Adirondack Journal
‘Dack Doodles: Exploring Adirondack Illustrations, The Artist and The Blizzard
As anyone who has lived in or visited the Adirondack Mountains in the wintertime knows, snowy and cold weather conditions are a fact of daily life here. The Adirondack Experience Library is full of personal accounts of brave souls grappling with gusty winds and subzero temperatures in hopes of reaching a cozy fire back home.…
Origins of the Adirondack Museum
History is powerful. History can capture the imagination and inspire great events – including the founding of a regional history museum. The following story illustrates how the lives of two men intersected, how the actions of one served to spark a life-long passion in the second, how the Adirondack museum came to be, and finally…
Great Camp Foxlair
When you think of the interior decoration of Adirondack great camps, the first image to come to mind is usually of rustic furniture. However, this was not the case for great camp Foxlair, located near North Creek, New York, whose owner Richard Alexander Hudnut fashioned his residence in a French chateau style. The tile stove…
Balsam Traditions-Christmas Market
The Balsam Fir tree has been an important natural resource for the Adirondack region for many years. Below are exerpts from various sources that were used in a Balsam Traditions poster series discussing the seasonal importance of balsam. “As a Christmas tree, balsam has two prime advantages over other species: fragrance and durability. The smell…
Balsam Traditions-Balsam Bed
The Balsam Fir tree has been an important natural resource for the Adirondack region for many years. Below are excerpts from a poster series entitled “Balsam Traditions” that illustrate the seasonal uses and importance of balsam. “The mountain goose is not a bird but a tree. It is humorously called a goose by the woodsmen…
Balsam Traditions-Balsam Cures
The Balsam Fir tree has been an important natural resource for the Adirondack region for many years. Below are excerpts from a poster series entitled “Balsam Traditions” that illustrate the seasonal uses and importance of balsam. Wilderness Cures “Pine, balsam, spruce and hemlock trees abound, and the air is heavily laden with the resinous odors…
Timbucto: African American History in the Adirondacks
The Adirondack Mountains have a rich history with astonishing ties to major national events. It may be a surprise to some that the wilderness of the Adirondacks played an important role in the Underground Railroad, and for a period was home to the famous John Brown. Even more interestingly, the small town of North Elba,…
Adirondack Travel
The beauty of the Adirondacks has attracted visitors since the early nineteenth century; between 1880 and 1920 Blue Mountain Lake, New York (home of the Adirondack Museum) was among the most fashionable destinations in the northeastern states. Because of the secluded nature of the Adirondack Park, vacationing travelers have historically reached the area in a…
Water Skiing
The earliest recorded trip on water skis occurred during the summer of 1922 in Minnesota. The term came in to common use in 1931. The Adirondacks saw a boom in recreational waterskiing in the 1940s. Boat-towed sports have been popular in the North Country ever since and increasingly controversial as well. In the early days…
The Adirondacks are Burning: A Brief History of Forest Fires
The Adirondacks have a long history of epic blazes. While there are no recent comparisons with the terrible devastation faced by the west, fire is no stranger to the vast North Country woodland. Whenever drought conditions exist, there is a heightened risk for fire. Following disastrous fires around the turn of the 20th century, especially…