The Adirondacks
Historic New York
Historic New York
The Adirondacks
The Adirondack Mountains, consisting of rocky peaks, sheer cliffs and narrow valleys, also have wooded slopes and sparkling lakes. Forty three mountains have elevations 4000 feet or higher. Mount Marcy, with an altitude of 5344 feet, is the highest. Near Marcy's summit is lake Tear-of-the-Clouds, the source of the Hudson River.
Iroquois Indians derisively gave the name Adirondack (meaning "tree-eater") to some of the Algonkians, their enemies. Used as Indian hunting territory, the vast wilderness was not penetrated by white men until the late 18th century. Mining began at the end of that century, and Adirondack mines have yielded such ores as iron, zinc, titanium, talc and garnet. The great wealth of Adirondack forests supplied demands for timber in the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th. Alarmed over the denuding of this natural treasure, New York set up the Forest Preserve in 1885. The Adirondack Park now consists of more than two million State-owned acres.
Railroad construction after 1871 turned remote forest retreats into popular summer resorts. The opening of automobile highways in the 20th century made the area accessible for all to enjoy the rugged beauty of the Adirondack Mountains.
Education Department
State of New York 1967
Department of Public Works
Marker is on New York Route 30, on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
