Watkins Glen State Park: History

Watkins Glen was purchased by the State of New York in 1906 and the amazing stone trails were built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It opened for tourism in 1863 as a luxury resort managed by journalist Morvalen Ells. It's been manged by the Finger Lakes Region of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation since 1924.

The gorge has attracted tourists for so long because of its incredible beauty. The eleven Finger Lakes were created when glaciers receded from the area 10,000 years ago. When the glaciers melted, the water filled the space where they used to be and Glen Creek carved out the gorge that you walk through on the Gorge Trail at Watkins Glen State Park. The park brochure says that the word "glen" is from the Greek, meaning a "small, narrow, secluded valley," which is a good description of the gorge through which Glen Creek runs.

Before there was a town of Watkins Glen, or a tourist attraction at the gorge, there were Native Americans living and thriving in the area. The campground at the state park is called the Six Nations Camping Area, and each loop of campsites is named after one of the first nations people from the area. The six nations have had what they call the Haundenosaunee Confederacy, or League of Nations, in place for a very long time.

While most of their land has been lost, there is still a Six Nations Indian Reserve, that's been in place since 1842. The Confederacy is still around today and follows it traditional organization and recognized as one of the earliest democratic systems. The six nations (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora) were separate, but came together to live under a unifying set of laws.