1800-1870
Text excerpted from: Aber, Ted, and King, Stella, The History of Hamilton County. Lake Pleasant, NY: Great Wilderness Books, 1965 and Aber, Ted, Adirondack Folks. Prospect, NY: Prospect Books, 1980
THE TOWN IS FORMED
The community of Indian Lake grew rapidly in the 1850’s. By the end of the decade there were fully forty families in the locality living in 38 log houses. The population numbered 156 men and 99 women for a total of 255. A limited few had settled at Blue Mountain Lake. Many were single young men who had followed the lumbermen to find gain in their employ.
ROADS
The Town of Wells did all within its limited resources to recognize and support this maverick community in its northern wilds.
In 1858, the three commissioners laid out a road in their area through "wild and unimproved lands." It began fifty links southerly from the west side of the passage way through the fence on the south side of Finch & Crandall’s meadows at Ristville, being the east line of Hamilton County, running generally west to the Indian River, thence generally west to the clearing of Williams Persons and Isaac Pinney...Opposite the school house on lands occupied by Isaac Pinney...generally west to the west line of land occupied by Nathaniel Gilson...opposite H. Simpson’s house...to the north end of Cedar River Bridge.
The road was not easily constructed. Despite its elevation, the flatland on which the village of Indian Lake was ultimately to be built, was a wet, marshy area. A corduroy road was required. Travel over it, bumping heavily over the endless rows of logs, proved a miserable series of jolts suited only to the hardiest of beings. As it passed through the present location of the village, it went south of the present location of the business section at a point near the Baptist Church, to join the present road farther westward.
The people at Indian Lake were convinced that the seat of their government was too far removed through the dense wilderness, with government in the hands of people they did not know and who had little in common with their problems. The final blow came one day when Safford Perry’s pig invaded Francis Viele’s garden. A sharp dispute resulted. There were no justices of the peace or other town officers for miles. That settled it, a new town was required.
The first road districts were formed in high anticipation. On October 5, 1859, two road districts started at the county line and went south and west. The second was described as beginning at the county line near Crandall’s gate at the old Rist place and running south and west. On August 1, 1865, it was agreed that the first road district from George Griffin’s to the Cedar River Bridge needed redefinition since no road at all could be ascertained. In 1861, a road district began at the north end of Cedar River Bridge and ran west to a birch tree near the entrance to the meadow of Walter Phelps Jr. Road District 6 in 1862 was located south of Beaver Meadow Brook.
An objective view of the new Town of Indian Lake is provided by a letter published in the Glens Falls Republican of 1859, written by a girl who made a trip from Albany to Cedar River in July of that year. The road from Root’s Tavern at North River was so poor and contained such large boulders that most of the passengers found it more comfortable to walk than to ride in the three-seated wagon or any of the three buckboards. The party had spent the night at Root’s and had risen at 4 A.M., the women discarding hoops in favor of short skirts and boots. At Cedar River, they stayed in a lumberman’s shanty. On Sunday, they walked a half-mile to an afternoon Sunday school service in a log building, presumably the Indian Lake School.
SCHOOLS
A school for the youngsters of the community proved an early requirement. Despite willingness to expend physical energy on the project, the money required proved a burden to the small community. It was first voted to raise a tax of fifty dollars to build the schools on November 1, 1853. After the discussion, the vote was rescinded, however, and it was decided to build the schoolhouse by subscription or contribution.
Sufficient contributions seemed not forthcoming. On October 2, 1854 it was voted to raise a tax of one hundred dollars to finish the school. This proved impossible since there was neither assessment role nor title to the site. The schoolhouse remained unfinished throughout the winter. On March 1, 1855, it was resolved that "we meet on the first day of May next to finish the school house and stick to it till it is done." A subscription was drawn for seven dollars to purchase nails, glass, sash and door hangings.
At a meeting held July 5, 1855, it was voted that "the school be kept this summer in said district." It was decided to meet on Monday, July 9th to finish the school. The meeting was adjourned to July 14th at 4pm at the schoolhouse. It was duly held, and the school at Indian Lake was underway. Its location midway between the settlement at Cedar River and that on Indian River seems to have been a deciding factor in the ultimate location of the village itself.
The first sessions to be held in the little log schoolhouse at Indian Lake terminated in the fall of 1855. School was conducted in winter for the first time in 1860. Fifteen dollars was raised to winterize the building. The session began in December. By 1867, School District 2 had been created in the Big Brook area. On March 15, 1868, it was decided that a third school district was needed on Christian Hill. The site was purchased for $25 and the red schoolhouse was built with $600 raised by the community. Six months of school was held the first year, and $200 was raised for teachers’ wages and contingence expense.
At a later date, other districts were formed - one at Cedar River, two in Irishtown down the North Creek road (Farrell district and McGinn district, later consolidated), and one at Blue Mountain Lake. The Farrell district, originally in the Town of Minerva, Essex County, became part of the Town of Indian Lake after the county line was changed in 1915.
The school library in District No. 1 was started with the purchase of ten dollars worth of books in 1868. Such frills were insufficient to hide a situation deep-felt in certain quarters, however. A new school was needed. On June 12, 1869, a special school meeting decreed the raising of $600 to build a new schoolhouse, dig a well, and equip it with such modern conveniences as a woodshed, outhouse, and surrounding fence. The fence had become a necessity. Allen Brooks’ cows persisted in wandering into the schoolyard. Despite all protest to owner and beasts, nothing could seem to restrain their thirst for proximity to knowledge. At length when the fence was finally built, one animal tried to leap the impediment, became impaled on a post and had to be killed.
Fence and school were a full ten years in materializing, however. On October 11, 1870, a new decision was reached to raise $300 to build the new schoolhouse. Still the project faltered due to disagreement among the taxpayers involving arguments throughout four consecutive meetings in the spring of 1871. Finally, it was resolved to build the school on the site on this side of Nathaniel Gilson’s lot on the road. Two years passed without positive action. Then on August 4, 1873, it was decided that the size of the much-discussed school would be 22 by 26 feet, the cost to be $400. They would move the schoolhouse site to the corner up the road. Still nothing was done. On September 27, 1877, a special school meeting was held to discuss the projected improvement. It was agreed that the size would be 20 by 26 feet, 10-foot wall. Balloon frame, roof and sides be felted with tarred paper and the floor should be laid with 1-1/4 inch spruce battened with 1/2 inch strips, sealed under windows with matched spruce lumber. One year later, a site was purchased from Isaac Pinney for $50. On September 8, 1888, it was voted to move the schoolhouse across the road and to have it shingled. Finally, on October 1, 1892, it was decided to raise $1,500 for the third new school in the district. The old building was to be sold to the highest bidder. A two-room school building was erected.
In 1865, six years after its formation, the Town of Indian Lake had a population of 174. Despite the arrival of new residents, this was still a large decrease from the 356 inhabitants of 1860. There were only 31 families, 34 voters, nine aliens, and four people over 21 who could neither read nor write.
Until after the mid-1860’s there was no settlement at the present village center. The old log schoolhouse stood on the north side of the corduroy highway at the site of the present day health center. Toward the corners of the same side of the road lived Isaac Pinney. Across from the school at the foot of Crow Hill stood the Allen Brooks’ house. Just down the present road toward Speculator was the Williams Persons house, standing on the former route of the highway toward Cedar River.
Source: Aber, Ted, and King, Stella, The History of Hamilton County. Lake Pleasant, NY: Great Wilderness Books, 1965 and Aber, Ted, Adirondack Folks. Prospect, NY: Prospect Books, 1980
Photographs courtesy The Indian Lake Town Museum, Indian Lake, NY 12842
Web design by: Charity Clawson
2002 The Indian Lake Central School District, Indian Lake, NY