Long Lake, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Long Lake is a town in Hamilton County, New York in the USA. The population was 852 at the 2000 census. The town is named for the 14 mile (23 km) long lake beside which the town sits, which flows in a straight, northeast-trending valley (The Adirondack Atlas, by Jerry Jenkins).
The Town of Long Lake is entirely within the Adirondack State Park and is the most northerly town in the county. It is a summer tourism destination offering fishing, hiking, and boating. In the winter, snowmobiling is popular.
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[edit] History
The Town of Long Lake was formed in 1837 from sections of the Towns of Arietta, Morehouse, Lake Pleasant, and Wells.
Long Lake is part of the 1.1 million acres (4,500 km²) acquired from the Mohawk Indians as part of the 1771 Toten and Crossfield Purchase (The Adirondacks by Paul Schneider, pg 89). Long Lake is a glacial widening of the Raquette River and is part of the water route that connects the Fulton Chain Lakes with the Saint Lawrence river drainage. This route was frequently traveled by guideboat in the mid-late 19th century. At that time "a typical trip might start at the Saranacs from which a party could make its way to the Raquette River via Indian Carry and Stoney Creek." (Wildlife and Wilderneww by Phil Terrie, pg. 44) The trip continued "via the lakes accessible from it- Long, Raquette, Forked, Blue and Tupper." (Ibid) Settled by the 1830s, Long Lake was isolated, except by water, until the New York Central railroad extended a spur to nearby Sabbatis, New York.
Long Lake is the starting point of the Roosevelt-Marcy Trail. On September 14, 1901 Theodore Roosevelt was climbing Mount Marcy when he got word that President William McKinley who had been shot two weeks before in Buffalo, New York but expected to improve had taken a serious turn for the worse.
Roosevelt rushed down 10 miles from his campsite at Lake Tear of the Clouds to the closest town and telephone which was Long Lake. From there he took a legendary midnight stagecoach ride to the closest train station 40 miles away at North Creek, New York where he found out that McKinley had died. Roosevelt was officially sworn in in Buffalo.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1,165.2 km² (449.9 mi²). 1,056.4 km² (407.9 mi²) of it is land and 108.9 km² (42.0 mi²) of it (9.34%) is water. The town is in the Adirondack State Park.
The town of Long Lake is about 25 miles long and up to 12 miles wide. The town extends across the northern part of the county.
The town lines form the boundary with Herkimer County, Saint Lawrence County, Franklin County, and Essex County.
The body of water known as Long Lake is about 14 miles long and up to 1 mile wide. The lake extends from southwest to northeast, and is part of the Raquette River system. The Raquette River flows into Long Lake at the southwest end and out the northeast end.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 852 people, 387 households, and 236 families residing in the town. The population density was 0.8/km² (2.1/mi²). There were 1,496 housing units at an average density of 1.4/km² (3.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.42% White, 0.59% African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population.
There were 387 households out of which 21.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.68.
In the town the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 35.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 100.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $29,583, and the median income for a family was $44,583. Males had a median income of $29,141 versus $21,429 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,466. About 9.9% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Long Lake Camp For The Arts
Long Lake is also the home of the greatest arts camp on the East coast: Long Lake Camp for the Arts. Every summer the camp puts on over thirty productions including musicals, straight plays, dance productions, circus productions, marching band productions and even magic shows. Past campers include the children of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, the daughter of Merideth Viera, daughter of Jaimo of the Allman Brothers, singer Bobby McFerrin, actor Richard Dreyfuss and even children of Brunei royalty. Past productions include A Chorus Line, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Godspell, Pippin, Hair, Urinetown, Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and West Side Story.
[edit] Communities and locations in Long Lake
- Deerland -- Originally called Grove, this hamlet is at the southeast end of Long Lake.
- Deerland Camp -- A location on Little Forked Lake.
- Golden Beach -- A location on the east side of Raquette Lake by the town line.
- Hasbroucks -- A hamlet, also called "Hasbrooks," located on the north shore of Raquette Lake.
- Long Lake -- The hamlet of Long Lake, near the intersection of Routes 28N and 30 and near the middle section of the lake also called Long Lake.
- Long Lake -- A large lake with a northeast to southwest orientation in the northeast part of the town with the hamlet of Long Lake near its south end.
- Nehesane -- A location in the northwestern part of the town.
- Raquette Lake -- A hamlet on the west shore of Raquette Lake and on Route 28.
- Raquette Lake -- A large lake in the western part of the town. It is the fourth largest lake in the Adirondack region.
- Robinwood -- A location in the northwest corner of the town.
- Sabattis -- A hamlet on the northern border of the county.
- Sagamore -- A location by the south town line.
- Whitney Headquarters -- A location in the northern part of the town on Little Tupper Lake.
- Woods-- A location northeast of Raquette Lake.
