On July 4, 1863, two entrepreneurs opened to paying visitors a natural wonder of silvery cascades, deep ravines, and rocky arcades near the village of Watkins, New York. The wilderness attraction became immediately popular, as an enchanting retreat from both the summer heat and the stark realities of the Civil War. These four views by the Gates Brothers were among the first souvenir photographs sold to the thousands of annual visitors to the site (now Watkins Glen State Park)a destination that would soon rival for popularity Niagara Falls and the Catskills. The photographers' portable darkroom is visible here, perched at a bend in the wooden footbridge.
