The Daniel Ames House on NYS Route 86 (North Elba, Essex County) is an early 19th century Greek Revival style house that is unoccupied and deteriorating. It is owned by and on the grounds of the Saranac Lake Golf Club.

Aiden Lair

Aiden Lair, a well-known inn and stagecoach stop on Route 28N in Minerva (Essex County) is vacant and continues to deteriorate. Time is rapidly running out if this important roadside establishment is to preserved.

The Ross Mill

The Ross Mill (Willsboro, Essex County) is one of only a handfull of surviving grist mills in the region. It is abandoned and deteriorating.

Land of Make Believe

This fantasy park (Town of Jay), which opened in 1954, was the finest work of the prolific theme park and toy designer Arto Monoco.

Devastated by floods and ice jams and finally closed in 1979, there are still a dozen buildings remaining that remain in jeopardy due to neglect and deterioration. A recent initiative by the Arto Monaco Historical Society may help to ensure both that Arto's artistic legacy is preserved and that the Castle, the centerpiece of the Land of Make Believe, will be restored as part of a public park. For more information about Arto Monaco and the Arto Monaco Historical Society, see www.artomonaco.org

Photo: Volunteers work on stabilizing the Castle at the Land of Make Believe in 2006

Fire Observation Towers

The fire observation towers on Hurricane Mountain (Essex County) and St. Regis Mountain (Franklin County) both face an uncertain future, primarily because of their location in "Wilderness" and "Canoe" areas respectively within the Forest Preserve. Both fire towers have friends groups, with legions of supporters, who have been very active and vocal about their preservation.
For more information about these efforts, contact:

Friends of Huricane Mountain Fire Tower
www.hurricanefiretower.org
PO Box 426
Elizabethtown, NY 12932
e-mail: HurricaneTower@charter.net

Friends of St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower
www.friendsofstregis.org
c/o David Petrelli
1008 County Route 25
Malone, NY 12953
e-mail: friendsofstregis@yahoo.com

Use these web sites to educate yourself about the importance of these towers, the efforts to save them, and to find out how to sign their petitions and/or write your own letters of support.

For AARCH's position on these fire towers, see the AARCH letters of support to the Adirondack Park Agency by clicking the links below.

AARCH Letter to APA 2-8-05 (pdf)
AARCH Letter to APA 4-17-06 (pdf)

We urge you to write the Park Agency or NYSDEC if you feel strongly about the preservation of these fire towers.

For more general information about Adirondack fire towers, see the Fire Towers section of this website.

The Champlain Bridge

The Champlain Bridge is the most significant work of bridge engineering in the Adirondack-Lake Champlain region. It will soon be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also being considered as a National Historic Landmark.

Because of deterioration and structural concerns, the New York State Department of Transportation and the Vermont Agency of Transportation are studying various options for either rehabilitating or replacing the bridge. AARCH is actively advocating for its preservation and rehabilitation. We have argued that this option would not only save an important regional landmark but early indications are that it would be the least costly, result in minimal disruption in traffic during reconstruction, could be brought to completion the quickest of any alternative, and is consistent with New York State's policies regarding the preservation of its engineering legacy.

This is a preservation issue of statewide and regional concern. The Preservation League of New York State has designated the bridge on their Seven to Save list and its preservation is being supported by the Preservation Trust of Vermont, dozens of other organization, and hundreds of interested people.

For a copy of AARCH's position paper on the Lake Champlain Bridge, see:
Seven to Save Announcement (pdf)

For a copy of a recent AARCH letter to NYSDOT, see:
Letter to DOT 9-26-06 on ALH (pdf)

To find out more about the public planning process on the future of the bridge and to express your support for its preservation, visit:
www.nysdot.gov/lakechamplainbridge

Ausable River Bridges

There are three National Register-listed historic bridges over the Asuable River that face a very uncertain future. They are the River Street Bridge (1878) in Keeseville, the Old State Road Bridge (circa 1900) in Ausable Chasm, and the Walton Bridge (1890) in Keene. All have been closed to traffic and there are no current plans, by the Essex and Clinton County Departments of Public Works, to rehabilitate and reopen them.

The River Street Bridge

The River Street Bridge, the oldest Pratt Through Truss Bridge in New York State, is one of only about 75 cast and wrought iron bridges in the United States, and is also listed as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. In 2007, Essex County had an engineering assessment done for the bridge and is now, with support from AARCH, exploring various rehabilitation options.

The Old State Road Bridge used to carry all of the northsouth traffic on NYS Route 9 until it was bypassed in the 1930s. This pony truss bridge also has a cantilevered sidewalk that allows pedestrians to view Rainbow and Horseshoe Falls at the entrance to Ausable Chasm.

The Walton Bridge

The Walton Bridge is one of only about 40 lenticular or parabolic truss bridges that still exist in the United States. It is closed to traffic, still open to pedestrians, and there are no plans to demolish it or to repair it. It is not being maintained and has a very percarious future.

The Otis Road Bridge

The Otis Road Bridge (Elizabethtown, Essex County), a 1914 Warren pony truss bridge, is endangered because of Essex County's plans to replace it, despite widepsread support for its preservation by residents that use it.

Although not as rare or speacial as some of the other bridges listed here, it is certainly worthy of our best efforts to preserve it. It is remarkably intact and has retained many of its original features. This kind of simple iron bridge, once common across the American landscape, is now an increasingly rare sight.

Margaret Bartley, Otis Mountain Camp & Homeowners Association
PO Box 42
New Russia, NY 12964
(518) 873-9225
otismountain@aol.com

To see AARCH's letters of support for these Essex County Bridges, link to the following:
River Street, Old State Road, and Walton bridges: LOS for Ausable River Bridges (pdf)
Otis Road Bridge: LOS for Otis Bridge 2-15-05 (pdf)

To express your support for the preservation of these bridges, write or contact the Essex County Board of Supervisors:
Noel Merrihew, Chairman Essex County Board of Supervisors
P.O. Box 217, 7551 Court Street
Elizabethtown, NY 12932
etown@charterinternet.com

For a complete list of historic bridges along the Ausable River and in Essex County, see:
The Historic Bridges of Essex County (pdf)

The Middleton Bridge (Warrensburg, Warren County), a c.1896, eighty-nine foot, one-lane steel truss bridge connecting Schroon River Road (County Route 10) in Warrensburg with East Schroon River Road in Bolton, is scheduled for replacement in 2009. The current bridge is loadrated for three tons, and although it has a relatively low traffic volume, has been selected for replacement to "meet the current transportation needs."

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