Crooked Lake Outlet Historic District

Along a seven-mile gorge between Penn Yan and Dresden, the Keuka Lake Outlet drops from Keuka Lake toward Seneca Lake, and for nearly two centuries its water drove industry. The historic district follows this corridor and includes mill sites, mill ponds, races, dams, canal locks, the canal prism, bridges, a railroad turntable, whistle stops and mile markers. At its busiest, as many as forty mills used the Outlet, producing flour, lumber, textiles, spokes and paper. The Crooked Lake Canal, begun in 1831, was meant to carry goods but never made money and closed in 1878. The Fall Brook Railroad, begun in 1884 on the old towpath, ran until it was abandoned in 1974. The Main Street Bridge, a multiple-arch stone bridge of 1884, marks the western edge. Birkett's Mill still grinds buckwheat flour. Because much of the gorge is undeveloped, the district preserves extensive archaeological remains, and the old towpath and rail bed now serve as a public trail.