1891 American Bank Note Co. Map of the Chateaugay Railroad

A c. 1891 map of the Adirondacks region and Lake Champlain tracing the lines of the Chateaugay Railroad, printed by the American Bank Note Co. This map was produced when railroads had opened up the Adirondacks for travelers, making it a fashionable destination for tourists from New York City and other cities in New England and the Mid-Atlantic.

A Closer Look

Coverage extends from the Canadian border in the north to Schroon Lake in the south and from Malone and Long Lake in the west to Lake Champlain in the east. Hills, mountains (with elevations noted), lakes, and rivers are indicated throughout, reflecting the region's rugged topography. A thick red line traces the Chateaugay Railroad, while thinner red lines mark associated lines (the Delaware and Hudson and New York Central). Steamboat lake services offered by the railroad and the Champlain Transportation Co. are noted with dashed red lines, as are wagon connections from rail stations to popular resorts and hotels, the names of which also appear in red. Rail lines belonging to other companies are traced in black, and overland trails are indicated with dashed red lines. At bottom-right is an inset that focuses on the New York Central and West Shore Railroad (owned by the NY Central) lines connecting New York City to Lake Champlain.

The Chateaugay Railroad

The Chateaugay Railroad was founded as a narrow-gauge railway by the Chateaugay Ore and Iron Company in 1879, operating between Lyon Mountain and Dannemora. With greater interest among tourists in the Adirondacks, passenger service was added. The line was extended to Loon Lake by 1886 and Saranac Lake the following year with funding from the Delaware and Hudson Company. The Plattsburgh to Dannemora Railroad was also leased, providing service from Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain to Saranac Lake. The Delaware and Hudson continued to play an influential role in the Chateaugay Railroad's operation, laying down dual-gauge track and extending the line further to Lake Placid, opening the Saranac and Lake Placid Railroad in 1893 (operated in conjunction with the New York Central). In 1901, the Delaware and Hudson bought the Chateaugay Railroad outright, converted it to standard gauge only, and rechristened it the Chateaugay and Lake Placid Railway.

Vast, Verdant Vacationland

Verplanck Colvin and the Adirondack Survey provided the first accurate surveys of the vast Adirondacks region in the 1870s. These, in turn, led to the creation of the Forest Preserve and Adirondack Park, a 6.1-million-acre park in upstate New York that encompasses more than 10,000 lakes, 30,000 miles of streams and rivers, and an estimated 200,000 acres of old-growth forests. Better knowledge about the region and its protection, along with expanding railway infrastructure, cleared the way for the Adirondacks to become a premier destination for wealthy urbanites and convalescents from New York City and elsewhere who sought refuge in the region's natural splendor.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn and engraved by the American Banknote Company for the Chateaugay Railroad. It is undated, but from the rail lines present and their names, it likely dates from the early 1890s. On the one hand, the map lacks a rail connection from the west (the Mohawk and Malone Railway) to the Saranac Inn, which was built in 1892. On the other, it includes the Saranac and Lake Placid Railroad, incorporated in 1890 and opened in 1893. Therefore, the map likely dates to the period after the Saranac and Lake Placid Railroad was incorporated but before the Mohawk and Malone Railway branch to Lake Saranac was completed. The only known institutional holding of this map is with the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, which dates it to the 1910s, perhaps a later edition or just a misdating. The book History in the Mapping: Four Centuries of Adirondack Cartography describing a 1984 - 1985 exhibition at the Adirondack Museum (now Adirondack Experience) suggests a holding of this map dated 1898, but the map does not appear in the institution's online catalog.