Letchworth State Park
| Letchworth State Park | |
|---|---|
View of the Middle Falls, with mist from the Upper Falls and the new Genesee Arch Bridge visible in the background | |
| Type | State park |
| Location | Livingston and Wyoming counties, New York, United States |
| Coordinates | 42°38′5″N 77°59′0″W / 42.63472°N 77.98333°W |
| Area | 14,427 acres (58.4 km2) |
| Created | 1906 |
| Operated by | New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation |
| Visitors | 644,441 (in 2014) |
| Open | All year |
| Website | Letchworth State Park |
Letchworth State Park | |
| Architect | Letchworth, William P.; et al.; Bryant Fleming |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 03000718 |
| Added to NRHP | November 4, 2005 |
Letchworth State Park is a 14,427-acre (5,838 ha) New York State Park located in Livingston and Wyoming Counties in western Upstate New York. The park is roughly 17 miles (27 km) long, following the course of the Genesee River as it flows north through a deep gorge and over several large waterfalls. It is located 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Rochester and 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Buffalo, and spans portions of the Livingston County towns of Leicester, Mount Morris and Portage, as well as the Wyoming County towns of Castile and Genesee Falls.
In 1859, Buffalo industrialist William Pryor Letchworth (1823–1910) began purchasing land near the Middle Falls, and started construction of his Glen Iris Estate. In 1906 he bequeathed the 1,000-acre (4 km2) estate to New York, which soon after became the core of the newly created Letchworth State Park. The park prominently features three large waterfalls – the Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls – on the Genesee River, which flows within a deep gorge that winds through the park. The rock walls of the gorge, which rise up to 550 feet (170 m) in places, prompted the area's reputation as the "Grand Canyon of the East".