Seneca Falls and Willard – An Introduction to the Finger Lakes
Just south-west of the city of Rochester, in Upstate New York, you will find the Finger Lakes. These five skinny bodies of water are formed in the shape of fingers, hence the name. A popular summer destination, the region attracts people from throughout the north-eastern United States. Here you will find wineries dotting the region, many of which are built on hills overlooking the lakes, fantastic nature hikes and small, yet historic, towns populating the landscape.
This post will focus on just a single one of these lakes and only two of the towns that define it; venerable Lake Seneca as well as the hamlets of Seneca Falls and Willard.
Table of Contents
Background on the Finger Lakes
Away from the major highways, the Finger Lakes area sometimes feels like a region set in the past. When you are driving around you are likely to end up behind the Amish driving their carts and the cities look much like they did decades ago. Rural roads connect the towns to each other and outside of summer only the universities seem to be teeming with life. In the summer the region seems to regain some degree of vitality, the lakes are filled with cottagers and wineries with tourists. In the fall the region’s foliage is stunning and the state parks fill with tourists. It is this eclectic mix that defines the Finger Lakes, a region of plenty and poverty where abandoned buildings long past their glory mingle with quaint homes.
What to do In Seneca Falls
Dive into the History of Seneca Falls
Although it is just a town of 10 000 people, Seneca has sported a long history as a leader of industry and speculative minds thought that it could be the next Detroit – a center for auto-making. This may seem like fiction judging the city by its present size, but the city was once at the center of the New York State canal system, making it a logistics hub of sorts. The Cayuga Seneca Canal passes through the town. This body of water connects the city to both Lake Seneca and Lake Cayuga (completed in 1818) before connecting the the Erie Canal System (completed in 1828). This ensured that the city was linked to major upstate centers such as Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Utica and Oswego. Although much of its former industrial activity has left for tax competitive jurisdictions, Seneca Falls does retain some Pulp and Paper manufacturers.
Much of this history can be explored through the physical remains of this time period, including the ruined Bedford Falls Mill (now being restored), the canal and many of the buildings around town. For those wanting to take a deeper dive into the town’s rich heritage, take the time to stop at the History Museum on the Main Street. Entrance is free and serves as a great introduction to the region. Much of the history of the city is laid out on the first floor and the basement serves to show some of the industrial machinery in use at the time.
Explore Bedford Falls from the movie It’s a Wonderful Life
The Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, takes place in a fictional town called Bedford Falls, filmed in the real life Seneca Falls New York. The 1946 movie follows the life of a kind man by the name of George Bailey who contemplates suicide by leaping from a truss bridge into a freezing river below on Christmas Eve.
The distinctive green bridge can be found at the eastern edge of the town, near the old mill. The street name is Bedford Falls on one side of the bridge and George Bailey on the other, as a nod to the famous film.
The rest of the town, including the main street was used as part of the movie but if you want another reference to the film, take a look at the writing on the old mill, they renamed it “Bedford Falls” Mill.
Find your Inner Suffragette and Learn About the Fight for Universal Suffrage
Seneca Falls is home to the Women’s Rights National Historic Park. In 1848 the Wesleyan Chapel hosted the first convention on Women’s Rights, the event was so successful that it was soon followed by an even larger event in Rochester. There are currently plans to turn the Bedford Falls mill into a Women’s Rights Hall of Fame but last I was there the mill still sat empty.
Walk Along the Traditional Main Street
Seneca’s main street is similar to many of those in small town America. There are many shops located on the ground floor of the typical 20th century masonry row-structures. Many of the restaurants however have backyard patios that look out on the canal below, for a great view.
What to do In Willard
Explore an Abandoned Asylum
Willard is a strange village. I always think who in their right mind would live beside an insane asylum and a maximum security prison. Then I think, property prices must be rock bottom or, you work there, welcome to Willard.
As you pull into the village, the road will curve down towards the lake. You will see a maximum security prison before finally coming upon the jail. Pull over to the side of the road and walk across the swale to explore the old buildings. Signs will warn you about the dangers of venturing the premises, if you choose to explore south from the asylum, with guard dogs apparently roaming the property. Stick to the asylum, although it is fenced off and inaccessible, the Victorian building still holds a creepy charm that can’t be matched by many. Walk around the perimeter and look through the windows to see its rotting insides before getting back in your car.
The building dates from 1869 and was completed in a time that mental health was not well understood. Inmates that were sent here had often lived in horrid conditions for years and as such the facility took in the worst of the worst. Like most Victorian facilities it was composed of several wings divided by a main hall. Prisoners were sorted and separated by sex and by condition, if they were violent inmates extra precautions were taken. At the time of its inception, the facility was considered to be a state of the art institution. For its time it was a fairly progressive place, there was even a bowling alley and gardens kept by the inmates. Since many of the inmates died on-site, several were buried here and the building had its own crematorium
The facility shut its doors in 1995, long after the state had closed many of its contemporaries. The building was shuttered, slowly fading away, but the legend and mystique of the place only grew from there. During a sweep of the building, a cleaning lady happened on a chilling scene; hundreds of deceased inmates’ suitcases, containing mementos of people seldom understood in their time due to their illnesses. The discovery made this eerie institution famous again for a while.
Today, visitors to the site will witness how far the building has deteriorated. Only seldomly are tours of the structure available, and vines grow on its walls, as the wet and cold slowly eats away at the building’s bones. Willard Asylum itself is turning into a shell of its former self, but a ghost of the past much like its former patients.
Conclusion
Your trip to the Finger Lakes region has just begun. There are plenty more attractions you have to visit including the likes of Ithaca a pretty college town that is home to the beautiful Cornell university campus, Skaneateles a pretty lakeside hamlet, Auburn the famed prison city and Watkins Glen home to a stunning state park. These place are but just a few of the many worth exploring.
