The waterfalls' fame in America really began when Washington Irving mentioned them in his story published during 1819, "Rip Van Winkle". Prior to that time Americans tended to regard the mountains and valleys of upstate New York as an unsafe region populated by savage natives. The famous painting, "The Murder of Jane McRea" [http://www.spartacus-educational.com/WWmcCrea.htm] by Kingston, New York, native John Vanderlyn, best illustrates this local attitude. It wasn't until after the War of 1812 when the frontier shifted far to the west, that attitudes changed and people began to regard the lofty heights around the Hudson River valley as something scenic rather than ominous or fearsome. About the same time the profitability of local farming began to decrease due to cheap grain shipped east by an Erie Canal, usable in stages while under construction. Irving's story invited Cole and others to discover the valley when Irving introduced the Falls of the Kaaterskill in "Rip Van Winkle". Irving wrote the following passage about Rip reawakening after a slumber of 20 years and walking home: