The George W. Childs Recreation Site is a former state park that is the site of a number of cascade waterfall

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

s along Dingmans Creek. It is located in Dingmans Ferry

Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania

Dingmans Ferry is an unincorporated community in Delaware Township, Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was originally sited on the Delaware River in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, but was moved farther up the mountain when the Park Service acquired the land for the...

 in Delaware Township

Delaware Township

Delaware Township may refer to the following places in the United States:In Indiana:* Delaware Township, Delaware County, Indiana* Delaware Township, Hamilton County, Indiana* Delaware Township, Ripley County, IndianaIn Iowa:...

, Pike County, Pennsylvania

Pike County, Pennsylvania

-National protected areas:* Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area * Middle Delaware National Scenic River * Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River -Demographics:...

 and is part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, administered by the National Park Service, preserves almost of land along the Delaware River's New Jersey and Pennsylvania shores, stretching from the Delaware Water Gap northward almost to the New York state line...

 .

The site is named for the late newspaper publisher George William Childs

George William Childs

George William Childs was an American publisher who co-owned the Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper with financier Anthony Joseph Drexel.-Early life:...

, whose widow deeded the land to the commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1912. The site contains three main waterfalls: Factory Falls

Factory Falls

Factory Falls is a waterfall located in the George W. Childs Recreation Site in Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania....

, Fulmer Falls

Fulmer Falls

Fulmer Falls is the second waterfall located in the George W. Childs Recreation Site in Dingmans Ferry, Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States of America. The falls are downstream from Factory Falls and upstream from Deer Leap Falls on the Dingmans Creek...

 and Deer Leap Falls

Deer Leap Falls

Deer Leap Falls is the third waterfall located in the George W. Childs Recreation Site, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located downstream from the Factory Falls and Fulmer Falls on the Dingmans Creek...

 and is a few miles upstream from Dingmans Falls

Dingmans Falls

Dingmans Falls is a waterfall located in Dingmans Ferry in Delaware Township, Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States near the Silverthread Falls. It has a vertical drop of 39.6 m .-See also:*Bushkill Falls*Silverthread Falls...

 and Silverthread Falls

Silverthread Falls

Silverthread Falls is a waterfall located in Dingmans Ferry in Delaware Township, Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States, near Dingmans Falls. It has a vertical drop of 24.3 m ....

.

The pools below the waterfalls were once a popular spot for swimming during its ownership by the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks

Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks

The Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks is an agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that manages and operates the state park system of the state. The agency is part of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources .-External links:...

. However, that activity had been banned upon transfer of ownership to the National Park Service

National Park Service

The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

.

The mill

The site is also host to the ruins of Joseph Brooks' 19th century woolen mill. About 1826 Joseph Brooks, a Welshman who had immigrated to Philadelphia, built a woolen mill of stone, 3½ stories high. He employed about 80 workers.

His sheep, though, were devoured by wolves or died from eating poisonous Sheep Laurel

Kalmia angustifolia

Kalmia angustifolia is a flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, which is often used like an ornamental plant. It has attractive small, deep crimson-pink flowers that occur early summer. The low shrub, a native plant of North America, may be only six inches high, or it may attain three feet...

. Supplies, operatives, and materials such as expensive raw wool, had to be brought in from Philadelphia, and the finished products shipped down to this city by wagons, a trip which took 10 days. Brooks died in 1832 and the mill was abandoned, the ruins are still visible.