Welcome to Copake Falls, New York
Sunday, December 8
11 am-4 pm
THE HAMLET OF COPAKE FALLS LIES IN THE HEART OF THE TACONIC MOUNTAIN RANGE, which takes its name from a Lenape word meaning “in the trees.” From the Mahican, Lenape, Haudenosaunee and other first peoples of the region, to the Dutch, German, and English colonists of the seventeenth century, on up to the area’s current residents and thousands of annual visitors, the great forests in this region have beckoned settlers and visitors for millennia. However, most of the trees seen today are less than a century old because, for most of the 1800s, Copake Falls was not just a haven of recreation, but a thriving hub of industry which focused around iron ore production. The ancient forests were felled to feed the mighty blast furnaces that were part of the iron ore production.
If you know what to look for, you can still spot signs of Copake Falls’ industrial past, with clues pointing to two centuries of revolutionary transformation from forest, to iron works, and back again.
More than 200,000 people visit Taconic State Park in Copake Falls, NY, each year to enjoy its scenic beauty and recreational delights – including Bash Bish Falls, Copake Iron Works, Roeliff Jansen Historical Society and Harlem Valley Rail Trail.
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