Grants for five historic roadside markers have been awarded to the Town of Long Lake. Funded by a grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, the signs commemorate the Raquette Lake Rail Bed, Raquette Lake Hotel, Raquette Lake Train Station and the Raquette Lake General Store and Supply.
A sign in Long Lake will commemorate W.W. Durant’s Buttercup Steamboat which was deliberately sunk in 1885 and recovered in 1959.
The grants applications were submitted by Long Lake Tourism Department’s Alexandra Roalsvig with collaboration, writing and research by Hamilton County Historian Eliza Jane Darling. Jim Dillon of Raquette Lake worked with the town to identify appropriate locations for the signs.
These historic signs commemorate a by-gone era of train and steamboat travel when both Raquette Lake and Long Lake were destinations for travelers heading to the restorative lakes, woods and mountains for summer vacations.
The signs are expected to be installed in the Spring, with a dedication celebration during the summer of 2021, provided it’s safe to gather.
The William G. Pomeroy Foundation is a grant-making foundation based in Syracuse. The New York State Historic Marker Program commemorates historic people, places or things during the years 1740 to 1920 with grants that cover the costs of the making the signs.
Photos, from above: Buttercup Steamboat (Long Lake Historical Society); Raquette Lake Supply in 1925 (Raquette Lake Historian office); and Raquette Lake Hotel in 1925 (Raquette Lake Historian office).
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