MOHAWK - Discovering the Valley of the Crystals Copyright 2003
Chapter 12 - Tributaries
Old City Brook
While researching KUYAHOORA - Discovering West
Canada Valley, I discovered that the first mill town in West Canada
Valley was on a small stream that featured dozens of waterfalls. Soon after
the Revolutionary War, the "Yankees" who settled on this Royal Grant allotment,
built seven mills on one mile of this stream. They included a gristmill,
sawmill, bark mill, tannery, and mills for carding, fulling, dyeing and
cloth dressing. At that time this tributary was called Mill Creek or Wolf
Hollow Brook, and the village that grew up around the mills was Fortune's
Mills.
When larger, more productive mills were built on
West Canada Creek, Fortune's Mills shut down. All that remained of the
village or "Old City" were a few homes. Today some of those homes, a few
new ones and a crumbling "castle" mark the location of that once thriving
community.
in the 1790s. The gristmill dam was
located at the top of High Falls.
In the 1920s a landscape architect from Utica started
building a summer home overlooking the highest falls. With the help of
stone masons, he constructed a small limestone dwelling that resembled
a medieval castle, complete with tower. It became such a popular tourist
attraction, the owner abandoned the project before it was completed. After
many years of abuse by vandals and the elements, The Castle has been reduced
to crumbling walls and the tower. The current owner has posted access from
the road and seems to be tearing down the rest of the castle. In time all
that will remain will be the name of the road that passes by it.
Castle Road runs north from Route 28 between Newport
and Middleville. Old City Road forks to the left, drops down a hill and
over a stone arch bridge. Upstream from the bridge are the highest falls
on, what is now called, Old City Brook. The Castle tower is atop the ridge
on the right side of the falls.
Old City Brook is unique in the Mohawk Valley. In
addition to its many waterfalls, most of the last mile runs over solid
rock right to the mouth of the stream. This flat-rock bottom makes the
lower reaches of Old City Brook relatively easy to explore.
I've hiked up Old City Brook two times. Both of
these discovery trips are included in KUYAHOORA - Discovering West Canada
Valley. This past week I returned for an adventure of a lifetime. Four
lifetimes.
Discovery: Through a Child's Eyes
August 14, 2003, 80 degrees, Sunny 
Hiking up Old City Brook by myself was one thing,
but getting up and over dozens of waterfalls with three youngsters ranging
in age from 8 to 11 was another. A fall could result in bruised or even
broken arms and legs. Another consideration was the rights and privacy
of the people who live near the stream. So, before we even left home I
announced the rules: no running, pushing or shoving; no climbing waterfalls
without my permission; no yelling and screaming near homes, and whenever
possible stay in the stream. And to avoid stomachaches, don't swallow the
water.
Uniforms for the day were T-shirts, long pants and
old sneakers. Long pants would prevent scratches from berry bushes when
we had to climb around waterfalls.
Sitting in waterfalls was great fun.
It was almost 9 a.m. when we parked the Jeep along
Route 28 where the brook passes under the highway. From there we followed
a trail through the woods until we could see West Canada Creek and the
mouth of the brook. Before heading upstream, I repeated the rules, checked
sneaker laces and asked Andi, Steven and Jack to count the number of waterfalls
we saw along the way. Andi volunteered to keep a tally. On a previous trip
I lost track at 20.
The water level was nearly perfect: not high enough to push us back downstream
but high enough to accentuate rapids, riffles and waterfalls. After passing
the stone abutments that once supported an old bridge and quietly
wading past a private residence, we walked under the highway through a
"cement tunnel" and entered a world of wonder.
This lower section runs down a steep incline of
bedrock, making for easy walking Andi asked if she could count the long
run as one waterfalls. I told her to count everything that looks like a
waterfalls to her. "Three" she shouted.
The easiest rule to follow was staying
in the stream. Wading through rapids and pools, and climbing and
sitting in small waterfalls was great fun. The most difficult rule was
not yelling and screaming near residences. Fortunately, streamside homes
were few and far between, so an occasional reminder sufficed to keep us
out of trouble.
Andi, Steven and Jack getting up close and personal with an Old City waterfalls.
When we got to the first of the big falls, just downstream from Old
City, I added another rule. No taking chances climbing the bigger falls.
If there was no safe passage over the falls, we would go around them. To
help them remember I added, "If in doubt walk about."
We
climbed the bank, walked around the falls and waded upstream to the falls
below the stone arch bridge. While I worked the camera, "the gang" got
up close and personal with the falls: water running over and around them.
Muffled by the rush of water, yelling was not a problem.
Jack: "Grandpa, this is awesome!"
Steven: "Cool!"
Andi: "Number 14."
We climbed around High Falls.
When I told them the best was yet to come, they climbed
the falls and hurried upstream---under the bridge---to the base of the
two-tiered High Falls. Looking up at the stream of white water plummeting
over limestone cliffs, three wide-eyed faces exclaimed in unison "Oh my
gawd!"
There was no way to safely climb either falls, so
we climbed the hill on the left side, reaching the top in about 10 minutes.
After a quick and careful look at the top of the upper falls---and discovering
a pure-white, football-size puffball---we angled upstream and returned
to the brook.
That's when the real fun began. This section features
a series of small waterfalls, inclines, pools and potholes. It didn't take
long for the young'uns to discover that algae-covered limestone made great
waterslides. They spent a half-hour trying every one of them, some several
times.
Another favorite was sticking their heads under
small waterfalls and yelling at each other. According to them the sounds
were "awesome." I'm guessing their voices echoed under the rock ledges
and were modulated by the running water.
Steven: "Grandpa. Thank you so much for bringing us
here."
Jack: "This is better than the water-park at Enchanted Forest."
Andi: "This is better than anyplace."
By the time we got up to the stone arch bridge on Farrington Road, Andi
had tallied 30 waterfalls. I explained that the last time I visited this
spot there were a dozen horses standing in the water. They belonged to
an Amish family that farmed here for several years. Today the water is
much cleaner; a major consideration when planning this outing. .
We continued upstream for another quarter mile before
returning to the bridge. Andi's tally for the entire trip was 37 waterfalls.
It took 20 minutes to walk down Castle Road to Route
28 and west to where I had parked. This was, without a doubt, the most
dangerous part of the entire outing. We met---and fortunately avoided---several
cars and trucks coming around narrow bends. One advantage of the walk back
was that soaking wet youngsters had drip-dried when they got into the back
seat of the Jeep at 11 o'clock..
Algae-covered limestone made great water slides.
Jack, always the thinker, asked, "What was the gradient?
"Huh?" I asked.
"How far does the stream drop where we walked?"
I shrugged and changed the subject, "Anyone
want to ruin their lunch and stop for ice cream."
Gradients forgotten, we headed towards Middleville.
Incidentally, I looked it up. Old City Brook drops
over 300 feet in a little over a mile. Like I said, unique in the Mohawk
Valley.
Please Note: The new owner of the Castle plans to build a parking lot off Castle Road, restore the Castle and provide public access. In the meantime he is posting the property due to liability concerns.
Follow the path of this discovery trip by clicking on Mohawk Valley Maps: by Maptech.
Type Welch Corners select New York, press GO! Select 2.Welch Corners. Use margin arrows to follow Old City / Wolf Hollow Brook.
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