Richmond Mills Falls - Hemlock Watershed

A place to discuss waterfalls. Including the parks that house them and the hikes to get to them.

Moderators: Brenda, Kelly

nconantj
Rookie
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2013 4:20 pm
Camera Model: Canon EOS 600D
Location: Fairport, NY, USA

I've recently taken up waterfalling as a fun activity and I am planning a trip to Watkins Glen for the Finger Lakes Wine Festival next weekend.

While researching falls to visit on the way, I came across what appears to be falls at N42.82250,%20W77.57222 along Hemlock Outlet, about 300 feet upstream of Reed Road.

Based on how straight they are, I am guessing they are a man-made falls, perhaps for the mill(s) for which the road to the north is named (Richmond Mills Road).

Does anyone know anything about these falls?
Last edited by Matt on Thu Jul 11, 2013 10:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: I changed the title to make it more searchable.
User avatar
Matt
President
President
Posts: 13374
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:01 pm
Camera Model: Olympus OMD EM-1 m1, m2; Panasonic GM5, Osmo Pocket
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

It looks like you found the lost settlement of Richmond Mills. (we'll probably change the title of your topic to this later)
First, this area is known for having a prehistoric settlement, known as the "Reed Fort Site" (after the farmer's property the artifacts were discovered on) or "Richmond Mills Site" (after the nearby pioneer settlement). Fragments of charcoal, fints, pipes, bones, etc were found here. As well as a burial ground. All assessed to be pre-Iroqui.
[amazon=B009PF8GCU]There even a book about this archaeological discovery[/amazon].
Richmond Mills was a small farming and milling settlement started there in (circa)1804 by Phillip Reed.
nconantj
Rookie
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2013 4:20 pm
Camera Model: Canon EOS 600D
Location: Fairport, NY, USA

That's awesome! Thanks.

I will try to get some nice shots of it tomorrow and share when I get home Monday.

In the meantime, Google Books has a scanned copy of the book published in 1918 at http://books.google.com/books?id=H3kSAAAAYAAJ.
User avatar
Matt
President
President
Posts: 13374
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:01 pm
Camera Model: Olympus OMD EM-1 m1, m2; Panasonic GM5, Osmo Pocket
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Looking forward to seeing pics. If you have time, see if you can find any remnants of the old settlement... heck, you may be able to find some pottery or arrowheads if you get lucky.
champy1013
Lead Contributer
Lead Contributer
Posts: 708
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:45 pm
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Location: Skaneateles

What a cool place. I love searching for artifacts. If you look closer on the fields to the NW of the falls, you'll see circular and semi-circular indentations in the ground...wonder if that was from the previous digs up there
nconantj
Rookie
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2013 4:20 pm
Camera Model: Canon EOS 600D
Location: Fairport, NY, USA

Bad news all... I couldn't get to the falls or the dig site(s). The road that runs along the creek is blocked by a locked gate and there are POSTED signs on the gate and a tree to the south before the gate. :(

Because the posted signs are from the City of Rochester, I would technically call it public land (owned by a municipality), but they also said "No access for any purpose," so I wasn't about to push that issue. They are faded to the point where reading the text is an effort and should one be caught on the premises, one could potentially claim that it was not clearlyposted.

There was no reasonable access to the creek bed from the North, and I don't know if the posted signs go all the way to the creek shore. The creek also didn't look deep enough to really be considered navigable by even a canoe or kayak.

At some point, I will go and take a look at the south end of the road and see whether or not access is possible from that direction. Should southern access be impossible, I will try to seek permission from the City of Rochester to go in (with escort if they insist) to get pictures.
User avatar
Matt
President
President
Posts: 13374
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:01 pm
Camera Model: Olympus OMD EM-1 m1, m2; Panasonic GM5, Osmo Pocket
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

My guess it that there are some water supply security issues at play.
Here's the city's contact info for that area
http://www.cityofrochester.gov/article. ... 8589936858
waterfallzzz
Rookie
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2013 4:22 pm
Location: upstate

this is cool, thanks for your post. i've actually been to this area more than a handful of times, many many years ago. it used to be popular for walks, bikes, and exploring - but as mentioned it is owned partly by city of rochester / nys? (water pipe line to rochester is there) and also has a private owner. i feel like over the years it has become more restricted and the reason i stopped going there is because the private owner (not the city) was pretty aggressive about not letting people go there. he would drive the path in his truck. :angry:

honestly, the city land is probably not part of this "falls" area and instead on private land. both sides of the road are blocked by a gate. this area also has a nys historic marker for the abandoned town of jacksonville that used to be there. there is some relics from that and a cottage or two still down there i think. over all a really cool area - that unfortunately you can't access :woof: . the outlet is not navigable by canoe and the one time in my life i got leeches on my feet was there. it can flow pretty good after winter but it's not really recommended.

the info about the pre-iroqui settlement there and archilogical dig is pretty amazing. 8)
Post Reply