The bucolic Town of Schuyler Falls, a quiet and historic section of Clinton County, became its own municipality when it separated from the Town of Plattsburgh in April 1848. Its two scenic rivers—the Saranac and Salmon—provided power, while its bountiful woodlands and fertile farmland spurred both the lumber industry and agricultural pursuits. Simultaneously, other natural…
William H. Miner is perhaps best known as the wealthy railroad industrialist who returned to his modest Chazy farm to construct a 15,000-acre model farm in the early 20th century, but he also undertook numerous hydroelectric projects throughout the North Country. Located eight miles from Miner Institute is a 6,800-acre sandstone pavement barren known as…
Stories, family histories, and livelihoods are all etched in the stone used for many fine homes throughout the North Country. Blue limestone quarried on Willsboro Point was used throughout the Champlain Valley; Au Sable Valley granite went into homes along present-day Route 9N in the area around Jay; and unique reddish-brown Potsdam sandstone was used…
In the North Country, wind and solar infrastructure, facilities, and farms are helping to power a renewable energy future. During this outing, we will first take a deep dive into the systems and design of Marble River Wind Farm, a facility in rural Churubusco that features an installed total capacity of 215.25 megawatts. Atop tubular…
The Plattsburgh Military Reservation goes by many names—the Plattsburgh Barracks, the Plattsburgh Air Force Base, even simply “the Oval.” Regardless of what you call it, the area is home to numerous, mostly adaptively reused military structures. This section of Plattsburgh was the site of British and American engagements during the War of 1812, and…
Lake Champlain’s Valcour Bay is a National Historic Landmark because it is the site of the first naval engagement between the fledgling United States Navy and a British fleet, which occurred here during the Revolutionary War at the October 1776 Battle of Valcour. A small fleet under the command of Benedict Arnold held the British…
“We want an architect who knows his job and us and life and the hereafter. God help us! We want me”, wrote Rockwell Kent of his pursuit of the perfect architect to design his home in the Adirondacks. Rockwell Kent (1882-1971) is widely known as an American artist as well as a social activist. Less…
There are few watercourses in America comparable in length to the Ausable, over which so many early bridge types remain. -Richard Sanders Allen, bridge historian This tour will explore more than a dozen historic bridges that traverse the Ausable River. Among them are an 1843 stone arch bridge, the 1857 Jay Covered Bridge, an 1888…
Architect William Prescott (1926-1971) grew up in Keeseville, earned a degree at Princeton, and worked at the architectural firm of Howell, Lewis & Shay in Philadelphia before returning to the North Country as principal of W. H. Prescott Associates in Plattsburgh. His distinctly modern style— gently sloped roofs, large overhangs, wide chimneys, vertical wood siding…
Plattsburgh native Alvin Walter Inman (1895-1950) is one the most important North Country architects that no one has ever heard of. See the work of this uniquely public architect who weathered the Great Depression to produce some fantastic Colonial Revival and Period style schools, churches, libraries, civic buildings, and private homes across the North Country…
