The Adirondacks 1830 1930

For decades, the vast Adirondack wilderness has beckoned. Some, having sampled the treasury of Adirondack art and literature, are drawn by its spectacular beauty; many are lured by its year-round sports and recreational opportunities; others are enticed by its health-giving qualities-the clear air, sparkling waters, and refreshing woodlands. The Adirondacks: 1931-1990 celebrates the years in which the six-million-acre preserve truly became a people's park. With some two hundred rare images, the book includes views of the Winter Olympics held at Lake Placid in 1932, attended by thousands from the world over. It applauds the American boys working in the CCC camps in the Adirondacks during the Great Depression. It follows the steamboats as they ply Lake George and the Fulton Chain and other lakes, as well as the railroads as they bring in more and more visitors. It traces the rise and fall of the grand hotels and their successors: the cabins, motels, cottages, second homes, and campsites of the motoring public. It highlights the music, the architecture, the animals, the crafts-the more recent history of the Adirondack culture.

Native Americans called the area Couxsaxrage, "beaver hunting ground." Professor Ebenezer Emmons named it Adirondack, after one of the native tribes. Along the Adirondack Trail traces the history and lore of the Adirondacks up the scenic roadway through the heart of New York's mountain-and-lake country. Included are tales of the Mohawk Indians and their beatified princess, Tekakwitha; the site of the mansion of Sir William Johnson, one of America's most influential citizens of the 1700s; and an important battleground of the Revolution. Rare original photographs portray each of the twenty settlements on the trail from Fonda to Malone, reflecting the lives of the guides, loggers, trappers, sportsmen, camp owners, tourists, leather workers, and health seekers who opened up the unknown county.

While numerous books have been written about the great camps, hiking trails, and wildlife of the Adirondacks, noted anthropologist David R. Starbuck offers the only archeological guide to a region long overlooked by archeologists who thought that "all the best sites" were elsewhere. This beautifully illustrated volume focuses on the rich and varied material culture brought to the mountains by their original Native American inhabitants, along with subsequent settlements created by soldiers, farmers, industrialists, workers, and tourists. Starbuck examines Native American sites on Lake George and Long Lake; military and underwater sites throughout the Lake George, Fort Ticonderoga, and Crown Point regions; old industrial sites where forges, tanneries, and mines once thrived; farms and the rural landscape; and many other sites, including the abandoned Frontier Town theme park, the ghost town of Adirondac, Civilian Conservation Corps camps, ski areas, and graveyards.

Adirondack Ventures explores the early man-made features that were introduced into New York States great mountain and lake region. With some 200 rare photographs, this book recounts the memories of those who took part in the development of the Adirondacks, an area that covers one quarter of the state. To open up these millions of acres, pathways and roadways and, later, small airports and railways were constructed. To enhance the use and enjoyment of the wilderness, bikeways and ski slopes, as well as amusement parks and golf courses, were built. Adirondack Ventures explores the early man-made features that were introduced into New York States great mountain and lake region. With some 200 rare photographs, this book recounts the memories of those who took part in the development of the Adirondacks, an area that covers one quarter of the state. To open up these millions of acres, pathways and roadways and, later, small airports and railways were constructed. To enhance the use and enjoyment of the wilderness, bikeways and ski slopes, as well as amusement parks and golf courses, were built.

Archival photographs and text describe the history, social life and customs of the Adriondack Mountain region in New York.

The Adirondack region evolved over years from vast, impassable wilderness to a land of logging camps, tanneries, sawmills, and small settlements. By the end of the 19th century, the area grew again, becoming a tourist destination famed for its great hotels, quaint inns, cottages, and rustic cabins. The hotels and inns spread throughout the Adirondacks, beginning after the Civil War and continuing during the Gilded Age between World Wars I and II. The region drew the rich and famous, as well as workers and families escaping the polluted cities. This volume contains 200 vintage images of those famed accommodations that catered to years of Adirondack visitors. Most of the buildings seen in this book no longer exist, having been destroyed by fires, the wrecking ball, or simply forgotten over time. Adirondack Hotels and Inns provides a timeless look at the vacation retreats of the past.

Documents the decline in Adirondack fishing in the '30s. The author offers a nostalgic view of the Adirondack wilderness 50 years ago, capturing the moods of forest, stream and lake. Classic characters - Big Smith, the hermit of Boiling Pond, Noah Rondeau and others - are brought to life.