Rock City Falls, New York
Encyclopedia
Rock City Falls is a hamlet in the town of Milton
, Saratoga County
, New York
, United States
. The principal roads are Route 29 and Rock City Falls Road. The hamlet achieved fame as the origins of Paper Bag King George West
, who established his Empire Mill there in 1862. He went on to build the Excelsior Mill next door in 1866 and a mansion across the street.
There were saw and grist-mills in the upper part of Rock City before 1800, usually known then as the Hatch mills, though owned by Swan. This was the first use of the splendid water-power at that point. Not much later than that, however, another one was erected by Rathbone, the first settler at the hamlet of Rock City. There were two brothers Rathbone, one the pioneer merchant and landlord, the other the mill-owner. One of them afterwards removed to Greenfield.
From 1898 to 1929, the hamlet was served by The Ballston Terminal Railroad, an electric trolley that hauled freight cars for the paper mills and carried passengers to Ballston Spa.
Today Rock City Falls is largely residential, although the Cottrell Paper Company still operates much as it did one hundred years ago. The Empire Mill and Excelsior Mill of George West are part of a park, and the former trolley railroad bed is scheduled to become a walking trail called Boyce Park.
Milton (town), New York
Milton is a town in Saratoga County, New York, USA. The population was 17,103 at the 2000 census. Some believe that the town was named after the poet, John Milton, while other sources state that it is a shortening of "Mill-town" for the early mill activity....
, Saratoga County
Saratoga County, New York
Saratoga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 219,607. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Ballston Spa...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The principal roads are Route 29 and Rock City Falls Road. The hamlet achieved fame as the origins of Paper Bag King George West
George West
George West was a U.S. Representative from New York. Born in Bradninch, England, West attended the common schools. West immigrated to the United States in February 1849 and settled at Ballston Spa, New York...
, who established his Empire Mill there in 1862. He went on to build the Excelsior Mill next door in 1866 and a mansion across the street.
There were saw and grist-mills in the upper part of Rock City before 1800, usually known then as the Hatch mills, though owned by Swan. This was the first use of the splendid water-power at that point. Not much later than that, however, another one was erected by Rathbone, the first settler at the hamlet of Rock City. There were two brothers Rathbone, one the pioneer merchant and landlord, the other the mill-owner. One of them afterwards removed to Greenfield.
From 1898 to 1929, the hamlet was served by The Ballston Terminal Railroad, an electric trolley that hauled freight cars for the paper mills and carried passengers to Ballston Spa.
Today Rock City Falls is largely residential, although the Cottrell Paper Company still operates much as it did one hundred years ago. The Empire Mill and Excelsior Mill of George West are part of a park, and the former trolley railroad bed is scheduled to become a walking trail called Boyce Park.