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Little Falls is a city in Herkimer County, New York. The population was 4,946 at the time of the 2010 census, which is the second-smallest city population in the state, ahead of only the city of Sherrill. The city is built on both sides of the Mohawk River, at a point at which rapids had impeded travel upriver. Transportation through the valley was improved by construction of the Erie Canal, completed in 1825 and connecting the Great Lakes with the Hudson River. The city is located at the northeastern corner of the town of Little Falls and is east of Utica. Little Falls has a picturesque location on the slope of a narrow and rocky
defile Defile may refer to: * To make dirty or impure * Defile (geography), in geography, a narrow pass or gorge between mountains * Defile (military), to march off in a line * The Defile, a pass between Suess Glacier and Nussbaum Riegel in Victoria ...
, through which the Mohawk River falls in less than a mile (1.6 km), forming a number of cascades.


History

Little Falls was first settled by Europeans around 1723, when German Palatines were granted land under the Burnetsfield Patent. It was then the westernmost European settlement in the colony of New York. The need to
portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
around the falls promoted a trading location on the site of the future city. It was the first settlement in the town. The settlers were attacked during the French and Indian War, but rebuilt their farms. The small settlement here was destroyed by Iroquois Indians, mostly Mohawk, and Tories in June 1782. The village was not resettled until 1790, and it was known at times as "Rockton" and "Rock City." Little Falls was incorporated as a village in 1811, and reincorporated in 1827. The City of Little Falls was chartered in 1895. The Western Inland Canal (early attempt of the Erie Canal) was constructed in 1792 and helped the local economy. The Erie Canal, completed in 1825, passes through the city. Lock 17 of the New York State Erie Canal replaced the three locks of the original 1825 Erie Canal and is in height. With dairy farms located throughout the town, Little Falls was a major center for the manufacturing of
cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
in the third quarter of the 19th century. Its products were shipped to market in New York City and other major cities. In the 20th century it attracted immigrants from eastern and southern Europe, who worked in factories for textiles, gloves and other products. In 1900, 10,381 people lived in Little Falls. It had its peak of population in 1920 with 13,029. Increasing urbanization of larger cities and the decline of manufacturing in the Mohawk Valley in mid-century have led to a decline in population. In 1903, a westbound
New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
special newspaper train derailed due to excessive speed on a sharp curve killing the engine crew. In 1940, a much more serious crash at the same location of a fifteen car luxury passenger train killed 31.


Notable people

* Benjamin T. Babbitt operated a
machine shop A machine shop or engineering workshop (UK) is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tools to make parts, usually of metal or plast ...
in Little Falls early in his career; he became a 19th-century soap manufacturing magnate. *
Justus D. Barnes Justus D. Barnes (October 2, 1862 – February 6, 1946), named George Barnes in some sources, was an American stage and film actor. He is best known for his role in the 1903 silent short '' The Great Train Robbery'', which the American Film In ...
, stage and silent film actor, was born in Little Falls. * Francis Bellamy, author of the United States Pledge of Allegiance, lived in the city. *
Natale H. Bellocchi Natale Hans Bellocchi (July 5, 1926 – November 17, 2014) was an American industrial engineer from Little Falls, New York, a Korean War United States Army veteran, and United States diplomat. He served for years as a diplomatic courier and Foreig ...
, diplomat, was born in Little Falls. *
David H. Burrell David Hamlin Burrell (1841 – January 13, 1919) was an American industrialist, inventor, and philanthropist based in Little Falls, New York. He achieved prominence through improvements and inventions related to the dairy industry during the late ...
, inventor and gentleman farmer who lived and worked here, patented the first technically sound oil burner that could burn both liquid and gaseous fuels in 1885; in 1985, President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
declared it "Oil Heat Centennial Year" because it marked 100 years since the U.S. Patent Office granted Burrell the patent for his furnace. * Fred J. Douglas, politician and US congressman, lived in Little Falls. * Thomas Falvey, Wisconsin state legislator and mayor, lived in Little Falls. *
Nicholas Herkimer Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer (also known as Nikolaus Herchheimer; – August 16, 1777) was an American military officer who fought during the Revolutionary War. He died of wounds after the Battle of Oriskany. Early life and career Herki ...
, Patriot general who commanded troops in the
Battle of Oriskany The Battle of Oriskany ( or ) was a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign of the American Revolutionary War, and one of the bloodiest battles in the conflict between the Americans and Great Britain. On August 6, 1777, a party of Loy ...
during the Revolutionary War; he died of wounds suffered in that conflict; a monument to him was erected in 1896, at his home on the outskirts of the city. *
Wayne Levi Wayne John Levi (born February 22, 1952) is an American professional golfer. Early life Levi was born in Little Falls, New York and attended high school in Herkimer, New York. He enrolled at Oswego State University for two years and then the ...
, professional golfer, was born in Little Falls. *
Ann Marcus Ann Marcus (August 22, 1921 – December 3, 2014) was an Emmy Award-winning American television writer and film producer. She graduated from Western College for Women, worked for the ''New York Daily News'' and ''Life'', where she worked with fa ...
, co-writer of soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. * Mary Myers, first female to solo fly a lighter-than-air passenger balloon. * Dorothy Burney Richards, conservationist and founder of Beaversprite, was born in Little Falls. * Bill Warner, a motorcycle racer and world motorcycle land-speed record holder, was born in Little Falls. Warner was killed in a motorcycle crash in July 2013 while trying to set a new record.


National Register of Historic Places

The following are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:
James Sanders House James Sanders House is a historic home located at Little Falls in Herkimer County, New York. The house is a two-story, gable-roofed brick residence, five bays long and two bays wide, originally constructed in 1827. It consists of a rectangular ...
,
Italian Community Bake Oven Italian Community Bake Oven is a historic community bake oven located at Little Falls in Herkimer County, New York Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat i ...
,
Little Falls City Hall Little Falls City Hall is a historic city hall located at Little Falls in Herkimer County, New York. It was built between 1916 and 1918, and is a 2 1/2-story, steel frame building faced in brick and terra cotta in the Classical Revival style. It ...
,
Little Falls Historic District Little Falls Historic District is a national historic district located at Little Falls in Herkimer County, New York. The district includes 347 contributing buildings in Little Falls. The buildings date from the mid-19th to the early-20th cent ...
, Overlook, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, South Ann Street-Mill Street Historic District, the Overlook (Burrell) House, and the United States Post Office.


Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 3.79%, are water. Little Falls is mostly on the north bank of the Mohawk River, near a waterfall which was smaller than another waterfall on the river in Cohoes. The cliff on the south bank of the Mohawk River in the city is known as Rollaway. New York state routes 5,
167 Year 167 ( CLXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Quadratus (or, less frequently, year 920 ''Ab urbe ...
,
169 Year 169 ( CLXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Senecio and Apollinaris (or, less frequently, year 922 ''Ab urbe co ...
and
170 Year 170 ( CLXX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Clarus and Cornelius (or, less frequently, year 923 ''Ab urbe condita ...
converge on Little Falls. NY 170 has its southern terminus in the city, while NY 169 has its southern terminus south of the city, in the town of
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , ...
.


Media

Little Falls is served by '' The Times Telegram'' of nearby Herkimer, which was formed in 2015 by the merger of the locally based ''Evening Times'' into Herkimer's ''Evening Telegram'', as well as the '' Observer-Dispatch'' in Utica. Two radio stations, WIXT (1230 AM) and WSKU (105.5 FM), are licensed to the city. Little Falls is also served by stations in the Utica television market.


Demographics

As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2000, there were 5,188 people, 2,339 households, and 1,277 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,367.0 people per square mile (527.1/km2). There were 2,646 housing units at an average density of 697.2 per square mile (268.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 97.78% White, 0.29% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population. There were 2,339 households, out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.4% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.4% were non-families. 39.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.86. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.8% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 24.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $23,965, and the median income for a family was $34,583. Males had a median income of $28,807 versus $21,040 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,139. About 9.3% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.


In media

*
Walter D. Edmonds Walter "Wat" Dumaux Edmonds (July 15, 1903 – January 24, 1998) was an American writer best known for historical novels. One of them, ''Drums Along the Mohawk'' (1936), was adapted as a Technicolor feature film in 1939, directed by John Ford and s ...
' novel, '' Drums Along the Mohawk'' (1939), featured German families in this area in the Revolutionary era. *Little Falls is the setting of the novel, ''The Ordinary White Boy'' (2001), by Brock Clarke. *The city's Main Street was featured in several scenes of '' A Quiet Place'' (2018).


See also

*
Herkimer County Historical Society Herkimer County Historical Society is located in the Eckler House which is adjacent to the 1884 Suiter Building, a historic home in Herkimer, Herkimer County, New York. It is a -story, wood-frame structure with red pressed brick walls laid in b ...


References


External links


City of Little Falls official website

Little Falls community website

Little Falls Historical Society



Little Falls Public Library Collection on New York Heritage
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Little Falls (City), New York Cities in New York (state) Utica–Rome metropolitan area Populated places established in 1723 Cities in Herkimer County, New York 1723 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Populated places on the Mohawk River Palatine German settlement in New York (state)