Things to do / Travel Guide
Northern New York is rich in cultural history as it used to be home to many Native American tribes as well as home to numerous battles played out in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. Remnants of these “past lives” of the region can still be seen and felt throughout northern New York, with forts - or at least remains of forts - still standing. Later on, the region was a stomping ground for many wealthy families, with evidence of this “golden age” still present in the form of resorts, castles, a thoroughbred race track, and large camps designed in what has become known as the “Adirondack” style of furniture and architecture.
Northern New York's Early History
The French explorer Samuel de Champlain is considered by many to be the first European explorer of northern New York. In 1609, Champlain was led by the Montagnais, a Native American tribe, from Quebec down the St. Lawrence River towards a large lake he named after himself: Lake Champlain. At that time, the region was primarily occupied by Algonquin and Iroquois tribes. In the mid-17th century, many Native American tribes became involved in the fur trade, and were allied with both French and British trading partners. The French and Indian War saw many Native Americans brought into battle, with the war resulting in British control over most of North America.
Many of the waterways in northern New York - the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, and the St. Lawrence River among them - were fought over during both the French and Indian War and soon after in the American Revolution, with military outposts set up on the shores of Lake George and Lake Champlain in the mid-1700s. Fort Ticonderoga - at the foot of Lake George and overlooking Lake Champlain, and Fort William Henry - at the head of Lake George, were both sites of pivotal battles (that have been maintained and/or rebuilt into fascinating tourist sites that can be visited today). Despite the establishment of these forts, a large part of the region's interior remained unexplored until the mid-1800s. Until then, the area was largely occupied by hunters and trappers.
Northern New York in the 19th Century
In 1837 New York State commissioned a natural survey of the land, and the Adirondack Forest Preserve began to take shape. Fruit orchards as well as dairy farms sprouted up in the lowlands surrounding the mountains. With transportation, and therefore access to the mountainous areas, improved, the trades of mining and lumbering expanded in the mid-1800s. By the 1850s New York was producing more lumber than any other state. During this time, tourism began to grow as well, as vacationers began to discover the region. The famous Philosophers Camp was set up, first near Long Lake and then moved to near Saranac Lake, with figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson eagerly venturing there to hike, fish, canoe, talk, and write.
In the 1860s, prizefighter and gambler John Morrissey built the Saratoga Race Course. It quickly became successful and was soon joined by casinos and posh hotels where socialites and gamblers fluttered under crystal chandeliers. However, by the early 1900s many of the casinos were shut down and the natural springs had dried up from excessive use, so the vacationers moved on.
Following the Civil War, tourism in the Adirondacks grew even larger, thanks in large part to William H. H. Murray's publication “Adventures in the Wilderness,” in which he vividly described not only the vast openness of northern New York, but how people could get there. Within weeks visitors flocked to the region, first staying in the few large, rustic hotels, and soon building their own private summer camps. Around the same time, the wealthier visitors discovered the Thousand Islands area and began building grand summer homes on private islands. Luxurious hotels sprouted along the shores of Clayton and Alexandria Bay, where steamboats made regular stops in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Tourists were also drawn to the Thousand Islands area for fishing and boating.
William West Durant's Great Camp Sagamore, built in 1897 near Raquette Lake, was its own self-contained rustic village, created in a style that paired the log, twig, and bark of Adirondack architecture with the features of a Swiss chalet. It was sold to Alfred G. Vanderbilt in 1901, and the Vanderbilt family vacationed there for more than 50 years afterward. Other wealthy New York families, such as the Rockefellers, built such magnificent “great camps” in the same style. Though much of this opulence ended with the Great Depression, many of these residences and facilities still stand.
New York State passed an unprecedented bill in 1885 which formed the 681,374-acre Adirondack Forest Preserve, establishing the region as one of the most-protected wilderness areas in all of the United States. The law was strengthened in 1892 and 1894, and the Adirondack Forest Preserve continued to purchase more land, eventually expanding to its present 2.6 million acres, with the entire Adirondack Park encompassing close to 6 million acres.
Northern New York's Modern History
With the additional establishment of the Saratoga Spa State Park in the early 1900s, more hotels and bathhouses sprouted up around the Saratoga Springs area. By the 1960s, old Victorian buildings, like those in Saratoga, were bought up and renovated, luring in a new wave of socialites and vacationers.
The 1932 Winter Olympics were held in Lake Placid, and the area got a chance to shine again when it hosted the Winter Olympics again in 1980. Former Olympic sites, including ice-skating arenas, a ski jump complex, and a bobsled run, and an Olympic museum are maintained and still used to this day.
Today most of northern New York remains vastly open space, with incredibly stunning and scenic drives. Within Adirondack Park about 130,000 people live in just over 100 towns and villages, most of which have populations of fewer than 1,000.
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