Why should the beautiful die?
The falls of the Youghiogheny at Ohiopyle have long been pointed out as one of America’s natural wonders.
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A cut from the Columbian magazine in 1787 shows us a picture that has hardly changed in the intervening 238 years, except that these days the view is less likely to include tricorn hats.
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Of course, if we could meet one of those tricorn-wearing gentlemen in the middle, around 1900, we could both not only mourn the decline of stylish headgear, but we would see that the view that we both appreciate was not there continuously, but an aggressive restoration. In the late 1800’s, the area that now forms the riverside parking lot was filled with 2ish more blocks of homes and commercial buildings, while mills stood along the bank. The final one jutted out into the river and practically over the falls.
Of course, it could have been worse. In the 1860s-70s, the family that owned the Ferncliff Peninsula (across the river from town) drew up plans to develop the entire site with a resort, residential plots, and industry. Fortunately, this never got beyond the Ferncliff Hotel, which is no longer with us either.
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