After passing under the canal aqueduct, the creek drops an almost vertical 40 feet. A broken man-made dam at the crest of the falls, meant to maintain a few feet of water for mill power, squeezes the water down to half of the crest's length.  At times of high flow, water may flow over the dam wall, doubling the width of the falls.

The water flowing over the falls looks dirty from the canal towpath above, and a trip down to the creek bed below confirms it. Litter is everywhere, and where there aren't bottles and socks, the water leaves behind a smelly grime that coats everything. Just upstream is a wastewater station that dumps excess canal water into the creek- and that's probably the reason. But even though this isn't the prettiest waterfall in the county, it's worth a stop to see how the canal engineers tackled crossing natural body of water while building an artificial one.

For those that want to get a little closer, you may be able to climb down to the creek bed (at your own risk) using a makeshift ladder someone built further down the towpath from the falls. A careful descent will get you to a series of trails. Each one will get you closer.

In 1823, after the Erie canal was surveyed and construction began for this area,  officials noted this small settlement as a village. Ebeneezer Mix was called in to help plan the village around the canal and dubbed the settlement Medina. When digging began in the area, workers uncovered colorful red rock called Medina Sandstone. Quarries have since sprang up all over and Medina rock can be round all over the world, including Buckingham Palace. For the original canal aqueduct, stone was quarried from the creek banks to the north as well as from Lockport. A local mason, Artemas Allen, was recruited as master mason for the construction.

In 1840, the Weld and Hill  Flour Mill was constructed on this site and because of its easy access to the canal, did very well until it burned down in 1899. It was replaced by a electrical power plant, which is most likely the source of the damn at the crest of the falls.

Medina thrived from the traffic brought by the canal. Two factors made it the perfect stopover for passing boats. For one, Medina is the halfway point between Buffalo and Rochester. In addition, the southerly bend in the canal allowed for a widening just past the aqueduct. This was the perfect spot for boaters to pull over and dock to let other traffic by. Many hotels and other accommodations for passers-by sprang up due to the stopover traffic.

1913 saw a lot of developments for the Erie Canal system. The aqueduct that now carries the canal over Oak Orchard Creek was built then, replacing and earlier one. The expansion also erased all traces of the mill race that once powered the mills and plants that lined the canal.

Under the Erie Canal. The only tunnel allowing motorists to drive under the Erie Canal. This unique feat of engineering was built to avoid a very expensive and time-consuming construction of a bridge and approach roads on both sides of the canal that would have been needed to carry traffic over the waterway. Listed in Ripley's Believe It or Not! Located Northeast of Medina. Map

Trains. Rail fans should check out the huge museum of Western NY trains and artifacts at the Medina Railroad Museum.