The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
DELPHI FALLS PURCHASE OK’D
WAMPSVILLE, N.Y. » A stunning landmark that’s been private for more than 50 years will soon be available to the public.
Supervisors passed a resolution Tuesday authorizing the purchase of Delphi Falls in Cazenovia. Private residents have owned the property for more than 50 years and recently put it up on the market.
The property features a two tiered waterfall, the lower falls being 60 feet tall and the upper falls 52 feet tall. The lower falls are easily accessible and sit behind the house on the property. It’s estimated that Delphi Falls could attract around 100,000 visitors a year to the future park, supervisors said.
Director Scott Ingmire of the Department of Planning and Workforce Development said there was a feeling of dread in the office when the property went up on the market, saying there was no way Madison County could compete with the public. However, the property didn’t sell and the owner approached the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to purchase it for public use, but the size of the property wasn’t large enough for New York state.
In turn, New York state approached Madison County with the opportunity to acquire the
66-acre property, but the going price was approximately $900,000 for the twin falls. Thanks to the efforts of benefactor Harold Jones, a retired professor of Syracuse University, Madison County only had to match one-fifth the cost.
Jones raised $750,000 for the purchase and as per the agreement, Madison County withdrew $150,000 from the general fund balance to meet the cost.
“I just want to take this moment to thank Mr. Jones, who is in attendance today,” Brookfield Supervisor John Salka said. “This is an individual who has a wonderful goal of putting this gem, this asset, back into public hands. Mr. Jones, thank you very much. I wish there were more people like you.”
“I welcome this whole project into my town,” Cazenovia Supervisor William Zupan said. “I think it’s a great addition not just Caznovia, but the whole southern part of MadisonCounty. Thank you Mr. Jones”
“I think there’s some things we haven’t considered and there’s archaeology matters that need to be considered,” said Fenner Supervisor David Jones. “If something comes up, they can put a hold on this and we can’t do anything with it for years. It’s a beautiful piece of property, but I think there’s too many variables.”
Supervisors discussed erring on the side of caution and planned their approach to turn the falls into a tourist attraction and apply for grants before any- thing else.
Ingmire agreed that the possibility of artifacts on the land exists. “The same reason we find these attractions appealing, past cultures did too,” he said.
While the resolution passed, the purchase has yet to go through and development of the property is a future project still to be discussed.
“It’s going to be really nice,” County Administrator Mark Scimone said. “The nice thing about the lower falls is that it’s easily handicapped accessible. It’s very unique, it has beautiful falls and a nice home there. I don’t think a lot people know it exists. I’ve personally been to a lot of waterfalls throughout and outside the state of New York and I think it’s one of the most beautiful falls I’ve seen.