Schroon Lake, New York

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Schroon is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,759 at the 2000 census. The name comes from a large lake in the town. The town itself is also known as Schroon Lake, which is the name preferred by the United States Postal Service.

The Town of Schroon is in the southern part of Essex County and is north of Albany. The communities of Schroon offer quaint village settings with peaceful countryside and lake settings in the world renowned Adirondack Park. The Town of Schroon contains two beautiful lakes: a nine-mile lake which bears the name Schroon Lake, and a second, being approximately five miles in length that is named Paradox Lake. The two lakes are connected by the Schroon River.

1 Local attractions
2 History
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 Communities and locations in Schroon
6 External links

[edit] Local attractions

Schroon Lake serves as year round vacation destination for travellers. During the summer months residents and vacationers enjoy typical water related activities including boating, swimming and fishing; during the winter months snowmobiling, snowshoeing and ice fishing attract interests; during the fall and spring months hiking and hunting are popular. Each September, a thousand or more runners compete in the Adirondack Full & Half Marathons, which finish in downtown Schroon Lake.

Schroon's main street is US-9, which is dotted with numerous quaint country shops, restaurants, antique and collectible shops, a movie theater and churches. The Town of Schroon maintains public docks in the village area, which makes the shops and resturants accessible to boaters. Schroon has two municipal boat launches that are free to the public. New York State also has public campsites on Schroon Lake. Paradox Lake also has a New York State campground on its shores.

Schroon Lake serves as summer home to the Seagle Music Colony. It is also home to Schroon-North Hudson Historical Museum, Natural Stone Bridge & Caves, and a municipal golf course.

Schroon Lake is a 40-minute drive from the thoroughbred horse racing at Saratoga Race Course, 45 minutes from Olympic attractions at Lake Placid, and a 45 minutes from major east coast skiing at Whiteface Mountain and Gore Mountain. Other nearby attractions include the Adirondack Museum, Fort Ticonderoga, Lake George, The Hyde Collection art museum in Glens Falls, NY, and amusement parks Magic Forest and Six Flags' The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom.

Schroon Lake is the home of the main headquarters of the Word Of Life fellowship. The Word of Life maintains a conference center, summer youth camps, a Bible Institute and place of worship at its properties in Schroon Lake.

[edit] History

The town was first settled around 1800, north of the current Schroon Lake village. However, there is a claim that the town was occupied during the Colonial Period as a French colony. The name "Schroon" is attributed to both a native word for large lake and a reference to the Widow Scarron.

The Town of Schroon was formed in 1804 from part of the Town of Crown Point. The town was partitioned to form the newer Town of Minerva in 1817. In 1840, part of Schroon was returned to Crown Point. As with other towns of Essex County, the early economy was heavily involved in lumber production.

Prior to the construction of the Northway (Interstate 87), US Route 9 was the major north-south highway between Albany and Montreal, which made Schroon Lake a convenient stopping off point for travellers to purchase gas, lodging, and meals.

Schroon Lake was also the former home to the world class Scaroon Manor resort which closed in 1962. The Scaroon Manor was the site for the 1957 Warner Brothers movie "Marjorie Morningstar" which stared Gene Kelly, Natalie Wood and Ed Winn.

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 365.8 km² (141.2 mi²). 345.0 km² (133.2 mi²) of it is land and 20.8 km² (8.0 mi²) of it (5.69%) is water.

The southern line of Schroon is the border of Warren County. Schroon Lake lies in both Essex and Warren Counties.

The Northway passes through the center of the Town of Schroon. US Route 9 runs parallel to the interstate. New York State Route 74, an east-west highway, intersects US-9 and the interstate west of Severance.

Schroon Lake is approximately four hours north of New York City, two hours south of Montreal, Canada, 1 1/2 hours from Burlington, Vermont.

Schroon also boasts an airfield with a 3,000 foot runway that is capable of landing small and medium size private airplanes.

The Schroon River flows into the town across the north town line and flows out the south town line.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 1,759 people, 737 households, and 473 families residing in the town. The population density was 5.1/km² (13.2/mi²). There were 2,130 housing units at an average density of 6.2/km² (16.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.12% White, 0.85% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.45% of the population.

There were 737 households out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $29,054, and the median income for a family was $36,579. Males had a median income of $29,821 versus $20,298 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,302. About 8.5% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Communities and locations in Schroon

Clarks Island — An island in Schroon Lake near Schroon Lake village.
Loch Muller — A hamlet near the western town line.
The Narrows - A constricted part of Schroon Lake near South Schroon Lake.
Paradox - A hamlet near the east town line on NY-74, and at the east end of Paradox Lake.
Paradox Lake — A lake by Severance. It is linked to Schroon Lake.
Schroon Falls — A location near the north town line on US Route 9.
Schroon Lake — A hamlet on the northwest end of the lake. The town government is located here on the west side of Schroon Lake on US-9.
Schroon Lake — A lake located in the south-central portion of the town and extending south into Warren County.
Schroon Lake Airport (4B7) - A general aviation airport, located northeast of the village.
Schroon Lake Loop — A hamlet south of Schroon Lake village on US-9.
Schroon River — A river that flows into the north end of Schroon Lake.
Severance — A hamlet in the northern part of the town on NY-74, at the west end of Paradox Lake. Is home to several clusters of rental homes.
South Schroon Lake — A hamlet near the south end of the lake on US-9.