ontario, Canada. Word about the strange vision traveled fast and by the afternoon a crowd of more than a thousand spectators gathered to witness the “Rochester Mirage.”
The following excerpt is from a published witness account of the mirage. “As if suddenly by a great tidal wave, old Lake Ontario had burst her confine and buried the entire north part of the city; and where generally thousands of buildings and churches are visible, nothing but the blue waves of the lake could be seen…Away to the right and lift, as far as the eye could see, was the Canada coast (where) could be seen her shores, studded with mountains, hills, valleys, inland bays and lakes, rivers and forests; and so perfect at times that the sun’s rays, shining on the barren sand cliffs would illuminate their sides like dazzling mountains of glass.”
A few days later, the event made national headlines in the Richmond Dispatch on April 21, 1871. “The reader can form some idea of its grandeur by knowing that a country separated from Rochester by a lake seventy to one hundred miles in width was, as if suddenly, by the great hand of its creator, painted upon the heavens so plain to be seen from a standing point one hundred miles distant. Gentlemen present who were familiar with the Canada shore could readily distinguish Rice Lake, Belvedere, and other prominent points in Canada, The lake looked as though it had by a great tidal wave rolled upon Rochester, had covered one entire half of the city, as no building could be seen north of Main Street, or any land between the city and the lake.”
The story of the Rochester mirage made headline once again when it was featured in the May 13, 1871 issue of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated. Twenty-three years later a similar mirage appeared in Buffalo. Though it only lasted an hour on August 16, 1894, those who witnessed it could count the spires of churches in Toronto as if they were just next door.
