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this rocky plateau, at one time the bed of the river, must have 

 been of material much softer in nature than the remainder of the 

 rock, else the river would not have made its present channel there. 

 Standing on the edge of this channel and looking into the churning 

 waters below, one cannot help but realize what his fate would be 

 were he to make a misstep and fall. At the w'estern end and in 

 the rear of Table Rock, across an intervening chasm, is the lower 

 fall, resembling more the upper fall in the diagonal line of its 

 brink which has its upper end resting on the north shore. The 

 fall has worn for itself an ample basin, bounded by Table Rock 

 and its own brink, the shape of which, the oldest inhabitants de- 

 clare, has changed considerably in the past fifty years. Below 

 Table Rock the waters wend their monotonous way, quite changed 

 in character from their aggressiveness of the upper stretches. 



It is between the lower and middle falls that the gorge of the 

 Genesee is best developed. Here we find sheer perpendicular 

 precipices rising 300 to 500 feet above the surface of the river, 

 which, viewed from above, looks like a tiny silv^er thread. 



As I have said, it is the middle fall which is the most impressive. 

 And here, within hearing of the constant roar of this falling mass 

 of waters, the spray from which is often carried by the wind onto 

 the house itself, the Honorable James Pryor Letchworth has made 

 his home for over fifty years. It is to the generosity of this gentle- 

 man, whose horizon is not bounded by the narrow confines of com- 

 mercialism, that the public is indebted for this beautiful tract, now 

 accepted by the state as a gift from Mr. Letchworth, and bearing 

 the name of Letchworth Park, a fitting honor commemorating a 

 noble deed. The tract was acquired gradually by Mr. Letchworth 

 by the expenditure of a considerable sum. By the deed of gift he 

 is to enjoy the use of the property as long as he lives, it then 

 passing to the state, under the guardianship of The American 

 Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, of which Mr. J. Pierpont 

 Morgan is honorary president and Mr. Geo. F. Kunz president. 



The tract embraces over 1,000 acres, and includes both sides 

 of the river for a distance of nearly three miles, comprising in 

 this extent all three of the falls, thus, it is to be hoped, protecting 

 them from the devastating hand of those who see nothing in the 



