At the Lake Placid Olympic Museum, Olympic torches, pins, uniforms and equipment tell the story of the Winter Games hosted by Lake Placid in 1932 and 1980. In Essex, you’ll also encounter stories of fortifications, mining, agriculture and life in the Adirondacks. These varied topics offer several ways to explore the region’s history.
History from Different Perspectives
The permanent exhibition “Worked/Wild” at the Adirondack History Museum introduces people from Essex County. Complex topics and competing perspectives on life in the Adirondacks are explicitly part of its concept. The museum also offers another focus on history: a 55-foot fire tower and an accompanying exhibition on the history of fire towers in the Adirondacks.
The North Star Underground Railroad Museum focuses on exhibitions and videos about little-known success stories of the Underground Railroad. The permanent exhibition “Dreaming of Timbuctoo” at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site is dedicated to an agricultural community in the Adirondacks that Gerrit Smith created for Black families. Both places draw attention to different chapters in the history of Black people in the region.
The Crown Point State Historic Site is home to the ruins of two fortifications from the colonial wars between Britain and France; the site also tells their story. The Penfield Homestead Museum offers another way to step into everyday life in the past: its central building is a homestead dating to around 1825, whose ground-floor rooms illustrate life in the early 19th century and the history of Crown Point.
Work, Everyday Life and Regional Products
The history of industry comes to life at several sites. The Iron Center Museum documents local iron ore mining, which flourished from 1820 to 1971, as well as its effects on working life and the preparation, processing and transportation of the ore. The Railroad and Mining Heritage Park features historic buildings from the waterfront complex of the Witherbee-Sherman Mining Company. The Penfield Homestead Museum also offers a historic tour of the Crown Point Iron Company production complex.
The 1812 Homestead & Farm Museum offers a different picture of everyday life. This 130-acre open-air museum explores everyday history on the grounds of a 19th-century inn and pioneer homestead near Long Pond. Visitors can try hands-on historic activities, including hearth baking, blacksmithing, candle dipping, shingle making, animal care and gardening. Check demonstration times before your trip.
The General Burgoyne’s Wagon Trail runs opposite the 1812 Homestead. Interpretive panels explain how General Burgoyne and his troops passed through the Willsboro area in 1777. The trail adds a specific episode of regional history to the insights into everyday life.
Regional agriculture is also part of the picture. Adirondack Harvest is a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County and a marketing platform for farmers and producers in the North Country region. It also provides information for residents and visitors.
Trails with Different Themes
The La Chute River Trail starts just outside the Ticonderoga Heritage Museum and follows the river for a quarter mile. Along the way, it explains local hydropower, paper making, geology and ecology. The trail combines a short walk by the water with several topics in natural and economic history.
The Carillon Battlefield Hiking Trail is accessible from June through October; access is included with general admission to Fort Ticonderoga. Confirm seasonal access before your trip. The Brewster Peninsula Trails, meanwhile, are a year-round destination for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking, trail running, hiking, picnicking and fishing.
For a walk that combines nature and local history, the Penfield Homestead Museum and Champlain Area Trails offer a nature walk at Penfield Pond and along Putnam Creek. For a route with a clearly stated elevation profile, take the Whiteface Veterans’ Memorial Highway: from the Toll House, it climbs more than 2,300 feet over a five-mile stretch.
Discover more destinations: Lake Placid, Schroon Lake, Ticonderoga, Willsboro, Jay, Sullivan, Herkimer County, Livingston County.
For the broader travel overview: New York.
