Historic Saranac Lake announced a new documentation project, “Saranac Lake in the Time of COVID” to help document local history. [Read more…] about Historic Saranac Lake to Document COVID Crisis
Saranac Lake
Vote On Historic Railroad Corridor Set For Thursday
The Adirondack Park Agency will decide if the proposed final Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor UMP conforms to the State Land Master Plan. The State is planning to tear up part of the historic Adirondack Railroad line between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid for a multi-use trail. [Read more…] about Vote On Historic Railroad Corridor Set For Thursday
1 in 7 Infected: Tuberculosis Before Antibiotics
Today, the planet is taking a crash course on the limitations of modern medicine and the complications of human disease. It is a good time to look back and see what Saranac Lake’s history might teach us about public health.
From our place in the world of modern medicine and science, it can be easy to see healthcare in the past as quackery. Many visitors to the Saranac Laboratory Museum skeptically ask: “Was there anything to it? Was there any benefit to the Saranac Lake treatment?” [Read more…] about 1 in 7 Infected: Tuberculosis Before Antibiotics
Essential Workers: A Saranac Lake History Perspective
The city of Saranac Lake’s 20th century tuberculosis healthcare economy depended on the labor of many essential workers. In honor of today’s heroes, here are a few of their stories. [Read more…] about Essential Workers: A Saranac Lake History Perspective
Saranac Lake: Public Health In The Great Outdoors
The natural environment of the Adirondacks is at the heart of our history as a center for tuberculosis treatment. The fresh air and beauty of the region was believed to restore both body and spirit alike, and thousands came here from around the world in search of the fresh air cure.
[Read more…] about Saranac Lake: Public Health In The Great Outdoors
Saranac Lake Local History Has Lessons For Today
Many years ago, Saranac Lake, NY, rallied to fight a deadly disease – tuberculosis – which killed one in seven people in the late nineteenth century.
Highly contagious and with no known cure, fear and stigma surrounded TB. Unlike the new virus we face today, many of its victims were young people in their 20s. Like today, quarantine was often seen as an appropriate solution, and sometimes people were isolated against their will. A person’s ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status affected the kinds of treatments available. [Read more…] about Saranac Lake Local History Has Lessons For Today
In 1957 “Breakfast Club” Radio Reigned as Winter Carnival Royalty
Don McNeill and the cast and crew of his “Breakfast Club” radio show took over the WNBZ radio airwaves in Saranac Lake for a week in 1957 during their reign as Winter Carnival royalty.
McNeill was Winter Carnival King. Fran “Aunt Fannie” Allison was Queen. [Read more…] about In 1957 “Breakfast Club” Radio Reigned as Winter Carnival Royalty
Saranac Lake Sanatorium Tour Planned
The Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium was a tuberculosis sanatorium established in Saranac Lake in 1885 by Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau. After Trudeau’s death in 1915, the institution’s name was changed to the Trudeau Sanatorium.
Historic Saranac Lake has announced a tour of the grounds, set for February 5th, at 10:30 am. [Read more…] about Saranac Lake Sanatorium Tour Planned
Historic Saranac Lake Shares Scarlet Fever Oral History
Each Saturday, Historic Saranac Lake features a one-to-two minute story from their Oral History Project archive on social media. [Read more…] about Historic Saranac Lake Shares Scarlet Fever Oral History
Historic Saranac Lake Awarded Smart Growth Grant
Historic Saranac Lake has been awarded a Smart Growth grant from the State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation to support site plan design for their expanded museum campus in downtown Saranac Lake.
In 2019, Historic Saranac Lake acquired the Trudeau Building at 118 Main Street for expansion of their existing museum at the adjacent Saranac Laboratory building. The Smart Growth grant will support integrated site planning in order to create a museum campus that will promote Smart Growth principles and attract arts and culture tourism to the village of Saranac Lake. [Read more…] about Historic Saranac Lake Awarded Smart Growth Grant