Bash Bish Falls & Copake Iron Works

Ann and Vern had tried to find Bash Bish Falls twice from the Massachusetts side. They had heard that it was easier from the New York side and Taconic State Park. We headed off to NY (Sharon CN is very close to both Massachusetts and NY). We found the falls and hiked in 3/4 of a mile to what was described as the most beautiful falls in Massachusetts. The walk was through the woods and it was a little cool.

The falls are beautiful. At the board next to the falls the park service has posted descriptions of about ten accidental falls (some fatal, some not) to deter people from swimming in the pool below the falls or climbing up the rocks next to the falls. There are big signs prohibiting swimming in the river.

Also in Taconic State Park is the Copake Iron Works. This area was heavily developed to produce iron in the mid-1800's. It had water, limestone, iron ore and wood to make charcoal. The furnace (above) is one of the only extant furnaces from this era. There were great descriptions of how the iron was produced. By the early 1920's almost all these iron works went out of business due to competition from Pennsylvania and Minnesota. The Copake Iron Works was famous for producing plows, railroad wheels and other tools, which it continued doing after it ceased to produce big slabs of iron. To entice workers, duplexes were built by the company. These houses still exist and have been converted into cabins. The owner's house is now the house of the park manager.

This is one of the few buildings remaining from the iron works. The furnace is located to the right of the photo, in the trees. There is also a company store and storage shed for dynamite. A small museum is located in the building.