Postcard of the Lower Falls

This winter scene of the Lower Falls, depicts a scene of McCrackenville where it lay near the falls and is now the location of Lower Falls Park.

As often happens, small communities that begin life as independent towns and villages are consumed by central urban areas as they grow. Many of these communities leave remnants behind to testify to their existence. Not so with McCrackenville, for nothing remains, not even a name. “Even the bridge, which is the last tangible reminder, has been renamed. No longer is it the McCracken Street Bridge; today it is the Driving Park Bridge. Not even the people who live along that portion of Lake Avenue are aware that they live in what was once McCrackenville. In its day, McCrackenville was a thriving manufacturing center running along Lake Avenue from the Middle Falls (Ravine Avenue) to the Lower Falls (Driving Park Bridge), much of it at the level of the river.

From Roc History, Rochester Public Library.