High Falls

History

The High Falls Historic District and Lock Tender's House and Canal Store Ruin are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. High Falls takes its name from the nearby feature on Rondout Creek, where the creek cuts through a large rock formation and goes over a large waterfall. It was an attractive source of water power, and millers were drawn to it from colonial times. The first bridge to nearby Stone Ridge, on the main road through the valley between the Shawangunks and Catskills, was built during this time. The stone Jacob DePuy House, from 1797 (expanded in mid-19th century), reflects this era and retains much of its original fabric. A large stone house with a large American flag draped across its upper right story behind an evergreen tree. In front of it is a blue and gold historical marker on the Jacob DePuy house. In the early 19th century, a cotton and woolen factory in the hamlet made it a center of local manufacturing, serving many of the farms in the surrounding area. This set the stage for the construction and opening of the canal in 1828. The D & H was built to transport anthracite coal from Northeastern Pennsylvania to New York City via Kingston, where it was transferred to ships plying the Hudson River. High Falls would be important not only for its location at a key water crossing, spanned by a John A. Roebling aqueduct, and frequent layover on the canal, but for the natural cement discovered at nearby Rosendale during the canal's construction, which needed the millpower. As the canal remained in operation for the remainder of the century, it would transform the hamlet from an isolated rural community to a bustling, yet small, industrial town, especially after the canal was expanded in 1850 to handle bigger barges. In addition to the…

Geography

High Falls is located at (41.826892, -74.122151). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• KINGSTON HIGH SCHOOL
  High · KINGSTON · 1,856 students · 12.8:1 ratio
• J WATSON BAILEY MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · KINGSTON · 968 students · 9.6:1 ratio
• NEW PALTZ SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · NEW PALTZ · 668 students · 11.5:1 ratio
• RONDOUT VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
  High · ACCORD · 569 students · 10.5:1 ratio
• HIGHLAND HIGH SCHOOL
  High · HIGHLAND · 512 students · 13.5:1 ratio
• GEORGE WASHINGTON SCHOOL
  Elementary · KINGSTON · 449 students · 11.2:1 ratio
• NEW PALTZ MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · NEW PALTZ · 421 students · 8.6:1 ratio
• HARRY L EDSON SCHOOL
  Elementary · KINGSTON · 418 students · 10.4:1 ratio