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Franklin

Frederick Douglass & Oneonta’s Underground Railroad

November 7, 2023 by Harry Bradshaw Matthews Leave a Comment

Frontispiece in My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass, 1855On October 29, 1857 Frederick Douglass spoke in Oneonta, in southern Otsego County, NY.

The visit appears in few historical sources, no doubt because it was long-held belief that it was not wise to identify Underground Railroad agents or their locations as a precaution against pro-slavery advocates attacking them. [Read more…] about Frederick Douglass & Oneonta’s Underground Railroad

Filed Under: History, Western NY Tagged With: Abolition, Black History, Canandaigua, Delaware County, Franklin, Frederick Douglass, Oneonta, Ontario County, Otsego County, Underground Railroad

Debar Pond Lodge: History & Controversy

October 2, 2023 by Editorial Staff 3 Comments

Debar Pong Lodge in 2020 (courtesy Adirondack Architectural Heritage)For the past 20 years – but increasingly over the past three years – state legislators, local and regional government officials, state agencies, environmental and economic development groups, and others have deliberated over the future of Debar Pond Lodge, which was built in about 1940.

The 10-bedroom lodge and support buildings are located on New York State “Forever Wild” Forest Preserve land in the Northern Adirondack Park town of Duane, Franklin County, and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [Read more…] about Debar Pond Lodge: History & Controversy

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: AARCH, Adirondack Architectural Heritage, Adirondack Wild, Adirondacks, Architecture, Article 14, Brighton, Debar Mountain Wild Forest, Debar Pond Lodge, development, Duane, Easements, Forest Preserve, Franklin, Franklin County, Historic Preservation, Protect the Adirondacks, Santa Clara, Waverly, wilderness

Ceremony To Celebrate Renaming Adirondack Stream in Honor of Black Settler

September 11, 2023 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

John Thomas Brook, formerly known as Negro Brook in Franklin County, NYOn Saturday, September 16th at noon there will be a public unveiling of a historic roadside marker to celebrate the recent naming of John Thomas Brook. The new name pays homage to 19th-century Black settler John Thomas.

Thomas escaped enslavement in Maryland and established a successful farm near the small stream in Vermontville that was formerly known pejoratively as “N***** Brook,” then as “Negro Brook.” Thomas, his wife Mary, and their son, Richard, are buried in Union Cemetery in Vermontville, in Franklin County, NY. [Read more…] about Ceremony To Celebrate Renaming Adirondack Stream in Honor of Black Settler

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Events, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondack Diversity Initiative, Adirondacks, Black History, Franklin, Franklin County, John Brown Lives, Paul Smith's College, Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center

Saranac River Watershed Landowners Sought to Steward Rivers & Streams

July 16, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Heathy rivers and streams provide important habitat for wildlife like this Great Blue Heron. Credit: Wiltse/PSC AWI.Paul Smith’s College’s Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) is seeking landowners to assist in protecting and improving local rivers and streams by participating in Stream Wise. [Read more…] about Saranac River Watershed Landowners Sought to Steward Rivers & Streams

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature Tagged With: Adirondack Watershed Institute, Beekmantown, Black Brook, Brighton, Clinton County, Dannamora, Essex County, Franklin, Harrietstown, North Elba, Plattsburgh, Santa Clara, Saranac, Saranac River, Science, St Armand, water quality

Man Dies In North Country Snowmobile Accident

February 7, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Jacob P. MerrillAround 3 pm on Monday, February 6, 2023, New York State Police responded to Corridor 7, snowmobile trail in the town of Franklin, at the southern end of Franklin County, for a snowmobile accident.

According to responding officers, 25-year-old Jacob P. Merrill of Redford, in the town of Saranac in Clinton County, NY, was operating a 2020 Yamaha snowmobile northeast on the snowmobile trail when he struck a telephone pole. [Read more…] about Man Dies In North Country Snowmobile Accident

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Recreation Tagged With: Franklin, Franklin County, Search and Rescue, snowmobiling

ATV Drivers Caught Riding on Forest Preserve Land

December 6, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

forest ranger logoAccording to a press release issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, on December 1, 2022 Forest Ranger Praczkajlo said he followed ATV (all terrain vehicle) tracks in the town of Franklin in Franklin County and determined the operators were riding their ATVs illegally on Forest Preserve land in the Adirondack Park. [Read more…] about ATV Drivers Caught Riding on Forest Preserve Land

Filed Under: Nature, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: ATVs, Crime and Justice, DEC, Forest Preserve, Forest Ranger Reports, Forest Rangers, Franklin, Franklin County, Santa Clara

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