Wappingers Falls

WAPPINGERS FALLS WEATHER

Number of falls: 1 man-made dam, a spillway over natural bedrock, and 1 natural waterfall.

Size/Types: Commonly referred to as the Upper Falls, the north side of the bridge features a 16 ft tall concrete hydroelectric dam (although debris and sediment have piled up over the years so it appears a bit shorter). At the dam, some of the creek’s water is diverted into a penstock where overflow creates a natural waterfall down a 20 ft cliff, rejoining the creek. Before the E Main St bridge, the creek begins to descend further. From the bridge, you’ll find a natural falls starting as two separate flows that stem from the bridge’s two arches. The irregular surface of the bedrock creates an erratic falls with the two separate flows mixing as they tumble about 50 ft down into the gorge. Overall the creek drops about 75 ft over this complete 800 ft run.

Best time to visit: Year-round. The falls becomes a significant torrent during late winter and early spring.

Waterway: Wappinger Creek (sometimes called Wappingers, with an S). Stretching approximately 41.7 miles, the creek originates at Thompson Pond near Pine Plains in the northeast corner of Dutchess County, and flows generally southwest through rural and suburban landscapes. Just north of the village of Wappinger, it flows into Wappinger Lake, a 87 acre man-made lake created by the dam downstream at the falls. After the descent of the creek at the falls, the creek levels off and widens greatly for the last 1.6 miles before emptying into the Hudson River at New Hamburg. The Hudson River flows south to New York City where it meets the Atlantic Ocean.

Time: Just a few minutes to see the falls from the E Main St Bridge.  Take more time and enjoy a meal while you see the falls from the di’Vine Wine Bar on Market St.

Seasons/Hours: Year-round. Day and night. The lower falls is illuminated at night.

Admission: Free.

Handicap Accessibility: The E Main St bridge has a paved walkway, but the stone wall lining the bridge does not cater well to a seated view.

Pets: Pets are allowed while on a leash.

Swimming: None.

Accommodations: There are a handful of shops and restaurants in the village within walking distance. The di’Vine Wine Bar on Market St has patio seating with a view of the falls. The Village Creamery on Mill St has ice cream and American food from the grill.

On the west side of the village, Wappinger Creek dam and falls, constructed in 1872, forms the 87-acre man-made Wappingers Lake, which averages about 5 ft deep. The dam diverts a portion of the creek’s flow into an open channel down the east side. Overflow from this channel drops down a natural cliff of about 20 ft in height, forming another waterfall. Water from the diverted channel continues south and enters a 6 ft diameter iron penstock than follows the course of the stream.

The East Main Street Bridge, one of the 2 spots to see the falls from, barely gets you a view of these upper falls, but looking downstream you’ll be able to see the lower falls. The bridge’s 2 arches split the creek into two distinct flows, and the irregular bedrock of the falls then splits and remixes the flow 75 ft down, with the last third being a dramatic drop. The iron penstock, which many would consider unsightly, crosses the creek just downstream from the falls and then follows the west side of the gorge for 400 ft to a brick powerhouse, originally built in 1830. Another view of the falls can be had from the outdoor dining patio at di’Vine Wine Bar on Mill St.

Located in a former factory district of the village, the falls has retained much of that industrial character. Multi-story brick buildings line the creek. The old steel penstock pipe, and general lack of public access make this a tough one for locals and guests to really appreciate. With more and more municipalities investing in greenspace around their waterfalls, this one feels a bit like it’s stuck in the past. That being said, the surrounding historic mill, factory, storehouse buildings, and a set of Civil War era rowhouses, many of which now house modern businesses, all add quite a bit of charm to the visit.

Pronounced Wah-pin-gher-z

The Wappinger were a confederacy of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans whose territory in the 17th century extended along the eastern bank of the Hudson River, predominantly based in what is now Dutchess County. The name “Wappinger” translates to “easterner” in most Algonquian languages. The Wappingers were known to inhabit the area around the falls in summer, farming the fertile land around the creek.

The first settler in the village was said to be a man by the name of Hoffman, who immigrated from the Netherlands and lived in a mud and stone house on the west side of the creek. Elizabeth Skinner inherited a large tract of the Rombout Patent through her family who came to the Wappinger area with grand plans to develop the land into a new community, but for whatever reason, they didn’t follow through, and left. In 1738, the Skinners sold 750 acres to Adolphus Brewer and his son, Nicholas. They constructed a stone house and mill (known as Yellow Mill) on the east side of the falls. Unfortunately, Adolphus Brewer faced several hardships while living in Wappingers Falls. His young daughter was bitten by a rattlesnake in June 1739 and died shortly thereafter. A few weeks later, Adolphus was struck by lightning and killed. Following his father’s death, Nicholas Brewer took over the land and operation of the mill. He constructed another mill (the Red Mill) and a few more homes, including the Brewer-Mesier House on Spring St, now a museum. Nicholas’ mills proved to be a highly successful venture and later in life, he expanded into shipbuilding, which was done in a shipyard along the creek closer to the Hudson. Nicholas built seventeen ships for the Continental Forces under a commission from George Clinton. He is also noted as serving as a Captain in the Militia, even acting as a spy for General George Washington.

The falls powered several mills and factories into the 1900s, including a machine shop, comb factory, dyewood mill (which ground varieties of wood to make dyes), a box factory, and the massive Franklindale Cotton Mill, which employed approximately 200 people (mostly women and children). Downstream from the falls, a massive complex that spanned both sides of the creek, housed the Dutchess Company Printworks, which owned around 14 large buildings and was the largest printer in the country at the time.

Clinton Clapp was a notable resident and mechanical engineer who ran a bicycle wheel factory in the village in the 1800s. In his spare time he served as the historian for the Poughkeepsie newspaper. He documented scenes from around the creek in oil paintings, many of which are on display at the local library.

For a time, the village was two different settlements, Franklindale on the east side of the creek, and Channingville on the west side. They combined when the village of Wappingers Falls was incorporated in 1871.  Today, this village spans two townships: the west side, formerly the settlement of Channingville, is in the town of Poughkeepsie, while the east side is in the town of Wappinger. As a result, residents on the east side vote in Wappinger town elections, and those on the west side vote in Poughkeepsie town elections.

Difficulty: Easy. Just view the falls from the East Main St Bridge.

Map: Interactive.

Silky Water Effect

• To get that smooth cotton-candy look to the falls, you need to use a Neutral Density (ND) filter on your lens. The ND filter will block some of the light from entering the lens without altering the color, and thus allows your shutter to stay open longer. This blurs the water and creates a soft white gloss to the foamy areas of the falls.  Check out the article for all of the details.

More tips

• See the Articles for more photography tips.

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