Wanakena, New York
Encyclopedia
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
located on the shore of Cranberry Lake
Cranberry Lake
Cranberry Lake is a lake on the Oswegatchie River in the Adirondack Park in New York in the United States. It is the third largest lake in the Adirondack Park Cranberry Lake is a lake on the Oswegatchie River in the Adirondack Park in New York in the United States. It is the third largest lake in...
in the town of Fine
Fine, New York
Fine is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 1,622 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Judge John Fine, a businessman involved in settling the town....
in St. Lawrence County
St. Lawrence County, New York
St. Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 111,944. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for the Saint Lawrence River, which in turn was named for the Catholic saint on whose Feast day the river was discovered by...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Tourism is a major industry in the area; a small year-round population is supplemented by an influx seasonal residents each Summer. It is the location of the Ranger School
New York State Ranger School
The New York State Ranger School in Wanakena, New York, was founded in 1912 under the administration of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University, to train forest rangers and other personnel for the still-young Adirondack Park....
of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry is an American specialized doctoral-granting institution located in the University Hill neighborhood of Syracuse, New York, immediately adjacent to Syracuse University...
.
History
The town was founded in 1902 by brothers Herbert and Horace Rich, founders of the Rich Brothers Lumber Company. Rich Lumber purchased 16000 acres (64.7 km²) on the southwestern shore of Cranberry Lake, and constructed a lumber mill. Housing for the millworkers was built in part from lumber salvaged from the company's abandoned Pennsylvania lumber operation. There were up to 1500 workers at the Rich mill and associated industries. The company built a school in 1903. A logging railroad was constructed connecting Wanakena to the Carthage and Adirondack Railroad at Benson Mines, starting operation in 1905.A 171 feet (52.1 m) suspension footbridge built between the village and the mill for company workers before 1908 is still extant, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It is one of the longest suspension foot bridges in the United States.
The New York State Ranger School was established in 1912.