For Immediate Release: June 14, 2006
Contact:
Andy Flynn | Public Relations | Adirondack Park Agency
contact@apa.ny.gov | (518) 327-3000
NEWCOMB VIC TO HOST HUNTINGTON LECTURE JUNE 29: "THE STORY OF ADIRONDAC (TAHAWUS), AND THE NORTH ELBA CONNECTION"
NEWCOMB, NY – The 2006 Huntington Lecture Series at the Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC) in Newcomb will kick off on Thursday, June 29 with a presentation about the past, present and future of the historic village of Adironac in the town of Newcomb.
The first part of the program, "The Story of Adirondac (Tahawus), and the North Elba Connection," starts at 7 p.m. with a talk by Lee Manchester, staff writer at the Lake Placid News. Dan Luciano, of the Open Space Institute, will then give a presentation titled, "The Future Plans for the Tahawus Tract."
In 2005, Gov. George Pataki announced a $500,000 state grant to help preserve the former village of Adirondac, also known as McIntyre or the Upper Works, located on the 10,000-acre Tahawus Tract. The Open Space Institute purchased the Tahawus property in 2003. The grant will be used to restore the McNaughton Cottage, the lone surviving frame structure from the original settlement. Funds will be used to stabilize and weatherize the building and to develop and implement a long-term management and interpretive plan for the entire historic area, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Funds will also be used to undertake basic repairs and brush clearing at the McIntyre furnace, as well as stabilizing a dam and water wheel system associated with the furnace, and restoring several domestic foundations and the community cemetery.
Originally settled in 1826 as the village of Adirondac, the site retains many historic resources, including the McIntyre Iron Works and other early blast furnaces, which illustrate the evolution of iron smelting technology. The village was founded by David Henderson and Archibald McIntyre, who started and abandoned an iron works in the Essex County town of North Elba prior to establishing the mining community in the town of Newcomb.
Tahawus was the site of one of the region's first iron mines and was operated as a titanium mine from the 1940s to the 1980s. The tract also served as a working forest for more than 150 years. The village was abandoned in 1856, but a portion of the property was redeveloped 20 years later into the first sportsmen's club in the Adirondacks, the Tahawus Club (originally the Adirondack Club). It is now a popular trailhead for backpackers heading into the southern High Peaks Wilderness Area.
Here is the rest of the schedule for the 2006 Huntington Lecture Series:
July 6: "In Search of Polar Bears," Cookie Barber, biology teacher at the Schroon Lake Central School.
July 13: "Bears of the Adirondacks," Ben Tabor, wildlife technician with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
July 20: "Deer as Winter Guests (or pests) in Adirondack Backyards," Susan Walker, graduate student at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
July 27: "The Dark Side of Loons," Ward Stone, wildlife pathologist with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Aug. 3: "Late Glacial History of the Lake Champlain Lowland," David Franzi, professor at SUNY Plattsburgh.
Aug. 10: "Taken for Granted: The Importance of Adirondack Forests in a Global Context and Current Threats," Charles Canham, forest ecologist with the Institute of Ecosystem Studies.
Aug. 17: "Potential Effects on Recreational Flow Releases on the Natural Resources of the Indian and Hudson Rivers," Barry Baldigo, of the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Huntington Lecture Series is sponsored by the Adirondack Ecological Center, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The programs are free and open to the public.
The New York State Adirondack Park Agency operates two VICs, in Paul Smiths and Newcomb, which are open year-round from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Christmas and Thanksgiving. They offer a wide array of educational programs, miles of interpretive trails and visitor information services. Admission is free.
The Newcomb VIC is located 12 miles east of Long Lake on Route 28N. For more information, call (518) 582-2000 or log on to the centers' Web site at www.adkvic.org.