It is the last of a series of waterfalls along the hanging valley formed where Fall Creek intersects the glacial trough of Cayuga Lake.

The area around the base of the falls was owned by Cornell University for many years, before being sold to the City of Ithaca in 2000 as a part of environmental cleanup.

[2] In June 2016, the Ithaca Common Council voted to demolish a house directly north of the falls and add the parcel to the park.

In the early 1800s, local entrepreneurs realized the economic potential of the water power provided by Fall Creek.

[6] A major lead clean-up effort sponsored by the United States Superfund and the EPA took place from 2002 to 2004,[7] with some additional soil removal in 2015.