Seneca Falls is a small New York hamlet that grew up along the Seneca River, whose waters powered many factories and mills. When the river was dammed and locks added, the water flow decreased to a point that it would no longer power machinery and the locations of the plants were flooded. The decision had been made to use the waterways to provide transportation rather than power. Seneca Falls remains as an interesting village, and although small, has so many interesting aspects that deserve multiple posts to share the various features, some quite important to our culture in the United States.
We will begin with the image of the church above. The first feature of the hamlet (a specific governmental subdivision determined by population in New York) to be seen is this church along the Seneca River and Cayuga Canal. This church, claimed to be the most photographed church in New York, gives a hint to the interesting architecture of buildings in the community.
Seneca Falls is a most welcoming community for cruising boaters. They have a canal wall all along both sides of the river in the downtown area. Power pedestals have been added and boats can be moored and have access to power at no charge. A two-day limit is enforced to keep people from overusing this privilege. The welcome center, which has a multiple story museum, also has a boaters lounge on the lower floor with showers and free washers and dryers. The biggest concern of boaters who stop here is that two days is insufficient time to adequately view the features of Seneca Falls. Fortunately, Last Dance passed through Seneca Falls twice, allowing two 2-day stays. For perspective, the church in the first image is located just past the bridge in the background of this shot.
The main street of town parallels the river, located up two stories from the waterfront. Old brick buildings line both sides of the street, most storefronts are occupied and the town is active.
One store features only products made by women. This might seem odd to some, but once the history of Seneca Falls is understood, it is most appropriate to be located here.
A poster for sale in the Woman Made Products store. Respect for all and equal rights is a theme throughout downtown Seneca Falls.
The unique geography of the Finger Lakes Region was displayed at the Seneca Falls Museum. Part of the welcoming of this community is this three-story structure, with the first floor at waterfront level and the third floor at the main street level, serving boaters on the first level and all visitors on the second two levels.
One can enjoy and appreciate an area when the history is understood. Seneca Falls makes the history lesson easy through many well-done displays. This diorama depicted one time period of the hamlet.
For over 200 years, the manufacture of pumps has been a major industry here. A wide variety of liquids require pumping to get them where they are desired. From pumping water out of the ground for a single household use to pumping petroleum across the country. Another education lesson made simple.
Another local manufacturer made wooden rules and measuring tools. Since they were making rules out of thin pieces of wood, putting a few together allowed them to manufacture a popular home window treatment, the Ventian blind.
The dominant theme of Seneca Falls is equal rights, and in particular, Womens' Rights. This, too, is on display at the city museum. More details in another post.
The Seneca River was tamed through the construction of dams and locks, making for transportation via water as a part of the New York Canal System. The Cayuga Canal connects Cayuga and Seneca Lakes to the Erie Canal and, therefore, to the rest of the world. A major resource for industry in this area. So, now there are no falls in Seneca Falls, but a peaceful, slow flowing canal used mainly by recreational boats. Surprisingly, the Cayuga Canal is home to many Blue Herons, more than seen on most waterways. They seem to take flight and lead the boat along the canal. Some Bald Eagles were also spotted and Kingfishers seemed to be populated more densely than anywhere visited. Their shrill cry always resonates as they fly along the canal.
Along the canal, between the two largest of the Finger Lakes, a familiar boat was spotted. One that had been seen many times before.
Yes, it is the African Queen from the movie by the same name. Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn had a great adventure on this boat, now moored behind a private home on the canal. Or, did they? Is this the real African Queen? Or, is the one in the Florida Keys, described years earlier in the blog of Last Dance's first Loop, the real African Queen?
Link to the Florida Keys African Queen
