New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

North Creek

Teddy Roosevelt’s Wild Ride to the Presidency

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On September 9th through 11th Newcomb, in Essex County at the heart of the Adirondacks, once again celebrates 26th President Theodore Roosevelt, who was vacationing at the Tahawus Club there in 1901 when the wheels leading to his presidency were set in motion.

Roosevelt had come to the Tahawus Club, a hunting and fishing retreat created in the 1870s on the site of early mining efforts on the uppermost reaches of the Hudson River, as a guest of one of its members. His arrival had been delayed by the assassination attempt on William McKinley, but after a trip to Buffalo where the stricken President was recovering, Roosevelt felt assured that he could join his family at Tahawus. [Read more…] about Teddy Roosevelt’s Wild Ride to the Presidency

The Thirteenth Lake Hotel: A History

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1888 Map of the Adirondack Wilderness, Seneca Ray Stoddard, from the author’s collection In the summertime, the parking lot at the end of Thirteenth Lake Road in the town of Johnsburg, Warren County, will be crowded with the cars and trucks of people there to hike, paddle, and camp.

Few of these visitors realize that sixty years ago when they stood on the shore, they would have seen a large, modern-looking hotel sitting on the hillside overlooking the lake. This is the story of that enterprise and those who kept it up and running for over 100 years. [Read more…] about The Thirteenth Lake Hotel: A History

Adirondack Mountains National Park? In 1967 There Was A Plan

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NYS Ranger Bill Petty, left, guides Laurance Rockefeller, center, and Gov. Nelson Rockefeller on horseback in the High Peaks in 1965 (courtesy Rockefeller Archives)On a fall Saturday afternoon in the early 1990s some friends and I met up with wilderness coalition leader Paul Schaefer (1908-1996) at his cabin in Bakers Mills, northern Warren County, NY. Deciding to spend the night, we drove Paul into nearby North Creek for something to eat.

We tried the area’s hotel. One of the hotel staff took a look at Paul’s red plaid hunting jacket and asked him if could change into something more formal. At that, we turned heel and, walking across the street, entered Smith’s Restaurant.

Paul was immediately comfortable, having eaten here many times. Someone greeted him, a fellow deer hunter who remembered him. We took a booth and Paul ordered a steak. [Read more…] about Adirondack Mountains National Park? In 1967 There Was A Plan

Gore Mountain’s Backwoods Ski Club: A Short History

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backwoods ski club logoThere is an annual tradition near the end of every ski season at Gore Mountain – a party sponsored by the Backwoods Ski Club for the workers and volunteers who make the season happen.

The Club provides a dinner buffet and beverages, and Club members mingle and merge with the lift operators, ski patrol members, ski instructors, snow makers, groomers, maintenance workers, concession and food service workers, office staff, and those who are constantly working to clean up the mess. [Read more…] about Gore Mountain’s Backwoods Ski Club: A Short History

An Anthology of Pig Tales from Northern New York

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wallow in mud at the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary courtesy Wikimedia user Mark PetersThis little piggy from Eagle Lake apparently did not want to go to market.

“Hebert Moore’s pig is still at large. Motorists are requested to drive with care in the vicinity,” the Ticonderoga Sentinel reported on July 15th, 1920. “A reward of $1 is offered by L. Lodge to anyone who will catch said pig single handed. Mr. Lodge must witness the catch. $3 if done after dark.” [Read more…] about An Anthology of Pig Tales from Northern New York

The First (Short Lived) Suspension Bridge Across The Hudson River

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Robert Codgell GilchristRobert Codgell Gilchrist was born into an extremely wealthy well-connected Charleston family in 1829. The oligarchic families of South Carolina had made their wealth on tobacco, rice, indigo, and shipping and Charleston harbor was one of the centers of the southern slave trade. Robert Gilchist’s father had received a federal Judgeship from President Martin Van Buren and he owned an opulent home.

Each summer the wealthy Gilchrist family journeyed north to avoid the hot humid subtropical summers of Charleston. They stayed with maternal family members in the Great Northern Wilderness of New York. (The term Adirondacks is said to have been first used by geologist and surveyor Ebenezer Emmons in 1838 and took some time to come into general use). [Read more…] about The First (Short Lived) Suspension Bridge Across The Hudson River

The Case of the Missing Adirondack Game Protector

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search for game protectors body headlineOn October 16, 1932, twenty-one-year-old Special Game Protector Paul J. DuCuennois of North Creek, Warren County, disappeared while patrolling Jabe Pond near Lake George; his car was located at the end of the trail to the pond.

He was reported drowned by Charles Foote and Wilson Putnam, who said they saw him go into the water from the other side of water. They told authorities they rowed to the spot of DuCuennois’s swamped and overturned canoe, but could not immediately locate his body. Nearby his jacket lay floating, the men said, and in its pocket, the key to the game warden’s car. [Read more…] about The Case of the Missing Adirondack Game Protector

When Trains Ran Through Saratoga’s Streets

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part of the original North Creek branch that ran up the streets in SaratogaThe tracks seen in these photos were part of the original North Creek branch railroad that through the streets of Saratoga Springs. Originally, the line to North Creek (the Adirondack Branch) came off the Delaware & Hudson Railroad’s main line in the freight yard just south of the main Saratoga depot, and ran right down the middle of some streets. Started in 1864 and completed to North Creek in 1871, the street tracks were removed when the entire line was rerouted outside downtown Saratoga Springs. [Read more…] about When Trains Ran Through Saratoga’s Streets

In North Creek Theodore Roosevelt Rides Again

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tedd-rides-again-450pxTeddy Roosevelt is not available to recreate his historic 1901 ride from the North Creek Train Depot, but nationally recognized Roosevelt reprisor Joe Wiegand will be on hand to fill those famous shoes.

On September 14-15 the Saratoga/North Creek Railway (SNCRR) is providing historic train rides, recreations and special excursions surrounding the theme of Teddy Roosevelt’s famed ride from Tahawus to North Creek. [Read more…] about In North Creek Theodore Roosevelt Rides Again