The Taconic Mountain range, part of the Appalachian Mountains, runs along eastern New York, extends into western Connecticut and Massachusetts, and terminates in Vermont. Taconic, translated from the Native American word Taghkanic, means in the trees. Bash Bish Brook begins in Massachusetts, flows through a gorge, cascades over Bash Bish Falls and through Taconic State Park, and empties into the Roeliff Jansen Kill, a major tributary of the Hudson River. After 1850, Bash Bish Falls became a popular destination for adventurous travelers. In 1927, Taconic State Park opened as the first state park in New York's Taconic Region. Concern over overdevelopment led local residents Francis R. Masters and Ella R.K. Masters to buy the Bash Bish Falls area in 1924 and transfer it to Massachusetts on the condition that the falls and surrounding acreage be preserved forever for public use. That same year, they donated land to New York State as the first parcel of what became Taconic State Park. Encompassing over 7,500 acres known for scenic beauty and natural resources, the park offers recreational activities at Copake Falls and Rudd Pond, includes the preserved Copake Iron Works Nationally Registered Historic District through partnership with the Friends of Taconic State Park, and is crossed by the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, which will eventually extend 46 miles from Wassaic to Chatham.

Photo: Steve Stoessel

Photo: Steve Stoessel

Photo: Steve Stoessel