Things to do / Travel Guide
From war monuments to restored forts to former homes of well-known artists and aristocrats, northern New York is rich with sites of historical importance. Numerous battles of both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution took place along its shores and valleys, with many artifacts remaining. Historical figures like the Vanderbilt family and Dr. Livingston Trudeau, as well as former Presidents of the United States (Teddy Roosevelt and Ulysses S. Grant), visited or made homes in northern New York, drawing many scholars and admirers to these hideaways in the years since.
Historical Sites in the Central Adirondacks
Great Camp Sagamore was built in 1897 by William West Durant and is considered the classic “great camp” of the Adirondacks. It was sold to Alfred G. Vanderbilt in 1901 and was enjoyed by the Vanderbilt family for more than 50 years afterward. Situated on about 19 acres, Great Camp Sagamore is a self-contained rustic village, including a dining hall, boathouse, ice house, horse barn, guest cottages, and bowling alley. Also on the grounds is the casino playhouse, whose walls are covered with animals hunted by generations of Vanderbilts. Great Camp Sagamore is a National Historic Site now owned by the Sagamore Institution.
Roosevelt Tablet, northwest of the town of Minerva, is a historical marker designating the spot where Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States. Vice President Roosevelt had been hiking up Mt. Marcy and was eating lunch when a messenger delivered the news that President McKinley, who'd been shot in an assassination attempt, had gotten worse. As Roosevelt and his party descended, they arrived at this spot - Roosevelt Tablet - when they learned McKinley had died.
Historical Sites around Saranac Lake
In 1876, Dr. Livingston Trudeau, suffering from tuberculosis, came to Saranac Lake and the fresh mountain air restored him. He subsequently opened the first outdoor sanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis in 1884. In 1887, the author Robert Louis Stevenson, following his successful publication of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” came to Saranac Lake to be close to Dr. Trudeau, hoping to recover from his own tuberculosis. The cottage he lived in, now known as the Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial Cottage, houses memorabilia, including Stevenson's photographs, letters, playing cards, ice skates, and signed first editions. Unfortunately he was not cured of the disease and only stayed for a short while, though completed some of his great essays there. The cottage is open to visitors from July-September.
Northwest of Saranac Lake, near Tupper Lake, stands the oldest synagogue in the Adirondacks, Beth Joseph. Considered an “architectural gem,” the facility was built in 1905 by Russian-Jewish immigrants who had started in northern New York as peddlers. Beth Joseph Synagogue was closed in 1959, but is now on the State Registry of Historic Buildings, operating as a small museum. All of the fixtures and furnishings are original, with an interesting exhibit detailing the early Jewish community, as well as a small art gallery. Beth Joseph is open in July and August.
Historical Sites around Saratoga Springs
With around 900 of the buildings in Saratoga Springs listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is nearly impossible not to find something of historical value and interest in this part of northern New York. The East Side Historic District of Saratoga Springs is home to over 400 historic residences, many built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and spanning a variety of architectural styles, and ranging from small to mansion-sized.
The Saratoga National Historic Park, spread around several locations east of downtown Saratoga, has three main parts. The first, in Stillwater, is the site of a pivotal battle of the American Revolution (the Battle of Saratoga). In October of 1777, the British marched south from Canada to conquer the Hudson River, but were met in Saratoga by 9,000 American troops who defeated them. This victory ensured that the colonies remained protected from any further British attacks from the north. Tours highlight strategic points and remaining bunkers, and are run from April-November.
The second part of Saratoga National Historic Park is the Schuyler House located in the town of Schuylerville. The General Philip Schuyler House was re-built in 1777 after the much larger original was burnt down by General Burgoyne earlier that year during the Battle of Saratoga. It has recently been restored to its 1787-1804 appearance, complete with period furnishings. The house once belonged to the Schuyler family who ran an estate employing around 200 people before the Revolutionary War. The Schuyler House is open to the public from Memorial Day-Labor Day.
Just west of the Schuyler House is the third section of Saratoga National Historic Park, the Saratoga Monument. The monument is a recently-restored gray obelisk sitting on a hill, honoring the leaders of the Battle of Saratoga, open from Memorial Day-Labor Day.
Grant Cottage has interesting historical significance. In 1885, President Ulysses S. Grant spent the last six weeks of his life in this home, where he also completed his memoirs. Grant had gone bankrupt and was afflicted with throat cancer, when his friend Duncan McGregor lent him his cottage on Mt. McGregor. Today Grant Cottage remains just as it was when Grant passed away, from his toothbrush, to medicine bottles, to handwritten notes. Located in the town of Wilton, it is open from Memorial Day-Labor Day.
Historical Sites around Lake George
The original Fort William Henry was built by William Johnson in 1756. The following year the fort was attacked by 1,600 French soldiers and 3,000 Native Americans. A peaceful surrender was arranged, but ultimately ignored and the pioneer men, women, and children at the fort were massacred by the Native Americans, after which the French burnt it down. “The Last of the Mohicans,” by James Fenimore Cooper, was based on this incident. What's standing there today is a reconstruction of Fort William Henry, as well as an on-site museum showcasing French and Indian War artifacts and dioramas, and there are also cannon- and musket-firing demonstrations.
Lake George Battlefield Park is a small, hilly park located behind Fort William Henry, which includes mostly unexcavated ruins of the original fort. Plaques detailing the battle at Fort William Henry in 1757 are on display. Lake George Battlefield Park is open from May-Columbus Day.
Along the bottom of Lake George lie sunken bateaux (flat-bottomed boats). A fleet of approximately 260 ships was deliberately sunk by the British and the American Colonists in 1758, during the French and Indian War. When Lake George froze in the winter, the ships could no longer be used, and so they were sunk to prevent the French and Native Americans from destroying them. In 1759, the British returned to Lake George and pulled out close to 200 of them. In 1960, two teenage scuba divers discovered the remaining bateaux, which no one realized still existed. That year, three of the boats were raised, with one put on display at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake. Seven sunken boats near the southern end of Lake George were surveyed by a team of divers in the 1980s and have subsequently been deemed a Shipwreck Preserve and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Another ship, the 52-foot “Land Tortoise,” was discovered in 1990 and was designated by the Smithsonian Institution as North America's oldest intact warship. The Land Tortoise” is off-limits to divers, but the Shipwreck Preserve is open to divers from Memorial Day-September.
Historical Sites in the Champlain Valley
The expertly-restored Fort Ticonderoga is one of the top attractions in northern New York. Originally built by the French in 1755, Fort Ticonderoga was strategically located on the Canada-New York waterway of Lake Champlain. A pivotal outpost, it was attacked a total of six times during two wars - the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War - changing hands between France, Great Britain, and the Americans, as well as Native Americans. Fort Ticonderoga includes a military museum, cannons, barracks, kitchens, stables, and artifacts from the wars. Artifacts include a lock of George Washington's hair and Ethan Allen's old pocket watch. Also on display are nearly 1,000 pistols, muskets, bayonets, and swords from the 18th century, as well as a unique collection of uniforms. During the summer, parades and cannon firings are staged for visitors. Mt. Defiance, perched to the east of Fort Ticonderoga, was used by the British as a base when driving the Americans out of the fort during the Revolutionary War. Fort Ticonderoga, located on State Road 74, is open to visitors from May through October.
South of Fort Ticonderoga at the foot of Lake Champlain Bridge, Crown Point State Historic Site sits on a peninsula jutting into Lake Champlain, once an ideal lookout spot to see northward. In 1734, the French built Fort St. Frederic there, but after conquered by the British in 1759, the area was built into Fort Crown Point. The ruins of both forts can be seen here, as well as a visitor's center providing exhibits, artifacts, and walking tours. The visitor's center is open from May-October, while the grounds are open to the public year-round, 24-hours-a-day. The dirt trail around the fort offers fantastic views of the ruins, Lake Champlain, and the Lake Champlain Bridge.
Across from the ruins of Crown Point sits the Champlain Memorial and Lighthouse. Completed in 1912, the uniquely-designed lighthouse includes a granite tower, a copper roof, and a bronze statue of Samuel de Champlain - credited with “discovering” the lake. Stunning panoramic views await visitors who reach the top of the lighthouse's 62-step spiral staircase.
Historical Sites around the Thousand Islands
Greenbelt Riverfront Park, located in Ogdensburg, runs along the St. Lawrence River, and includes many historical plaques commemorating the Battle of Ogdensburg, a small yet critical battle during the War of 1812.
Built in 1810, the Customs House is located in Ogdensburg is the oldest government-owned building in the United States. The Customs House was built with brick in the Georgian-style, and was originally used by David Parish as a store and warehouse. It was also used as barracks for Union troops during the Civil War. It is now known as the Robert C. McEwen U.S. Customs House, named for the Congressman from Ogdensburg who served in Congress from 1965-1981.
Historical Sites in Lake Placid, Lake George, Saratoga Springs, Adirondacks and Northern New York
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