Information AboutSaranac Lake |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SARANAC LAKE, NEW YORK | |
| essex county, new york | |
| franklin county, new york | |
| villages in new york | |
|
The Village of Saranac Lake is split between two counties: Franklin County, New York and Essex County, New York . The village is within the boundaries of the Adirondack State Park , about seven miles from Lake Placid . These two villages, plus nearby Tupper Lake , comprise what is known as the Tri-Lakes. HISTORY The first settlers, specifically Jacob Smith Moody and family, arrived in 1819 from Keene, New York . Later settlers Pliny Miller and Alric Bushnell established a logging facility with a dam and sawmill in 1827, forming the basis for the village. In 1849, William F. Martin brought the first Horses to the village, ultimately building one of the first hotels in the Adirondacks, christened the "Saranac Lake House", but best known as simply "Martin's", on the southeast shore of Lower Saranac Lake in 1840 . Martin's would soon become a favorite place for hunters. woodsmen, and socialites to meet and interact. In 1876 Dr. Edward Trudeau arrived to treat Tuberculosis patients, and in 1884 he founded his first sanitarium for treatment of this disease, called "Little Red", in which two patients were placed. Little Red was built on a small patch of land on the backside of Mount Pisgah which Trudeau had purchased. As more and more patients visited the region, including author Robert Louis Stevenson , Trudeau's fame grew. Soon, the sanitorium had grown such that it was entitled to its own Post Office which would sort and deliver mail to its many patients. The village was incorporated on June 16 , 1892 , following a meeting of the village board. Dr. Trudeau was elected as the first village president soon thereafter. Electricity was introduced to the village on September 20 th, 1894 , installing water wheels on the former site of Pliny Miller's mill. Paul Smith , an important figure in the history of the village, purchased the Saranac Lake Electricity Co. in 1907 , forming the Paul Smith's Electric Light and Power and Railroad Company, which eventually became part of Niagara-Mohawk . At the same time, the village began to stabilize, with Public School s, Fire and Police departments, and other municipal facilities forming. Although the cure cottages experienced a jump in activity at the turn of the century, they slowly began to lose their importance with the development of Antibiotic s, before being more or less phased out completely by 1954 , when the sanitorium's last patient, Larry Doyle , left. Saranac Lake became an especially busy town in the 1920's, with the construction of the Hotel Saranac and several new, permanent buildings after multiple fires destroyed a large part of downtown. During the 20's, both entertainer Al Jolson and president Calvin Coolidge were semi-frequent visitors to the village, with Jolson once performing a solo for three hours at the Pontiac Theater on Broadway Avenue. Bootlegging was very common in the village as well. Since then, Saranac Lake has become a more conventional tourist destiniation, while still featuring a stable and active population of year round citizens. The Hotel Saranac is operated as a laboratory for hotel and restaurant management students of Paul Smith's College , and the former sanitorium is now a conference centre for the American Management Association . CULTURE Many tourists come to the village, which is unusually attractive owing to its preservation of older architecture. Much of the village fronts on Lake Flower, which was created by a dam in the Saranac River and named after Governor Roswell P. Flower . Summer visitors enjoy canoeing and other forms of boating, hiking in the forest, climbing in the nearby mountains, and visiting the local shops and restaurants. Ice cream stands flourish, both in the village and nearby. During the long, cold, and snowy winters, visitors to Saranac Lake participate in cross-country skiing and in snowmobiling. There is also an annual week-long Winter Carnival, an event that has brought people together in celebration of winter for over 100 years. Each year the Winter Carnival is given a theme, for example in 2006 the theme was "the Roaring 20's." The Winter Carnival parade reflects this theme. People travel from all around to see the carnival's main attraction, the ice palace, and to partipate in or watch the various winter activities and competitions. A non-profit Village Improvement Society, dating from 1910 , currently owns and maintains eight parks. The extensive parkland along the lakefront, now owned by the village, is the result of the Society's earlier efforts. The Trudeau Institute The work of Dr. Edward Trudeau, described above, was continued with the founding of the Trudeau Institute , a medical research organization located in the village, whose goal is to "understand the functions of the body's immune system and learn how to strengthen these functions to fight tuberculosis, cancer, AIDS-related infections, and other life-threatening infectious diseases." {Link without Title} Artists' residences The composer Bela Bartók spent summers in Saranac Lake and wrote some of his best-known works there. The writer Robert Louis Stevenson had a cottage in Saranac Lake, which still stands along with a museum dedicated to him. The cartoonist Garry Trudeau , who draws the Doonesbury comic strip, was raised in Saranac Lake. He is the great-grandson of Edward Trudeau, described above. Garry Trudeau has maintained his connections to Saranac Lake; see [http://saranaclakewintercarnival.com/ . Transportation The Adirondack Regional Airport (SLK) is 8 miles northwest of the village. The Adirondack Scenic Railroad to Lake Placid originates from the village train depot. Adirondack Trailways serves Saranac Lake, and is part of the Greyhound bus system. There is also local bus service from Franklin County Public Transportation and local taxis service. |
|
|