What Went Down Up in the Adirondacks
Originally a part of Iroquois and Algonquin land, the Adirondack Mountains stand as a testament to the history of early America and the United States. Located in upstate New York, the Adirondack Mountains witnessed the French and Indian War, the mining of iron, a growth in the logging industry, and have been a popular tourist destination for over 100 years. Tuberculosis patients even came to these mountains for healing, and the popular Adirondack chairs are named after the comfortable, wooden chairs these patients rested in while being treated.
The Adirondacks in Print
Beautiful and inspirational, people flocked to the Adirondack Mountains after reading the romantic wilderness poetry of James Fenimore Cooper, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. In fact, a part of Cooper's historic and classic novel, The Last of the Mohicans: A narrative of 1757 takes place in the Adirondack Mountains.
Preserving the Adirondacks for Future Generations
As the Adirondack Mountains gained in popularity, the development of the wilderness as a tourist area threatened the natural beauty and wildlife of the mountains, as well as the watershed as a source of water for the Erie Canal. In 1885, after over 10 years of work, the Adirondack Forest Preserve was created, and in 1892 the Adirondack Park was created. However, the Adirondack Mountains were still in danger from logging and development, so in 1894, after much lobbying, the New York State Constitution was amended to preserve the land as wilderness for all time. The amendment has withstood years of legal challenges and still stands to this day. Thanks to the work of these early environmentalists, people today enjoy hiking, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, hunting, skiing, and a whole host of other activities in the lush and beautiful wilderness of the Adirondack Mountains.
