Long Lake, New York

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Long Lake, New York
settlement_type = Town
nickname =
motto =

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 12847
area_code = 518
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 36-43412
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0979168
website =
footnotes =

Long Lake is a town in Hamilton County, New York in the United States. The population was 852 at the 2000 census. The town is named for 14-mile (23 km) long Long Lake beside which it sits.

The Town of Long Lake is entirely within the Adirondack Park and is the most northerly town in the county. It is a summer tourism destination offering fishing, hiking, and boating. In the winter, snowmobiling is popular.Long Lake is also the home of the historic Adirondack Hotel and Helms Aero Service, floatplane service.

History

The town was first settled around 1833.

The Town of Long Lake was formed in 1837 from sections of the Towns of Arietta, Morehouse, Lake Pleasant, and Wells. In 1861, the town was increased by additions from Arietta, Lake Pleasant, and Morehouse.

Long Lake is part of the 1.1 million acres (4,500 km²) acquired from the Mohawk Indians as part of the 1771 Totten and Crossfield Purchase. [Schneider, Paul, "The Adirondacks", Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1997. ISBN 0-8050-5990-3. p. 89] Long Lake is a glacial widening of the Raquette River and is part of the water route that connects the Fulton Chain Lakes with the Saint Lawrence river drainage. This route was frequently traveled by guideboat in the mid-late 19th century. At that time, "a typical trip might start at the Saranacs from which a party could make its way to the Raquette River via Indian Carry and Stoney Creek." Terrie, Phillip G., "Wildlife and Wilderness: A History of Adirondack Mammals", Purple Mountain Press, Fleischmanns NY, ISBN-13: 978-0935796391. pg. 44] The trip continued "via the lakes accessible from it— Long, Raquette, Forked, Blue and Tupper." Settled by the 1830s, Long Lake was isolated, except by water, until William Seward Webb's Mohawk and Malone Railway was built through what was then known as Long Lake West in 1892. Long Lake and Long Lake West were connected by a stage route. The Mohawk amd Malone Railway was taken over by the New York Central Railroad a few years after construction was completed. The town of Long Lake West was later renamed Sabbatis.

Long Lake West was the site of a devastating fire that destroyed most of the town in 1908.

Long Lake is the starting point of the Roosevelt-Marcy Trail. On September 14, 1901 Theodore Roosevelt was climbing Mount Marcy when he got word that President William McKinley, who had been shot two weeks before in Buffalo, New York, but expected to improve, had taken a serious turn for the worse.

Roosevelt rushed down ten miles from his campsite at Lake Tear of the Clouds to the closest town and telephone which was outside of Newcomb, New York, approximately 15 miles away from Long Lake. From there he took a legendary midnight stagecoach ride to the closest train station 12 miles away at North Creek, New York, where he found out that McKinley had died. Roosevelt was officially sworn in in Buffalo.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 449.9 square miles (1,165.2 km²), of which 407.9 square miles (1,056.4 km²) is land and 42.0 square miles (108.9 km² or 9.34%) is water. The town is in the Adirondack Park. It is the second-largest town in land area in New York (after Webb in Herkimer County).

The town of Long Lake is about 25 miles long and up to 12 miles wide. The town extends across the northern part of the county.

The town lines form the boundary with Herkimer County, Saint Lawrence County, Franklin County, and Essex County.

New York State Route 30, a north-south highway, intersects New York State Route 28N at Long Lake village. NY-28N and NY-30 run conjoined through part of Long Lake. New York State Route 28 is an east-west highway in the southwest part of the town.

The body of water known as Long Lake is about 14 miles long and up to 1 mile wide. The lake extends from southwest to northeast, and is part of the Raquette River system. The Raquette River flows into Long Lake at the southwest end and out the northeast end.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 852 people, 387 households, and 236 families residing in the town. The population density was 2.1 people per square mile (0.8/km²). There were 1,496 housing units at an average density of 3.7/sq mi (1.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.42% White, 0.59% African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population.

There were 387 households out of which 21.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.68.

In the town the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 35.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 100.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $29,583, and the median income for a family was $44,583. Males had a median income of $29,141 versus $21,429 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,466. About 9.9% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Long Lake

Inhabited places

*Deerland -- Originally called "Grove," this hamlet is at the southeast end of Long Lake on NY-28N/NY-30.
*Deerland Camp -- A location on Little Forked Lake.
*Golden Beach -- A location on the east side of Raquette Lake by the town line.
*Hasbroucks -- A hamlet, also called "Hasbrooks," located on the north shore of Raquette Lake at Outlet Bay.
*Long Lake -- The hamlet of Long Lake, near the intersection of Routes NY-28N and NY-30 and near the middle section of the lake also called Long Lake.
*Nehesane -- A location in the northwestern part of the town by Lake Lila
*Raquette Lake -- A hamlet on the west shore of Raquette Lake and also on NY-28.
*Robinwood -- A location in the northwest corner of the town, southwest of Sabbitis.
*Sabattis -- An abandoned hamlet on the northern town line of Long Lake, originally called, "Long Lake West".
*Sagamore -- A location by the south town line.
*Whitney Headquarters -- A location in the northern part of the town on Little Tupper Lake.
*Woods-- A location northeast of Raquette Lake.

Geographic features

*Beaver River -- A river flowing out the west side of the town to Lake Lila.
*Big Island -- An island in Raquette Lake.
*Bluff Point -- A peninsula defining part of Outlet Bay in Raquette Lake.
*Brandreth Lake -- A lake north of Raquette Lake.
*Catlin Lake -- A lake at the east town line.
*Forked Lake -- A lake northeast of Woods by the south town line.
*Indian Point -- A peninsula on the west side of Raquette Lake.
*Lake Eaton -- A lake west of Long Lake village and Long Lake.
*Lake Lila -- A lake in the northwest of Long Lake forming the headwaters of the Beaver River.
*Little Forked Lake -- A small lake north of Forked Lake by Deerland Camp.
*Little Tupper Lake -- A large lake in the northern part of the town.
*Lows Lake -- A lake at the north town line, west of Sabbitis.
*Long Lake -- A large lake with a northeast to southwest orientation in the northeast part of the town with the hamlet of Long Lake near its south end.
*Long Lake Town Beach -- The town beach of Long Lake. It is home to the Helms Aero Service, a company which offers seaplane rides to locals and tourists for spectacular views of the Adirondacks.
*Long Point -- A peninsula on the east side of Raquette Lake.
*Nehasane Lake -- A lake by the west town line on the Beaver River.
*Outlet Bay -- The northwest part of Raquette Lake.
*Raquette Lake -- A large lake in the western part of the town. It is the fourth largest lake in the Adirondack region.
*Round Lake -- A lake in the northern part of Long Lake, north of Whitney Headquarters.

References

* The Adirondack Atlas, by Jerry Jenkins.

External links

* [http://www.longlake-ny.com Town of Long Lake webpage]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyhamilt/history/longlake.html Long Lake history]
* [http://www.centraladirondacks.com Area information]