“…on which the rays of sun never shine. It appears like a subterranean gallery, of the air is damp and cold, and the dashing and rumbling of the Fall, as it echoes through the pass, adds to the gloomy sublimity of the spot. As we draw nearer we ascend a short rocky staircase, where we obtain a fine view of the fall, which is one of singular beauty, and essentially different in form from any we have yet seen as it falls into a dark basin which is very deep, and extends about thirty feet under the rock on the edge of the stream.”
Due to his descriptions of the gorge and waterfalls, the resort drew thousands of visitors from America and Europe. It placed Watkins Glen as a Victorian tourist destination alongside Niagara Falls, Saratoga Springs, and the Catskill Mountains.