USA > New York > Warren County > Warren county : a history and guide > Part 18
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HORICON, 16.3 m. (820 alt., 400 pop.), on a curve in the road as it swings along the Brant Lake outlet, is both a resort and rural community. Its big general store and post office is the year-round supply center and headquarters for the farmers who wrest a living from the soil of the little valleys that flank the lake. In summer, business expands with tourist homes, filling stations, and the seasonal shops that serve vacationists and visitors to the lake. Horicon, an early lumbering center, was given the name that James Fenimore Cooper invented for Lake George in his novel, The Last of the Mohicans.
Turning south from Horicon, State 8, at 17.8 m., crosses the Schroon River which waters a fertile valley as it winds south to its union with the Hudson. Abruptly after crossing the Schroon, the road circles north around PROSPECT MOUNTAIN (1,546 alt.) before resuming its southwestward course to CHESTERTOWN, 21.0 m. (854 alt., 500 pop.), a summer resort and farm trade center at the junction of State 8 and US 9 (see Tour 1).
United with US 9, State 8 takes a westward course out of Chestertown and at 23.0 m. intersects a dirt road.
Left on this road at 1.6 m. is a fork in the road at the outlet to FRIENDS LAKE, one of the summer playgrounds of the central lake region. The left branch across the inlet follows the lake shore for its entire length, 2 m. (see Tour 1).
At 24.9 m., beside the southwestern corner of triangular LOON LAKE (see Tour 1), State 8 branches left.
RIPARIUS and RIVERSIDE, 26.7 m. (883 alt., 60 combined pop.), are twin hamlets that join hands across the swift waters of the Hudson River. Riparius is the name of the post office on the east bank in the Town of Chester, but it is the Riverside station of the Delaware and Hudson
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Railroad on the west bank in the town of Johnsburg that makes the place a scene of great activity in summer. Automobiles and busses crowd around at train time, for it is here that passengers make connections with busses for Chestertown, Brant Lake, Wevertown, and Johnsburg.
From Riverside-Riparius the route circles north for a mile to follow the line of an early road in a country where road building is difficult, and then turns southwest for an intersection with State 28 at WEVER- TOWN, 30.5 m. (1,074 alt., 150 pop.), a farm community of roomy homes in the valley of Mill Creek. The country around Wevertown got most of its settlers during the lumber era and the village itself grew up around the old Wevertown tannery. Tanning passed out with lumbering and the people turned to agriculture. But the thin mountain soil does not make fertile farms.
JOHNSBURG, 32.0 m. (1,295 alt., 275 pop.), closely resembles its sister village, Wevertown, in appearance and history. The village is set high on a hillside among the mountains. OVEN MOUNTAIN (2,169 alt.) to the north, and HUCKLEBERRY (2,441 alt.) and CRANE (3,254 alt.) MOUNTAINS to the south, are guardian ramparts. Johns- burg received its name from John Thurman, the region's first and most energetic settler. A super-salesman, Thurman is said to have induced New Yorkers to come to his wilderness lands by displaying hazelnuts with more than a hint that they were grains of wheat raised on his lands along the Upper Hudson.
The Johnsburg-Wevertown region lies amid the most rugged terrain and the highest mountains in Warren County. Deep forests mantle the slopes; scores of lakes and ponds, some unnamed, hide high up among the mountain peaks; swift streams tumble into the valleys. It is an unspoiled, natural vacationland. Farm tourist homes are being opened in this area, and dude ranches bring to the Adirondacks the free and easy atmosphere of the west.
South of Johnsburg State 8 turns briefly northward between outlying mountain spurs to SODOM, 35.5 m. (1,400 alt., 50 pop.), a crossroads hamlet of a few frame houses. According to local tradition, God-fearing Puritans among the early settlers gave Sodom its name as a warning to the younger generation to avoid the haunts of evil.
Out of Sodom the road follows a little brook upstream and reaches BAKERS MILLS, 37.5 m. (1,580 alt., 150 pop.), a farm community that had its heyday during the logging era. Some lumbering is still carried on - but not enough to bring prosperity in the face of declining agriculture.
In 1936 and 1937 Bakers Mills received considerable publicity as the distributing center from which Samuel Coplon, the "Santa Claus of the North Country," distributed toys and other gifts to thousands of the
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children of backwoods families each Christmastide. The work, which had been carried on for about 30 years, was discontinued after Christmas 1937. Until 1936 headquarters for this unusual charity had been at North Creek (see Tour 4) .
Beyond Bakers Mills State 8 continues up grade for more than 2 m. until it crosses a divide between towering ridges with ELEVENTH MOUNTAIN (3,303 alt.) to the north, and enters the valley of the East Branch Sacandaga. It was along the old trail which followed this river that Sir John Johnson, Walter Butler, and their Tory marauders crossed the wilderness in their incredible marches to and from Canada in 1776, 1778, 1780, and 1781, first to escape persecution as Loyalists, and later to attack, burn, and lay waste the homes of their old neighbors in and about Johnstown in the Mohawk Valley.
Today this route, except for the modern highway, is hardly less wild and primitive than in the days of Sir John and his Tory followers. The river, fed by mountain streams, is usually a babbling brook, flowing gently among boulders and pebbles and over the water-rounded ledges in trickling waterfalls, but melting snow or heavy rains make it a foaming torrent. Above rise the mountains cloaked in the varied shades of pines and hardwoods, and known to hunters as the haunt of deer, rabbit, red fox, raccoon, and an occasional bear. The big timber wolf and catamount have long since vanished into the mort distant northern wilds. There are only a few lonely dwellings, an occasional isolated farm with fields of corn and grain in the shadow of a frowning peak. It is a country where a farmer must be versatile, for to eke out a living he must turn his hand to whatever work is to be had: winter trapping in the hills, wielding an ax in a lumber camp, or laboring at road construction.
At 49.0 m. the Warren-Hamilton boundary line is reached.
To make a loop tour back to Warren County, continue on State 8 to junction with State 30, 8.5 m., then left through Wells to Northville, 29.5 m., again left on a paved road along the Sacandaga Reservoir, past the great Conklingville Dam to Lake Luzerne, 49.5 m. (see Tour 5).
For an alternate loop tour continue on State 8 beyond the County line to Speculator, 19 m., then right on State 10 to Indian Lake, 46 m., then right on State 28 to North River, 57.5 m. (see Tour 4).
Tour 3
Lake George to Warren-Essex County Line; State 9N. 33.3 m. Two-lane macadam highway open throughout year.
State 9N, one of the most scenic routes in the vast Adirondack State Park, rolls and dips for thirty miles along the steep, rocky west shore of Lake George. The first half of the route passes through rolling foothills where fine estates, smart hotels, and summertime villages border the west shore of the lake. Then rising over a high pass behind Tongue Mountain, which thrusts its precipitous ridge far out into the lake to form North- west Bay, the road swoops down to the curving lakeshore at Hague. Once more it follows the lake shore till it approaches Rogers Rock which rises precipitously to bar the way at the Essex County border.
LAKE GEORGE, (331 alt., 803 pop.) (see Lake George), at the junc- tion of US 9 and State 9N, long a much frequented Adirondack summer resort, is now becoming known also as a winter playground.
Between Lake George Village and Bolton, State 9N is a winding, tree- lined drive past big, box-like, frame hotels, cottage colonies, and large estates sometimes called "Millionaires' Row." With changing fortunes and fashions, newcomers have replaced some of the old families, but people prominent in industrial, financial, or professional circles still have sump- tuous estates along the Bolton Road. Their homes and grounds are well hidden from the highway and the waters of the lake. Only entrance lodges, a glimpse of spacious lawns, or boathouses on the shore that house luxurious cabin cruisers and sleek speed boats give some hint of the char- acter of the houses concealed by tall trees.
At 0.4 m. is the junction with US 9.
At 2.8 m. (R) is the entrance to HEARTHSTONE POINT STATE CAMPSITE, not pretentious but orderly, well regulated, busy. Here are provided free sanitary facilities, running water, and 350 fireplaces and tentsites along 2,000 feet of lakefront and up the pine-clad slope on both sides of the highway. In summer tents and trailers of all shapes and sizes cling to the slopes along the network of roads, while smoke rolls from cooking fires, and campers in bathing suits or slacks go back and forth between tents and bathing beach. Automobiles bring transients to the picnic grounds along the lakefront where bulging baskets rest on tables or beside tall pine trees.
At 4.2 m. is DIAMOND POINT, a resort village with a stone church, two-room school, and public library.
At BOLTON, 8.3 m., is an intersection with an unmarked paved road.
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Left on this road 1.5 m. is TROUT LAKE (791 alt.). The lake, about one and one-half miles long and 469 feet higher than Lake George, is a popular resort center.
The MADAME SEMBRICH MEMORIAL, (open 10-12:30, 2-5:30, July 1-Sept. 15 ) 9.3 m. (R), at the end of a tree-bordered lane, is a simple, one story, stucco studio with large arched windows. It was used as a retreat by the noted opera singer from 1924 to 1934. Since 1937 it has been open to the public; it houses a library of music and books in various languages, etchings, photographs, and other momentos of Madame Sem- brich's operatic career. Surrounding the studio is a 41-acre estate extend- ing to the lake shore.
Marcella Sembrich (1858-1935), Polish-American opera star, was born in Galicia and died in New York City. After study and a successful career in Europe, she appeared at intervals in the United States, singing with Caruso at his debut, and achieving renown on the operatic stage. She retired in 1909, engaged in American-Polish relief work during the World War, and spent much of her later life in America.
BOLTON LANDING, 10.0 m. (360 alt., 600 pop.), the largest village along the west shore of Lake George, triples its population in summer. State 9N is its main thoroughfare, a typical resort street of stores, filling stations, restaurants, tourists homes, and cottages. In season it is busy with cars from many states and with vacationists in all manner of formal and informal attire. The village has some farm trade, but its main busi- ness is serving visitors to whom it offers a planned program of sports. In August are held the Sagamore Horse Show, the Mohawk Valley Kennel Club Dog Show, and the Sagamore Golf Tournament. Between the high- way and the lake at the southern entrance to the village are the municipal park and beach, bathhouses, diving pier, and facilities for shuffleboard, tennis, and quoits. Off the park are fine trout fishing and magnificent scenery.
Beyond Bolton Landing, the highway enters the rugged, sparsely peo- pled wilderness, and looks out across Northwest Bay to the towering forested heights of Tongue Mountain. Hidden behind its steep, rocky sides are the many islands that dot The Narrows. Early in 1941 the site of an Indian village was definitely located in this region, probably a summer camp to which hunting and fishing parties returned year after year. It is anticipated that careful research will bring to light many Indian artifacts and throw new light on the life of the early inhabitants who dwelt here before the white man came to the shores of this lake.
At 14.5 m. the road rounds the end of the bay and soon begins to ascend the valley of Northwest Bay Brook.
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At 15.7 m. is a sign (R) designating State lands and close by is the south entrance to BRIDLE PATHS and FOOT TRAILS of the Tongue Mountain trail system.
Horses are available at Bolton Landing and may be ridden over the ten miles of bridle path that lead along Northwest Bay Brook and the farther shore of Northwest Bay, up the steep slope of Tongue Mountain, and along its ridge to Deer Leap, connecting with State 9N at 5.5 m. On top of the ridge, at points that offer exceptionally fine views along the bridlepaths, are three lean-to shelters. Hiking trails extend far beyond the bridle paths.
The GEORGE WASHINGTON MEMORIAL FOREST, designated by signs at 15.9 m. and 16.5 m., is a State reforestation project whose lusty, closely planted small pine trees border the road for more than a mile. Climbing steadily the road passes the entrance to a C.C.C. Camp at 17.0 m. (L) and at 21.1 m. (1,109 alt.) reaches its summit in a pass be- tween FIVE MILE MOUNTAIN (2,258 alt.) (R) and CATAMOUNT MOUNTAIN (2,304 alt.) (L). These timbered heights prevent any extended view. On the level stretch just beyond the summit is another sign at 21.2 m. indicating the north entrance to the TONGUE MOUN- TAIN TRAIL SYSTEM (see above) .
Right on the main hiking trail to Montcalm Point, 8.7 m., at the far tip of Tongue Mountain, passing over the summit of Five Mile Mountain and other lesser peaks along the ridge. The views are magnificent: Lake George, its islands and bays below, the mountains surrounding it, and in the distance the Green Mountains of Vermont and many high Adirondack peaks. From the main trail, paths lead down to the shore of The Narrows, one of them at French Point, and there is the bridle path to Northwest Bay that is connected by a hiking trail along the shore to Montcalm Point. The northern part of the trail has been developed for cross-country skiing.
Beyond the summit State 9N descends sharply for two miles at a grade sometimes as steep as 12 per cent. This stretch of road, known as the Tongue Mountain Highway, recently completed at a cost of $2,000,000, bridges the barrier between the two sections of Lake George's western shore and provides a well paved, scenic through route, open for travel at all seasons.
At 23.2 m. is SABBATH DAY POINT (330 alt.), a low, grassy cape. The name is said to result from General Amherst's having ordered relig- ious services when he made a Sabbath Day halt here with his army in the summer of 1759 on his way to take Fort Ticonderoga and build great fortifications at Crown Point. At all events, the point was frequently used
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as a camping place by military expeditions during the Colonial and Revo- lutionary Wars.
At Sabbath Day Point is a junction with an unmarked dirt road.
Right on this road 0.5 m. are the two-story, white-painted sum- mer hotel and its close nestling cottages that give the place a quiet, rural aspect. Looking from the tip of the point one sees DEER LEAP (1,540 alt.) rising precipitously to the right, forested ELEPHANT MOUNTAIN (1,954 alt.) looming up across the lake, backed by the silhouette of BLACK MOUNTAIN (2,665 alt.), and AGNES ISLAND, a dark green mass of foliage that seems to float on the water, with the gap between HOG BACK (1,655 alt.) and SPRUCE (1,917 alt.) MOUNTAINS beyond it.
At SILVER BAY, 25.3 m. (360 alt., 200 pop.), with its general store, post office, and information bureau, all under one roof, and a surrounding cluster of cottages, is a junction with an unmarked dirt road.
Right on this road 0.5 m., past summer homes, are the buildings of the SILVER BAY ASSOCIATION. A huge, three-story main building with many dormer windows rises in the center of the sloping greensward surrounded by several cottages, a library, stone chapel, and, on the shore of the lake, a bathing pavilion.
For ten weeks between mid-June and the end of August the Asso- ciation holds a series of religious and educational conferences under the sponsorship of the Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A. In attendance all summer are 300 to 400 girls and boys of college age led by older members of the sponsoring bodies. Often 1,000 persons attend the summer conferences, but bathing, boating, fishing, tennis, and other sports are not neglected. For a number of years the Association property on Lake George has been the scene of year-round activity, for in winter the buildings have been used by the Silver Bay Prepara- tory School.
HAGUE, 29.0 m. (330 alt., 300 pop.), is a busy summer resort on circular Hague Bay. Its hotels, with the big breezy porches so typical of Adirondack hostelries, look across the dark blue waters of the lake to forested peaks that bulk large against the eastern skyline. For its warm- weather visitors, Hague provides facilities for bathing, boating, fishing, hiking, golf, tennis, and in the evening, special orchestras for dancing.
In June 1904, there suddenly appeared off Hague the terrible Lake George "monster." Its rumored presence had been pooh-poohed the pre- vious season, but when it actually became visible, its menacing advance created panic in a flotilla of launches and rowboats returning from a children's party on a nearby island. Spectators on shore flung themselves
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between the dragon and his prospective victims with a courage and chiv- alry reminiscent of knighthood in flower, but nobody made an attack upon the horrifying prodigy or even approached to inspect it closely. Small craft nearest to the sea serpent made for shore "with a unanimity that was startling." When the story broke in newspapers all over the east, thousands crowded trains to Lake George for a glimpse of the beast. But the fabulous form had made its last appearance. Brain child of Harry Wilson Watrous, noted artist and summer resident of Hague, it became known only in later years that the gargantuan monster had been fabri- cated out of papier-mache and operated by wires from the lakeshore.
North of Hague, State 9N runs through heavy timber and passes the so-called INDIAN KETTLES, 31.4 m. (R), a rock ledge on the lake- shore at the level of the road, pitted with several potholes, one to three feet in diameter and one to twelve feet deep, probably of glacial origin. The name stems from a local tradition that Indians used the depressions to prepare food. A pathway around the north end of a log "dine and dance" pavilion leads to the Kettle rocks.
State 9N continues north to Ticonderoga, 38.1 m. Three loop tours back to Lake George from Ticonderoga:
1. Retrace State 9 to Hague, 9.1 m., right on State 8 (see Tour 2) to Chestertown, 30.1 m. and left on US 9 to Lake George 48.1 m.
2. Start north on State 8-9N-22, but turn left on State 73 just beyond Moses Circle. This scenic mountain highway skirts the shores of Eagle and Paradox Lakes and intersects US 9 at 19 m. Left on US 9 (see Tour 1) to the Warren County line, 27 m. Continue on US 9 to Lake George, 57 m.
3. Turn right on State 22 from Moses Circle and south along the nar- row upper end of Lake Champlain, to Whitehall, 25 m. Right on US 4 to Hudson Falls, 46 m., right on State 32B to Glens Falls, 49 m. and right on US 9 to Lake George, 58.3 m.
Tour 4
Warrensburg to North River ( Warren-Hamilton County Line) ; State 28. 24.3 m.
Two-lane macadam road open throughout year.
Accommodations in villages only.
State 28 is a mountain highway through a section of Warren County now being opened up as a resort area. Only recently has the last link of State 28 been completed to make a direct route northwest from Warrens- burg. More scantily populated now than in lumbering days, it is a land where people live on isolated farms and in small villages. The region has long been favorably known to hunters, fishermen, and lovers of outdoor sport generally, and North Creek has lately become the most important winter sports center in the southern Adirondacks. Johnsburg and Wever- town have developed dude ranches and farm tourist homes.
The first part of the route ascends the Upper Hudson Valley, so narrow and so closed in by timber heights that it is best described as a canyon. Beyond the Glen the road leaves the river, which swings in a wide bow, while the highway, like a bowstring, travels directly across high moun- tainous country. Near Austin Pond it crosses a divide from which the streamlets flow north and south to the Hudson. At North Creek State 28 comes back to the river valley, here a little broader, but surrounded by the highest mountains in the County.
Tall mountains and a generally high elevation, make ideal conditions for skiing; unproductive farms and idle lands provide an incentive for offering farm home accommodations; wide spreading hills and woodlands give dude ranches plenty of elbow room; and now the last link of State 28, a direct paved highway, has been completed. Only this means of ready access was needed to bring prosperity to the permanent residents in the wake of a growing stream of visitors.
WARRENSBURG, 0 m. (700 alt., 1,500 pop.), is an industrial and resort village occupying the north bank of the Schroon River (see Tour 1).
From the outskirts of Warrensburg US 9 combines with State 28 to their junction at 2.8 m. Bear left on State 28, a paved road which paral- lels the east bank of the Upper Hudson. The valley is narrow, its timbered slopes skirting the roadsides. Here and there the river has cut off a mountainside to form palisades like those of the lower Hudson Valley. The few homes are mostly weatherbeaten, four- or five-room dwellings, with sometimes a chinked log cabin, a reminder of pioneer days. There are
On Tour
MILL STREAM ON ITS WAY TO THE HUDSON
THE HUDSON SKIRTS A SNOW -CROWNED HILL Courtesy New York State Division of Commerce
ADIRONDACK WINTER ROAD
Courtesy New York State Division of Commerce
FORT GEORGE
THE BULWARKS OF FORT GEORGE STILL STAND
Photo by John J. Vrooman
AD MAJOREM DLI GLORIAMC
MONUMENT TO SAINT ISAAC JOGUES, LAKE GEORGE BATTLEGROUND STATE PARK
LAKE CHAMPLAIN (L), MOUNT DEFIANCE, LAKE GEORGE
LAKE GEORGE
IN A TRAILER CAMP, AT LAKE GEORGE BATTLEGROUND STATE PARK
CORRAL TALK
BRANT LAKE IN THE MOUNTAINS
LAKE LUZERNE
TO THOSE WHO SERVED IN OUR NATION'S WARS THROUGH WHOSE COURACE AND SACRIFICEI CAME VICTORY AND PEACE
3003
MONUMENT TO SOLDIERS AND SAILORS, GLENS FALLS
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no large barns, no extensive cleared lands, for there is little or no farming in this rocky ravine. Its inhabitants drive away to work, and since the old dirt road has been replaced by a modern highway, summer cottages have begun to appear along the river.
At THE GLEN, 7.9 m. (760 alt.), the road bridges the Hudson to an intersection (L) with the road to Athol, Thurman, and Stony Creek (see Tour 6). There are a few homes and a frame summer hotel under shade trees on the bank of the river.
State 28 here climbs the steep bank of the Hudson and strikes cross- country through thinly settled rolling uplands, winding around the lower slopes of the hills and up little brooks which flow southward into the Hud- son, to the intersection with State 8 (see Tour 2) at WEVERTOWN, 13.7 m. (1,074 alt., 150 pop.), a rural village. This is a region where dude ranches are being developed in the wide open spaces, on the shores of lakes or on mountainsides. A converted farmhouse may be the main building with cabins or lodges nearby, or there may be a central log build- ing surrounded by log dwellings. All are alike in that they feature an active outdoor program - horses (often 30 of them with cowboy instructors), tennis, badminton, rifle range, sand beach, canoes, bicycles, shuffleboard, and trout, bass, deer, bear, and small game in season.
The EBEN E. REXFORD MONUMENT, 15.5 m. (L), triangular shaped and built of native cobblestones, stands in front of a farmhouse to mark the place where the author of Silver Threads Among the Gold was born on July 16, 1847.
The road continues upward till it reaches an altitude above 1,300 feet at 17.0 m. as it approaches AUSTIN POND (R). There it descends to NORTH CREEK, 19.4 m. (1,002 alt., 650 pop.), on the Hudson, the largest village in the northern part of Warren County. This trading center for hamlets and isolated farms in the surrounding mountains is the north- ern terminal of the Adirondack Division of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad. Here also is the junction (R) with State 28N.
A mountain village with a pastoral aspect, North Creek is in the big woods of the Upper Hudson Valley, surrounded by the highest peaks in the County. Now that the lumber industry no longer provides much work or profit, the village, by virtue of its natural terrain and dependable winter weather, has in recent years become the winter sports center of the southern Adirondacks. Nine ski trails of varying degrees of difficulty make white ribbons down the slopes of Gore Mountain (alt. 2,995), while a park of open slopes, called Over the Ridge, is a 250-acre tract near the village. On week-ends favorable for winter sports, snow trains puff into the North Creek terminal, filled with sports enthusiasts. At other seasons
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