USA > New York > Warren County > Warren county : a history and guide > Part 20
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23
Much of the blame for this condition attached to the Colonial, and later the State, government which made outright grants of land or sold it for trifling sums. Surveys were incomplete and boundaries ill-defined. Log-
218
WARREN COUNTY GUIDE
gers invaded State lands and stole the timber. Speculators purchased land for a song, swept it bare of timber, and let great tracts, ruined by erosion, revert to the State for unpaid assessments.
Summer journeys to the Lake George region began about 1830 and vacationists and sportsmen presently spread out into the mountains. Writ- ers among them wrote stories extolling the beauties of the Adirondacks and did much to attract public attention.
Conservation measures, ranging from scientific logging to the founding of a State park, were proposed by Governors De Witt Clinton, John Adams Dix and Alonzo Barton Cornell, State Geologist Ebenezer Emmons, State Surveyor Verplanck Colvin, and Forester Franklin B. Hough. Two clergy- men, John Todd and Joel T. Headley, visited the mountains in 1850, and stirred up enough clamor to bring about the first move against unregu- lated exploitation. This was accomplished that same year when the legis- lature prohibited sale of public lands on the Raquette River in Hamilton County for less than fifteen cents an acre. Years later the State paid seven dollars an acre for some of these lands in acquiring them for park purposes.
In 1868 Verplanck Colvin urged the creation of Adirondack Park. Dr. Franklin B. Hough, State Forester, in reply, expressed the opinion that the taxpayers never would provide a park "for the enjoyment of those who have time or money to spend on sports or woodland life."
The issue being pressed, a legislative commission in 1872 recommended establishment of a park. Eleven years later the sale of certain State lands in the Adirondack counties, including Warren, was prohibited. At the same time the first action was taken to purchase Adirondack acreage when the legislature voted funds to buy forest lands to which the State already held part title.
At this juncture New York City protested that its potential water supply would be endangered if the Catskill and Adirondack regions were turned into "open fields and pastures." This gave weight to a Senate Committee report holding that the State lands were of great value and that in the public interest the forests should be protected. Another Senate Committee then was named to determine how the State should obtain control of the forests - and the legislature suddenly became conserva- tion-minded.
Out of many bills introduced, there emerged Chapter 283 of the Laws of 1885, providing that State lands in Warren and other Adirondack counties should be "forever kept as wild forest lands." In 1895 the main provisions of this law were incorporated into the State Constitution as an amendment; and in 1938 that amendment became Article XIV, Sec- tion 1, of the revised constitution, reading:
219
WARREN COUNTY GUIDE
"The lands of the state, now owned or hereafter acquired, constituting the forest preserve as now fixed by law, shall be forever kept as wild forest lands. They shall not be leased, sold, or exchanged, or be taken by any corporation, public or private, nor shall the timber thereon be sold, re- moved, or destroyed."
This constitutional provision, still the subject of controversy between sportsmen and lumbermen who want crop forestry methods applied to all woodlands, public and private, has prevented the development of produc- tion forests by the State and has even interfered with road construction in forest preserves. But upon it the Conservation Department has erected Adirondack State Park wherein millions find healthful recreation, and wild life is preserved.
The information contained in the following pages is presented in a summarized form for the convenience of the hunter, fisherman, tourist, or vacationist who desires to avail himself of the recreational advantages of the County.
In addition to the other facilities listed, free tennis courts are provided in Glens Falls, Lake George, Bolton Landing, Warrensburg, and Chester- town. Hotels, summer camps, dude ranches, and many a tourist home boasts from one to half a dozen tennis courts. Camps and ranches make a special feature of tennis, with many cups or other prizes for tournament play. Glens Falls, in August, conducts an annual tennis tourney at the city play center, Recreation Field. Lasting a week, the tournament draws top flight racquet wielders from many sections of the resort area.
Horseback riding, another popular activity, is featured at dude ranches located in the Lake Luzerne, Stony Creek, Thurman, Johnsburg, and Warrensburg areas of the County. These bits of the Old West stable from 20 to 30 horses each, with cowboys as instructors and leaders of the rides over bridle trails laid out along country roads or through the woods. Resort villages number from one to three riding academies among their sport attractions. Hotels and summer camps usually have arrangements with a local stable to supply guest riders with mounts at scheduled times each day. Frequently hostelries and camps organize group riding over specially developed bridle trails.
Guides
F OR hunting and fishing trips in the less accessible areas, guides are Havailable in the following resort communities:
Bolton Landing
Brant Lake Kattskill Bay Lake George
North River Pottersville
Sodom
Stony Creek
North Creek
Wevertown
Hunting
A FTER fifty years of conservation better conditions possibly exist today for an abundance of game in Warren County than in the primeval wilderness. The forests are more open, giving game a greater range for food. Farms and woodlots provide refuge for animals who take to these types of covert. Muskrat, skunk, and raccoon are probably more plentiful than ever before; propagation and protection are bringing back game once practically extinct.
Fish and game clubs and the Conservation Department, working with the County Board of Supervisors, carry on a continuous program of stocking forest and field with game birds and small animals. There fol- lows a summary of the various species of game native to Warren County and a note as to their relative abundance.
Deer and bear generally inhabit heavily timbered and mountainous areas. They are plentiful in the Thurman, Stony Creek, Horicon, and North Creek sections. Occasionally they are found in many other parts of the County, especially in the hills west of Bolton and Hague, and in the Luzerne Mountains. Sometimes deer wander to farms and even into residential areas.
The varying hare or snowshoe rabbit is found in forested sections and in woodlots in all parts of the county, but it is scarce. It does not hole up when pursued and so has been ready prey for the hunter and his dog.
Cottontail rabbits are farm and woodlot game, numerous everywhere except in the heavy timber and high mountain regions.
The grey squirrel and the red squirrel inhabit woodlots rather than the heavy timber, and are very numerous in all parts of the county.
Foxes, found in the big woods of the more remote areas, are fairly numerous.
The mink, like the fox, is not found in thickly settled areas but is quite common in the big woods.
The muskrat, skunk, and raccoon like farms and woodlots better than the deep forests. Muskrat are only fairly plentiful, but skunk and rac- - coon are said to be more abundant in the County today than in earlier times.
Beaver, on which there was an open season in 1940 for the first time in many years, are now quite abundant. They are stretching their domain from the backwoods to farm streams, and occasionally the flooding of fields and even roads necessitates destroying their dams. This may be done only with the express permission of the Conservation Department.
222
WARREN COUNTY GUIDE
The ruffed grouse or partridge takes cover in forest and farm, has learned to be wary at the approach of man, and therefore furnishes ex- cellent sport. Outside of well settled areas it is commonly found through- out the County.
Quail, once practically extinct, are being reintroduced. They prefer farm covert, and the shortage of this sort of refuge in Warren County tends to make the bob-white scarce. At present there is no open season on this bird.
Pheasants, which are native to the County, prefer farms. Some are bagged in the two weeks' open season, but they are not plentiful.
Black ducks and woodcocks are migratory birds. They are usually found in marshland around quiet ponds where they are fairly numerous. Occa- sionally a few are bagged in some of the bays of Lake George.
Besides the general regulations in regard to open seasons and bag limits, special restrictions are sometimes issued to safeguard the waning supply of a particular species. Therefore, the syllabus of laws revised each year and supplied with licenses, should be consulted.
.
Fishing
T HERE are no less than fifty lakes and streams in Warren County where the disciples of Isaac Walton may find good sport. Bait and boats are available on most waters and equipment may be purchased in the larger resort communities.
The State fish hatchery at Warrensburg and the numerous fish and game clubs scattered throughout the County stock lakes and streams with millions of fish annually. An effort is made to liberate species which sup- ply the best sport and to extend protection to any breed that seems to be in danger of extermination.
Following is a summary of the most important varieties of fish to be found in the principal lakes and streams of Warren County. It will be understood that this list by no means undertakes to include all the fishing possibilities in the County, nor does it attempt to indicate the density of the fish population in the waters listed.
Fishing regulations vary as respects size, creel limits, and open seasons for different species. Obtain a copy of the official syllabus relating to fish and game when license is granted. Otherwise write for a copy to the Conservation Department, Albany, N. Y.
Lakes and Streams
Nearest Motor Route
Size of Lake (Acres)
Kinds of Fish
Bear Pond
off US 9
15
Brook trout, bullhead
Beaver Dam Creek
NY 9K
Brook trout
Beaver Pond
NY 8
50
Yellow perch, bullhead, sunfish
Bird Pond
NY 28N
15
Brook trout, bullhead, sunfish
Brant Lake
NY 8
1,356
Brown trout, smallmouth bass, pike perch, large- mouth bass, pickerel, northern pike
Burnt Pond
NY 8
38
Largemouth bass, yellow - perch, pickerel
Clear Pond
NY 28
15
Lake trout, shiner, sun- fish
Cod Pond
off NY 8
50
Pickerel, bullhead
Cook Pond
* US 9
10
Pickerel, largemouth bass, bullhead, sunfish
224
WARREN COUNTY GUIDE
Lakes and Streams
Nearest Motor Route
Size of Lake (Acres)
Kinds of Fish Pickerel, bullhead
Cunningham Pond
" US 9
10
Daggett Pond
NY 28
32
Yellow perch, bullhead, sunfish
Echo Lake
US 9
10
Faxon's Pond
" US 9
10
First Pond
NY 28
26
Friend's Lake
off US 9
435
Smallmouth bass, pike perch, northern pike, yellow perch, bullhead, sunfish
Fuller Brook
NY 8
Garnet Lake
off NY 8
90
Brown trout, brook trout Northern pike, pickerel, pike perch, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, sun- fish
Glen Lake
" US 9
288
Smallmouth bass, pike perch
Glen Lake Brook
NY 8
Brown trout
Harrisburg Lake
" NY 418
280
Brook trout
Highpoint Brook
" US 9
Brook trout
Holmes Creek
" US 9
Brown trout
Hudnut Pond
" NY 28
10
Brook trout, rainbow trout
Hudson River
" US 9
NY 28
NY 418
Brown trout, brook trout, smallmouth bass, large- mouth bass, yellow perch, pike perch, calico bass
Humphrey Lake
" NY 28
10
Brook trout, bullhead, sunfish
Kibby Pond
" NY 28
50
Brook trout, brown trout
Lake George
US 9
28,441
NY 9L
Lake trout, brook trout, smallmouth bass, land- locked salmon
NY 9N
Northern pike, pickerel, pike perch, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, sun- fish
Smallmouth bass, pickerel, bullhead
Brook trout
NY 28
WARREN COUNTY GUIDE
225
Lakes and Streams
Nearest Motor Route
Size of Lake (Acres)
Lily Pond
" NY 8
57
Lizard Pond
off NY 8
20
Loon Lake
US 9
582
Smallmouth bass, north- ern pike, pike perch, yel- low perch, rock bass, bullhead
Mill Creek
NY 8
Brook trout
New Lake
" NY 8
25
North Creek
NY 8
Brook trout Brown trout, brook trout
Palmer Pond
US 9
15
Yellow perch, bullhead
Puffer Pond
" NY 28
33
Brook trout, shiner
Round Pond
" NY 8
70
Northern pike, large- mouth bass, smallmouth bass, sunfish
Sacandaga River
NY 9K
Brown trout, brook trout, rainbow trout
Schroon Lake
US 9
4220
Smallmouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass, smelt, shiner, bullhead
Schroon River
" US 9
Smith Pond
US 9
40
Brown trout, pike perch Northern pike, small- mouth bass
Thirteenth Lake
" NY 28
326 Lake trout, brook trout
Trout Brook
NY 9N
Brown trout, brook trout
Trout Lake
NY 9N
256
Smallmouth bass
Valentine Pond
US 9
96
Northern pike, small- mouth bass, yellow perch, sunfish
Warner Pond
off US 9
26
West Brook
US 9
Largemouth bass, sunfish 1 Brook trout, rainbow trout
Wolf Pond
NY 9K
15 Brown trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, sunfish
NY 28
Kinds of Fish Largemouth bass, sunfish Yellow perch, sunfish
Bathing
I N the warm months bathing is the most universal of sports in Warren County. On every lake and on the Hudson and Schroon Rivers are sand beaches frequented by upwards of a hundred thousand visitors every summer. Besides swimming there are such water sports as canoe tilting, water ball, and diving.
In addition to the bathing places listed below there are numerous little ponds and swimming holes in brooks and streams. Some are easily acces- sible, while others can be found only by those who love to ramble afoot or on horseback far from the beaten path and perhaps take a quick dip in the chilly waters of a glacial pond half a mile above sea level on the upper slopes of the highest peaks. There are deep pools in trout brooks below waterfalls in the forest or where the streams amble lazily across sunny meadows. You may breast the rapids as you cross the Hudson or the Schroon at an unfrequented spot, or swim with the current into deep pools where overhanging ledges invite you to dive after you have thor- oughly explored the depth of the waters below them.
These joys are for a few hardy nature lovers with ample leisure. The crowds go to developed resorts where the conveniences of bathhouse and shower, springboards and floats, are provided, where the banks offer both cool shade and sunny sands, and where the beaches shelve gradually and safely, and where life guards are on hand.
ROUND POND Off US 9 about 4 miles north of Glens Falls.
Privately owned with facilities rented to the public at a small fee. Ex- tensive beach, large bathhouse, dancing, music in casino, free picnicking (see Tour 1).
LAKE SUNNYSIDE Off State 9L 5 miles north of Glens Falls.
Privately owned; use of bathhouse and beach open to public at small fee. Dance pavilion. Free picnic grounds (see Tour 7) .
ASSEMBLY POINT - CLEVERDALE - KATTSKILL BAY
Summer resorts on the points of land that border the bays on East Lake George off State 9L. Sand beaches at hotels and summer camps. No public swimming places (see Tour 7) .
227
WARREN COUNTY GUIDE
LAKE GEORGE VILLAGE
Battleground Beach, head of lake, adjacent to Battleground Park and Battleground Campsite. Several hundred feet long and one of the most frequented sites in the county. No public bathhouses. Private bathhouse at western edge of beach.
Shepard Memorial Park, municipal beach, Canada Street, in the heart of village, swimming dock, diving boards, floats (see Lake George Vil- lage).
HEARTHSTONE PUBLIC CAMPSITE On State 9N, 4 miles from Lake George Village.
Beach on Lake George, diving floats and bathhouses. Special section of beach for children (see Tour 3).
BOLTON LANDING
On State 9N. 11 miles from Lake George Village.
Municipal beach on Lake George, swimming dock and bathhouses. Many private beaches at hotels and cabin colonies (see Tour 3) .
SABBATH DAY POINT - SILVER BAY - HAGUE On State 9N. 28 miles from Lake George Village.
Busy hotel colony and summer camp resorts with Lake George sand beaches, swimming docks, and diving floats. All kinds of water sports (see Tour 3).
LAKE LUZERNE
On State 9K, 13 miles from Lake George Village.
Public beach on Lake Luzerne with swimming dock. No bathhouses. Hotels, summer camps, and dude ranches have beaches on Lake Luzerne, and on Lakes Forest and Vanare nearby (see Tour 5).
WARRENSBURG
On US 9, 6 miles from Lake George Village.
Municipal beach on Echo Lake within village limits. Bathhouses and - diving floats (see Tour 1).
CHESTERTOWN - POTTERSVILLE - LOON LAKE - FRIENDS LAKE
Summer resorts located on or adjacent to US 9.
Sand beaches at hotels, camps, and cabin colonies on Friends and Loon Lakes (see Tours 1 and 2) .
228
WARREN COUNTY GUIDE
EAGLE POINT CAMPSITE On Schroon Lake along US 9.
Almost a mile of sandy beach. Bath-house and diving float (see Tour 1).
BRANT LAKE On State 8.
Beaches at hotels and summer cottage colonies. Swimming docks and water sports (see Tour 2).
JOHNSBURG -STONY CREEK - THURMAN Along the Hudson River off State 8, 28, and 9K.
Several dude ranches and summer camps with beaches on the Hudson. Diving floats and all types of water play (see Tours 2, 4, and 5) .
Playtime - Summer and Winter
-
ON THE BRIDLE TRAIL
CAMP
ROTARY
CAMP ROTARY, LAKE GEORGE
Photo by John J. Vrooman
LIGHTENING CLASS BOATS IN A BREEZE
OUTBOARD MOTORBOATING, LAKE GEORGE
TENNIS MATCH, LAKE GEORGE CLUB
PRACTICE SWING
GILBERT AND SULLIVAN OPERA IS PRESENTED AT THE SUMMER THEATER, LAKE GEORGE
SHOVE OFF-THEY'RE BITING
Photo by John J. Vrooman
CAUGHT IN THE NET Photo by John J. Vrooman
LEAN-TO SHELTER IN ADIRONDACK STATE PARK Photo by John J. Vrooman
-
SNOW TRAIN BRINGS CITY SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS Courtesy New York State Division of Commerce
TIME OUT FOR REST
Courtesy Work Projects Administration
-
AN UPHILL TRAIL Courtesy New York State Division of Commerce
GELANDESPRUNG Courtesy New York State Division of Commerce
SULKIES RACE ON THE ICE, LAKE GEORGE Courtesy New York State Division of Commerc
SKATING AT BOLTON LANDING, LAKE GEORGE
SKATE SAILING
THE CATCH - WOLF, FOX AND HARE
Photo by Fred S. Street
NORTHERN PIKE
Boating
P RACTICALLY every type of boating for inland waters flourishes on the lakes and rivers of Warren County. Power boats, sight-seeing steamers, sailboats, canoes, and rowboats are to be found on Lake George, Lake Luzerne, Glen Lake, and on the reaches of the Upper Hudson and Schroon Rivers. The summer season brings regattas on several lakes, sailboat racing off the Lake George Yacht Club, and a great variety of sight-seeing trips. Skimming about the lakes in a tiny one-man canvas boat propelled by a double-bladed paddle is becoming increasingly pop- ular.
Although few of the County's numerous lakes and ponds are connected by streams that make extended canoe trips possible, Lake George, Brant Lake, and Schroon Lake are all large enough to provide long canoe tours of exploration. Canoe-cruising outfits may be rented on Lake George. Campsites for the trip are available on State-owned lands along the lake- shore and on islands. An all day canoe trip may be made through Lake Luzerne, the Inlet, and Second, Third, and Fourth Lakes. These bodies of water are connected by winding streams overhung with a green canopy of foliage.
Rowboats, canoes, sailboats, and powerboats can be rented at most re- sorts. Hotels, summer camps, and dude ranches on the lakes and on the Upper Hudson provide boats and canoes to guests as a part of their recreation program.
A most important sight-seeing trip is, of course, the all-day steamboat tour through the 32 miles of Lake George described below. In addition, trips to Paradise Bay and other points on the lake are made by passenger- carrying power cruisers, and shorter excursions by 40-mile an hour speed boats.
LAKE GEORGE STEAMBOAT TRIP
Lake George to Baldwin, 32 miles. Steamer operates on a daily schedule (subject to change) June 15 to Sept. 15. Inquire at Lake George Village for time of departure. Many points of interest on the west shore of the lake are treated under Tour 3.
Set down among towering, forested mountains, Lake George is of gla- cial origin, fed by innumerable springs. As the boat sails down the 32 miles of blue-green waters a hundred miles of irregular shoreline unfolds before the eye.
Lakeside villages, elaborate summer homes, modest cottages, camps for boys and girls, smart hotels, and organized resorts fringe both sides of the
232
WARREN COUNTY GUIDE
lake at the foot of the ever-present mountains. Big and little islands, a legendary 365 in number to match the days of the year, are set like emer- alds in the lake. Most of the islands are in the Narrows along the eastern base of Tongue Mountain.
Although written history runs back but three hundred years, Lake George traditions extend into the dim, mythical past. In the days before the white man came, the war paths and hunting trails of Indian nations ran to and from its shores. In the Colonial Wars every mile of its rugged length and forested shores rang to the shouts and warhoop of warriors, both red and white. Armies of French, British, and Americans passed over its waters in boats or on the ice to return, flushed in victory or crushed in defeat. Ruined forts, battle monuments, and historic sites are today's evidence of these previous struggles.
The white-painted, double-decked, single funneled steamer whistles out of its dock with the morning sun shining over the wooded summit of French Mountain across the lake, leaving its steep western face in deep shadow. To the south is the monument-studded eminence of BATTLE- GROUND PARK and the knoll once crowned with the first fortification in this region, FORT WILLIAM HENRY. In the west looms the tangle of docks and buildings of Lake George Village, with PROSPECT MOUNTAIN, the green scars of its ski trails plainly visible, rising above. Ahead lies a great stretch of water, dotted with islands, its farther expanse hidden in the distance behind misty blue mountains.
After three miles of passage between dark green headlands that some- times overhang the waters and sometimes draw back a little to leave space for the cottages which peer from among the trees along the shores, the steamer approaches a broader expanse of lake and passes DIAMOND ISLAND (L), named for the quartz crystals found on its shores in the early days. The little islet was used as a military depot by Abercromby during the French and Indian War, and by Burgoyne in the Revolution. Americans, harassing Burgoyne's line of supply, attempted to capture the island but were driven off.
There is a legend that Diamond Island, during settlement days, was dreaded because of the thousands of rattlesnakes that lived there. Max Reid, historian of Lakes George and Champlain, tells of a settler who was passing the island with seven hogs in his boat. Scenting the snakes the swine almost capsized the boat as they took to the water and made for the island. Three years later the settler's son, whose curiosity as to the fate of the porkers had overcome his dread of the rattlers, armed himself with club and gun, donned high boots, and led an expedition to the island. There were no snakes and instead of seven hogs there were seventeen!
233
WARREN COUNTY GUIDE
Transported home, some of the pigs were butchered and found full of rattlesnakes. Piglets, born to one of them a short time later, had rattles on their tails!
Almost opposite Diamond Island on the west shore is HEARTH- STONE POINT PUBLIC CAMPSITE (L), occupying nearly a half mile of shoreline but with a large part of the picnic section and the beach hid- den among the trees.
LONG ISLAND (L), approximately four and a half miles from the head of the lake, is a mile of dark green woods, the largest island in the lake. So close is its southern tip to the shore of projecting ASSEMBLY POINT that they are almost joined. Long Island was often a camping site for expeditions during the Colonial Wars.
Adjacent to Long Island are bays which cut far into the eastern shore of Lake George. The points of land flanking the bays are scenes of much summer activity.
Through DUNHAM'S BAY (R), geologists think that an ancient river once flowed, whose waters, dammed back during the Ice Age, formed Lake George.
HARRIS BAY (R) received its name from the Harris family, a tough, hard fighting clan that lived along the lakeshore in a notably hard-bitten era.
VAN WORMER'S BAY (R), likewise, was named for a fighting man, a Dutchman who "got religion" in his declining years. According to Historian Holden, Old Jacob confessed to killing men "in the dwendies" during the Revolution, but, in only three instances "vos it murder; der rest vos killed in fair fight."
Circling into KATTSKILL BAY, bordered by summer hotels and tour- ist homes, the steamer heads across the northern point of Long Island to WESTSIDE. The building that looks like an English country home is the clubhouse of the LAKE GEORGE COUNTRY CLUB. Behind it the velvety greensward of the club golf course slopes upward.
Out of Westside the route again crosses the lake diagonally to the dock below the blunt headland of PILOT KNOB (2,078 alt.). The trees at the base of the mountain partially hide summer cottages and camps.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.