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Lyon Mountain

The Old Trail: A Lyon Mountain History

November 19, 2022 by Lawrence P. Gooley Leave a Comment

Lyon Mountain Tower, 2008Many years ago, a new trail replaced the old trail on Lyon Mountain in the town of Dannemora in Clinton County, NY, which had degraded with sections ranging from grassy to rocky to bouldery to muddy to extremely steep, muddy, and slippery.

It was a mess compared to paths built by modern trail crews. In 2006, ADK’s Algonquin Chapter completed the plans for a new trail, which was built in the summer of 2008. [Read more…] about The Old Trail: A Lyon Mountain History

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, camping, Chazy Lake, Clinton County, Dannemora, Environmental History, Fire Towers, hiking, Lyon Mountain, surveying, Verplanck Colvin

Recreation Highlight: Lyon Mountain Fire Tower

August 10, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Lyon Mountain Fire TowerWith a rich history of mining, Lyon Mountain is a towering peak in the Chazy Highlands Wild Forest in Clinton County, NY.

The mining started in the 1860s and continued until 1967. It produced some of the purest iron ore in the world, and some of that ore was even used to build the Golden Gate Bridge. [Read more…] about Recreation Highlight: Lyon Mountain Fire Tower

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Chazy Highlands Wild Forest, Clinton County, Fire Towers, hiking, Historic Preservation, Lyon Mountain, nature

Prison In the Woods: Environment & Incarceration in Northern NY

February 26, 2022 by Erin Becker-Boris Leave a Comment

A Prison In the Woods - Environment and Incarceration in New York's North CountyThe Adirondacks in Northern New York covers approximately 5,000 square miles. Widely known for its natural beauty, recreation opportunities and tourism, it may surprise many of those travelers to learn that the Adirondacks’ trails and amenities are intrinsically connected to New York’s carceral history.

In A Prison In the Woods: Environment and Incarceration in New York’s North Country (Univ. of Mass. Press, 2020), Clarence Jefferson Hall Jr. traces the planning, construction, and operation of penitentiaries in five Adirondack communities – Dannemora, Ray Brook, Gabriels, Lyon Mountain, and Tupper Lake – between 1840 and the early 2010s to show the intersections between the environment and mass incarceration.

Hall’s own personal history adds an interesting aspect to his narrative. His father worked for the New York prison system from 1973 to 1998, mostly at the maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. He states that “the rhythms of the prison system became natural to our family, just as they did for so many other families in towns and villages across the Adirondacks.” [Read more…] about Prison In the Woods: Environment & Incarceration in Northern NY

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Books, Capital-Saratoga, History, New York City Tagged With: Adirondacks, Black History, Books, clinton correctional facility, Crime and Justice, environment, Essex County, Franklin County, Labor History, Lyon Mountain, Olympic History, Political History, prisons, Ray Brook, Tupper Lake

Immigrants Are Our History: So What Do We Do Now?

October 17, 2017 by Lawrence P. Gooley 2 Comments

Spending so much time conducting research in old books and newspapers, I’m often left shaking my head when today’s news headlines call to mind a favorite saying: “Those who don’t know history are condemned to repeat it.” We use the concept all the time for personal decisions.

Before making a purchase — car, washing machine, cable package, cell phone — have you ever referred to a magazine like Consumer Reports, read online reviews, or asked a friend how their own choice worked out? If so, you checked with history to avoid making a poor choice. It’s a simple concept: learn a product’s history and you’re not doomed to repeat it. [Read more…] about Immigrants Are Our History: So What Do We Do Now?

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Catholicism, Clinton County, Cultural History, French History, German-American History, Immigration, Irish History, Irish Immigrants, Italian History, Jewish History, Labor History, Lyon Mountain

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