Potash Mountain: Lake Luzerne's Community Peak
 

Although the 1,751-foot summit of Lake Luzerne's Potash Mountain is on state land, the public had no access to it until recently. Today, we may hike a superbly groomed trail and enjoy Potash's vista of the Upper Hudson Valley north of Corinth, thanks to Alice Harris and a community effort we can trace back to the early 1900s.

Rich and Linda Sehlmeyer donated 6.6 acres to the project and made it possible to connect Alice's property to the state DEC land on which Potash's summit sits.

The Warren County Planning Department secured a $105,000 state grant to fund the installation of a one-mile nature trail. Jim Mosher and Steve Mackey sculpted the trail to the summit, crowbarring boulders into staircases collectively totaling more than 300 steps.

"We like to think we've created the 'Best Trail in the Adirondacks,'" says Steve.

It's in the running, that's for sure.

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Built in 1870 by Albrecht Pagenstecher, the Manufacturers Paper Company’s first mill can be visited as the Pulp Mill Museum today. It is open to visitors during the summer months.
 

There was a time when Corinth was home to International Paper's largest mill and had a thriving economy that supported six hotels.

"International Paper was more than just an employer," wrote Matthew Phillips in the Albany Business Review in reporting in 2002 that the company was closing the plant and laying off 290 workers. "The company's presence has been a cornerstone of the community for more than a century."

Albrecht Pagenstecher, who brought to America from his native Germany a new mode of paper making that used pulp derived from spruce trees as its main ingredient, had a lot to do with establishing IP's presence in the area. He built what we today call the Pulp Mill Museum in 1869, establishing the Hudson River Pulp & Paper Company, which later would be absorbed by International Paper.

On your way to Potash Mountain, we suggest you take 20 minutes to visit the Pulp Mill Museum in Lake Luzerne to  learn this whole interesting story. Or take an hour and visit the Kinnear Museum as well. They're next to each other on Mill Creek.

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Johnsburg Historical Society Joins Our Collaboration
 

Sterling Goodspeed, president of the Johnsburg Historical Society, is enthused about the three history-oriented maps we've embarked on with the Warren County Planning Department to encourage historical tourism in the Gore Mountain Region. These include: 

• A hand-held printed map; 
• An ArcGIS Story Map, "How Skiing Came to North Creek"
• A GPS tour that's better described as a story cloud rather than a map, an app that will enables users to play stories on their phones as they drive and walk around the Gore Region. 

Sterling gave us a tour of the society's new home in Wevertown, the impressive  Robert and Electa Waddell House built in 1871. The foundation supporting the first floor now meets the legal standard for a building that welcomes the public, and a good start has been made on putting up the sign. They aim to open this summer.