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History · High Falls

High Falls’ post office opened in 1836, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 2000.

1836first post office
2on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From High Falls’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How High Falls began

When was High Falls founded?

1836

The High Falls post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 627 in 20002020 census: 700190 years
Founding year: the first High Falls post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about High Falls’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19013 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1964. Watch High Falls change.Old housesHalf of High Falls’ homes were built before 1953.Deep rootsA post office since 1836: 190 years of High Falls.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start High Falls’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how High Falls’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewVessels loading coal at the Docks of th…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

High Falls on the map, 1901 to 1964

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of High Falls. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

High Falls on the 1901 USGS mapHigh Falls on the 1942 USGS mapHigh Falls on the 1964 USGS map1901Rosendale sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of High Falls.

The story

How High Falls came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of High Falls.

Read it all →

The High Falls Historic District and Lock Tender's House and Canal Store Ruin are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

High Falls takes its name from the nearby feature on Rondout Creek, where the creek cuts through a large rock formation and goes over a large waterfall. It was an attractive source of water power, and millers were drawn to it from colonial times. The first bridge to nearby Stone Ridge, on the main road through the valley between the Shawangunks and Catskills, was built during this time. The stone Jacob DePuy House, from 1797 (expanded in mid-19th century), reflects this era and retains much of its original fabric.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

High Falls, 1870 to 1976

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870In the archiveVessels loading coal at the Docks of the Delaware and Hudson Cana, Rondout Creek
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1933In the archiveCanal Locks and Dupuy House
  6. 1976Born hereHappy Anderson is born here
By decade

High Falls, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s2 items
Vessels loading coal at the Docks of the Delaware and Hudson Cana, Rondout Creek1870Vessels loading coal at the Docks of the Delaware and…West bank and flour mills below high falls1878West bank and flour mills below high falls
1930s2 items
Canal Locks and Dupuy House1933Canal Locks and Dupuy HouseDe Motte House, Delaware and Hudson Canal1933De Motte House, Delaware and Hudson Canal
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today8 recent
JBurroughs2017JBurroughsDiscovCement2017DiscovCementCloveRefPlus2017CloveRefPlusAqueductHF2017AqueductHFMachinery2011MachineryLock Tender's House2008Lock Tender's HouseCanal Store Ruin2008Canal Store RuinDelaware and Hudson Canal Museum2007Delaware and Hudson Canal Museum
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Vessels loading coal at the Docks of the Delaware and Hudson Cana, Rondout Creek
Retake this viewVessels loading coal at the Docks of the Delaware and Hudson Cana, Rondout Creek, 1870

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on High Falls’ page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 listings protect 30 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
30
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

High Falls, census by census

010020030040050060070020002020Peak: 700

Between 627 and 700 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on High Falls’ Wikipedia page.

Questions about High Falls’ history

What year was High Falls founded?

The High Falls post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.