An Ironic Past

Local ghost town was once a thriving mining village

Story and photos by Ginny Jenks

In the depths of an untamed wilderness, a cemetery overlooks the narrow dirt road, lined on both sides by dilapidated structures. The Hudson River flows quietly behind what appears to be nothing more than a large pile of moss-covered rocks. What remains of the village of Adirondac, a once thriving mining town, are reminders of its incredible existence, and its devastating demise.

The story of this village begins in 1826, when an Indian from the St. Francis tribe described a tract to a couple proprietors where iron ore crossed the Hudson River and existed in abundance. What resulted was the purchase of 100,000 acres of land near what is now Newcomb/Tahawus, and the establishment of the Adirondack Iron Works . Ted Caldwell, the coordinator of student programs at Bolton and Newcomb central schools, leads many tours through the old mining village every year. Caldwell says the thriving village housed between 300 and 400 people in its heyday. "The extraction of iron ore required a huge workforce, it was very labor intensive."He says that the process required huge amounts of charcoal, which had to be made by hand. "It must have been overwhelming."

"It was a boom-bust situation"

During its thriving existence, Adirondac operated farms as well as the furnaces, kilns, and saw mills required to produce "pig-iron". The village consisted of sixteen dwellings: including a school, church, and cemetery (which still remains). A bank was even built in the MacNaughton Cottage, which still stands today. There were two blast furnaces used in Adirondac, which converted raw iron ore into a liquid that could be made into iron. Caldwell says that the cold Blast Furnace (the now large pile of rocks) was used throughout the 1840’s, until a hot blast furnace was constructed. "Fortunes changed and the Iron Works began to construct the new furnace."The machinery and equipment brought into this desolate village now seems like a superhuman feat. The new furnace was much more high tech than the cold blast furnace, and still stands preserved today. Unfortunately, it only fired from 1854-1857, when the mine closed. The demise of the Iron Works can be contributed to a weak global economy, difficult transportation, and a devastating flood. "It was a boom-bust situation," Caldwell adds.

In 1877, an organization called the "Tahawus Club" inhabited the old mining town. "They used some of the existing structures, and also built new ones," Caldwell says. The Tahawus Club was a seasonal fish and game club. The club also occupied the MacNaughton Cottage, which Teddy Roosevelt and his family visited in 1901. The visit is not one that has been forgotten.

The Vice President stayed in the MacNaughton Cottage after he had returned from Buffalo, where he had been assured that President McKinley’s injuries (from an attempted assassination) were not life threatening. During his stay, Roosevelt was informed that McKinley’s condition had taken a turn for the worse. Immediately, Caldwell explains, horse and carriage took the Vice President to catch a train in North Creek. "While en-route, McKinley died and Roosevelt was named President of the United States," Caldwell explains.

The next chapter in the story of the Village of Adirondac begins nearly forty years later. "During World War Two, international shipping was interrupted and there was a need for titanium dioxide," Caldwell says. Ironically, titanium dioxide caused a lot of frustration during the Blast furnace process at the original mine, as it wasn’t wanted in the pig iron. At this time, a little further down from the old village and mine and on the other side of the Hudson, National Lead (or NL Industries) established a new mine. "This mine operated until the late 1980’s," Caldwell explains. He also says that the new mine was very different from the original. "They had electricity, a railroad, and High Tech machinery."

Leonard Abare worked at National Lead and lived in Tahawus for thirty-four years. "I started there in 1945 right after I got out of the war." Abare is now 91, and still lives in Newcomb. Of the village and mining town, Abare says, "It was a good place to live. The people were all good and willing to help one another." Mr. Abare says while at National Lead, he was a "Vulconizer". "I dealt with anything pertaining to rubber." He also says that there is a great display in the Newcomb Historical Society about the mine and the villages’ history, which his son helps to run.

Although many of the original buildings are gone, and some of what remains has fallen in, efforts have now begun to save what remains of Adirondac. In 2003, the Open Space Institute (OSI) purchased the "Tahawus Tract"from NL Industries, in order to preserve it. OSI is currently working with several organizations and the state to come up with a master plan for the property. The Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) is one of the organizations it has partnered with. Steven Englehart is the Executive Director of the AARCH. Englehart says that the AARCH’s role is to help with the master planning process. This, he explains, is "to envision how the sight might be used, conserved, and interpreted."

Englehart explains that the master plan is trying to incorporate visitor parking, a way to connect historic sites to hiking trails, and figure out how the site is interpreted to the public. "One of the wonderful things about the site is that it tells a fascinating story about an industrial history in the Adirondacks," Englehart exclaims. "It’s easy for people to forget that before the Adirondacks got its reputation as an unspoiled wilderness, it was a lively, productive hub of industry."

"It was a good place to live."

The Open Space Institute, along with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, SUNY college of Environmental Science and Forestry, the Town of Newcomb, AARCH, and others, is eventually planning to turn the MacNaughton Cottage into an interpretive and visitor’s center. They are also planning to restore some of the buildings. Ted Caldwell also has high hopes for the future of Adirondac. "It’s too late to save the majority of the structures, but I hope it can be cleaned up and turned into an interpretive center."

The windows of the MacNaughton cottage are now boarded up. The rusted and decrepit water wheels and pistons, which were no doubt an integral part of the mining process, still lie behind the 70-foot tall hot blast furnace. The story of the decaying village of Adirondac is a reminder of how the deep, secluded woods of the Adirondacks can be grand and providing one minute, and fruitless and devastating the next.

Would you be interested in visiting the town of Adirondac?