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Lewis County

Dr. John Swinburne’s Life in Crime, War & Politics

March 26, 2023 by Peter Hess 1 Comment

John SwinburneJohn Swinburne was born May 30, 1820 in Denmark, Lewis County, New York. He attended school in the communities of Lowville and Denmark, and in Fairfield, Herkimer County, all in New York. He was an excellent student and upon completion of his studies, he took a job as a teacher.

In 1841, at the age of 21, he began the study of medicine and in 1843 entered Albany Medical College where he was a student under the tutelage of Dr. James H. Armsby, a founder of the college. He eventually went to work for Dr. Armsby and upon his graduation in 1846, started his own practice. [Read more…] about Dr. John Swinburne’s Life in Crime, War & Politics

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Western NY Tagged With: 1870 Franco-Prussian War, Albany, Albany Med, Civil War, Crime and Justice, Denmark, French History, Legal History, Lewis County, Medical History, Military History, Political History, Science History

The Adirondack Park Agency At 50: State Leaders Are Missing The Point

February 7, 2023 by David Gibson 6 Comments

Gov. Nelson Rockefeller signs the APA ActWell, it’s happened again. Another state budget is proposed by the Executive, wherein the Adirondack Park Agency’s legislated job is mischaracterized by this Governor’s (and former governors’) budget divisions as working “to achieve a balance between strong environmental protection and sustainable economic development opportunities for the residents of the Adirondack Park” (2023 Executive Budget Briefing Book).

Balance is an important goal to strive for in our individual lives. However, nothing in the Adirondack Park Agency law, now reaching 50 years old in May, calls for “a balance between strong environmental protection and sustainable economic development.” [Read more…] about The Adirondack Park Agency At 50: State Leaders Are Missing The Point

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature Tagged With: Adirondacks, Andrew Cuomo, APA, Clinton County, DEC, development, Economic Development, Environmental History, Essex County, Forest Preserve, Franklin County, Hugh Carey, Kathy Hochul, Legal History, Lewis County, Nelson Rockefeller, Oneida County, Political History, Saratoga County, St Lawrence County, Warren County, Washington County, wilderness

Mohawk River Basin Grants Available

February 4, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Mohawk River Basin courtesy DECThe Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is offering $600k in Mohawk River Basin Grants to help municipalities, soil and water conservation districts, school districts, colleges and universities, and not-for-profit organizations to implement the goals and objectives of the Mohawk River Basin Action Agenda 2021-2026, a five-year plan advancing efforts to conserve, preserve, and restore the Mohawk River and its watershed. [Read more…] about Mohawk River Basin Grants Available

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley, Nature, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: Albany County, DEC, Fulton County, Grants, Hamilton County, Herkimer COunty, Lewis County, Madison County, Mohawk River, Oneida County, Otsego County, Saratoga County, Schenectady County

Adirondack Logging History: Wood’s Lake & Beaver River Stations

January 23, 2023 by Noel Sherry 5 Comments

Northern section showing lumber company railroads branching off New York Central, from BillAfter Hudson River logging sharply declined by 1905, the Adirondack railroad line known as the Mohawk & Malone kept NYS lumber companies in business for at least another twelve years. A big part of this was due to logging north of Big Moose, shown on this New York Central & Hudson River railroad map, with eight station stops northward toward Tupper Lake (shown at left), three of them as junctions for logging railroads — Wood’s Lake, Brandreth, and Nehasane.

Beaver River Station was shifting from logging to tourism. Little Rapids was a flag stop, Keepawa unlisted in an 1895 train schedule. This article will describe the logging history of Wood’s Lake and Beaver River stations, beginning with a new lumbering operation just north of Big Moose. [Read more…] about Adirondack Logging History: Wood’s Lake & Beaver River Stations

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature Tagged With: Adirondack Dams, Adirondacks, Beaver River, Big Moose, Burd Amendment, Forest Preserve, Herkimer COunty, Industrial History, International Paper, Legal History, Lewis County, Logging, Logging the Adirondacks, Mohawk & Malone Railroad, New York Central RR, railroads, Silver Lake, Stillwater, Town of Webb, Transportation History, Twitchell Lake, William Seward Webb

Key Adirondack Wilderness Inholding Protected

January 17, 2023 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

map showing Bear Pond ForestNortheast Wilderness Trust announced that it has purchased a key inholding in the Adirondack Park’s Five Ponds Wilderness, establishing the Bear Pond Forest. With this acquisition, the 1,056-acre Bear Pond Forest is now safeguarded from development, and the Forest will gradually be integrated into the surrounding 107,230-acre Five Ponds Wilderness, which is connected to the 23,816-acre Pepperbox Wilderness. [Read more…] about Key Adirondack Wilderness Inholding Protected

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondacks, Clifton, Diana, Fine, Five Ponds Wilderness, Hamilton County, Herkimer COunty, Lewis County, Long Lake, nature, Northeast Wilderness Trust, Pepperbox Wilderness Area, St Lawrence County, Town of Webb, Wildlife

History Corrected: Adirondack Guide Charles H Smith & King Edward VII

January 3, 2023 by Roy Crego 4 Comments

New Bremen, Atlas of Lewis CountyHistory often makes a muddle of people’s lives. One such example is Charles H. Smith (ca. 1832 – 1911) of Petries Corners in the town of Watson, Lewis County, NY. Charles was well known as an Adirondack guide in the Beaver River/Stillwater area of the Western Adirondacks.

He lived to a ripe old age as an elder statesman of the guiding fraternity. But confusing reports of his age, a story about guiding for royalty, and a common first and last name have obscured his actual accomplishments. [Read more…] about History Corrected: Adirondack Guide Charles H Smith & King Edward VII

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: Adirondack Guides, Adirondacks, Beaver River, Boonville, botany, Brown's Tract, Horatio Seymour, Lewis County, Stillwater, Watson

Adirondack Voters Join Environmental Bond Act Approval Landslide

November 10, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Adirondack Mountains from the top of Whiteface Mountain courtesy Wikimedia R khotResidents of the Adirondack Park’s 130 rural communities voted overwhelmingly to approve the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act on Election Day.

The measure won approval by more than a two-to-one margin statewide. [Read more…] about Adirondack Voters Join Environmental Bond Act Approval Landslide

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondack Council, Adirondacks, clean air, clean water, Clinton County, Environmental History, Essex County, Forest Preserve, Franklin County, Fulton County, Hamilton County, Lewis County, nature, Oneida County, Overuse, politics, Saratoga County, St Lawrence County, Warren County, Washington County, Whitney Park

An Adirondack Lumber Camp at Twitchell Lake, 1860-80

May 25, 2022 by Noel Sherry Leave a Comment

5a Objects dug up in Lumber Camp #2 about a half mile east of Twitchell Lake, Noel SherryMy uncle Frank Sherry taught my brother Tom and I orienteering, using a map and compass to navigate through the woods and find a remote pond or other location. We were teenagers and it was an exciting way to spend a Saturday.

On one of these adventures we were in search of Silver Dollar Pond to the east of Twitchell Lake in Northern Herkimer County,when we stumbled on our first lumber camp. The telltale signs were pieces of metal hanging from a tree and protruding from the ground, with old bottles half-buried in the forest floor. We made note of the location on our map, a half-mile from Twitchell, and returned to explore it. It wasn’t long before we located the camp dump, from which we dug up the items pictured here.

These and other objects triggered an active discussion on the date of this old camp, with an imaginative re-creation of what life might have been like for a lumberjacks living and working there. [Read more…] about An Adirondack Lumber Camp at Twitchell Lake, 1860-80

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature, Western NY Tagged With: Adirondacks, Archaeology, Architecture, Beaver Falls, Beaver River, Big Moose, Black River, Brown's Tract, Copenhagen, Croghan, Environmental History, Forest Preserve, Forestry, Hemlock Trees, Herkimer COunty, Industrial History, Labor History, Lewis County, Logging, Moose River, Tanning, Totten Crossfield Tract, trees, Twitchell Lake

Logging the Adirondack Interior, Spurring Preservation (1840-60)

May 25, 2022 by Noel Sherry Leave a Comment

One of the most satisfying pastimes for me at our summer home on Twitchell Lake in Big Moose in the Adirondacks in Northern Herkimer County), was taking the camp guide boat out for a spin. That privilege was earned by passing the family test, a solo swim across the lake, about the distance of a football field.

Weighing just over 30 pounds, this unique 14-foot wooden craft sped through the water powered by two oars. A cabin shelf still displays several awards for winning the annual guide boat race. I fondly remember the one-mile hikes to neighboring Oswego Pond, trailing my older brother Burt carrying that guide boat on his shoulders using a hand-carved yoke, my father in the lead bearing the oars and fishing gear. [Read more…] about Logging the Adirondack Interior, Spurring Preservation (1840-60)

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondacks, Beaver Falls, Beaver River, Big Moose, Big Moose Tract, Black River, Cultural History, Environmental History, fishing, Herkimer COunty, Industrial History, John Brown Tract, Labor History, Lewis County, Logging, Moose River, Totten Crossfield Tract, Transportation History, Twitchell Lake

New Otter Creek Horse Trail Map

May 10, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Otter Creek Horse Trail SystemLocated about 50 miles north of Utica, the Otter Creek Horse Trails is one of the mot popular equestrian trail networks in the New York State.

Nearly 65-miles of interlocking trails are located on both the Independence River Wild Forest and on the Independence River and Otter Creek State Forests, on the western border of the Adirondack Park in Lewis County. [Read more…] about New Otter Creek Horse Trail Map

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondacks, DEC, Horses, Independence River, Independence River State Forest, Independence River Wild Forest, Lewis County, Otter Creek, Otter Creek State Forest

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