Topping list: Report on remains from Lake George Revolutionary times
By Melissa Hart
Stories of the ghosts of the Revolutionary War past in the Adirondacks landed in the top-read spots for Adirondack Explorer readers this past year.
In 2019, contractors in Lake George digging a foundation for a new apartment building unearthed human remains dating back to the 18th century.
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One of the challenges facing historians and archaeologists in piecing together stories from the past is the lack of protections around unmarked burial sites. As environmental policy reporter Gwendolyn Craig discovered in her reporting, although the town and village had records of some human remains in the area of Courtland Street before, no laws, policies or historical preservation reviews protected them.
That changed in 2023, due to legislation passed through the state budget process that now makes it a felony for anyone who knowingly destroys a human burial site.
This year, Craig dug into the law’s impact going forward in the historically rich Lake George area. She also continued ongoing reporting into the creation of a final resting place for Revolutionary War-era soldiers and citizens believed to be killed by smallpox that were discovered among the remains. This Independence Day, we featured an exhibit about never-shown Revolutionary War artifacts on display at Fort Ticonderoga.
Other notable history-themed stories from this past year:
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- The first Adirondack Great Camp, by Tom French. A tour of the Duran family’s Pine Knot camp, part of Raquette Lake history, now owned by SUNY Cortland.
- Colvin’s Great Corner, revisited, by William Hill. Retracing a trek to a historic marker on the St. Lawrence, Herkimer county lines.
- Million Dollar Dam: A historic Adirondack tale of engineering ambition by Tom French. The rise and fall of William H. Miner’s dams: A walk through history.
- A 100-year-old murder/mystery at Whiteface, by Tim Rowland. In July 1924, two bodies were found on the mountain, in a presumed double murder that’s never been solved.
More stories featuring Adirondack history can be found here.
Photo at top: Volunteers work on the dig site in Lake George. Photo courtesy of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
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