Final Old Road Post!
For those history lovers that enjoy trying to locate the old state roads (in this case - the oldest) and could sit under an old tree and imagine a stage or horse driven cart rambling by, then these short, semi-bushwacks may offer a fun adventure.
Platt Rogers (1740 - 1798) was a private in the revolutionary War from Poughkeepsie, NY. After the war he became a surveyor and was hired by the state to lay out and construct the first road to run through the region (built from 1789 - 1793). It ran from Schroon Lake all the way north to Plattsburgh. He was paid in large land grants which he mostly sold off. He was also involved in the development of Plattsburgh, although the city was not named after him. He started a ferry service that ran from Basin Harbor Vt. to Split Rock (1 mile south of Essex). He also built the high bridge over Ausable Chasm. He eventually settled in Basin Harbor where he owned an iron ore bed. He was good friends with William Gilliland (first settler in this region - founder of Willsboro in 1765) and it was actually Platt Rogers that Gilliland was visiting when, upon his return trip across a frozen Lake Champlain, William got disoriented in a blizzard and eventually succumbed to the elements. His frozen body was found the following spring at the base of Coon Mountain, what today is an enjoyable 1 mile hike (between Essex and Westport).
The Platt Rogers Road heads north from Schroon Lake, basically following the course of today's Route 9. in 1805, approximately 15 years later, the Great Northern Turnpike was constructed, which from Schroon Lake to Keeseville, almost completely followed the same course as the Platt Rogers Road. The newer road simply avoided a few hills and widened and improved upon the older road in places.
As mentioned, the Platt Rogers Road basically follows the course of Route 9. It deviates in a few places and locating/tracing these short stretches can be entertaining. One such deviation occurs around Split Rock Falls, south of Elizabethtown. Heading north on Route 9 towards Split Rock Falls, approximately 500 feet before the waterfall at a sharp bend in the road, an obvious by-pass road - the Platt Rogers Road - cuts off to the right. Park nearby and follow this old road downhill and within 15 minutes or so it leads to an old stone bridge foundation that leads back to Route 9, a half mile of so below the falls. A huge blast furnace once existed on top of the hill just above the falls, on the eastern bank. Iron ore slag is still very evident lying amongst the rocks where swimmers leave their towels just below the bottom pool/falls...
Another, longer, more primordial feeling (and more highly recommended) stretch of the Platt Rogers Road that deviates from Route 9, starts at Sharp Bridge near North Hudson. To walk this 1 mile plus section of old road, park on the southern side of Sharp Bridge. Walk across the road to the east side of Route 9 and head south (uphill) about 50 feet from the bridge. Where the guard rail ends near a road sign, climb the left highway bank and dive into the woods. Nose around and the old road should become evident. The road soon crosses a ravine where an old bridge once existed and can be picked up on the other side. It traverses a slope high above the Schroon River, following it downstream. After 10 minutes or so, the road enters a section of old, large, pine trees, some down across the road. Here is where old telephone wires and even an insulator or two can be found (please leave in place) on the left side of the road. These lines must have followed the path of the old road and were probably put in around 1920 to bring telephone service to the newly opened Sharp Bridge Campground (one of the first 2 campgrounds opened by the state).
The road soon crosses lower, flatter land (the bane of all old road tracers) and staying on it really tests one's mettle. It stays very straight (as shown in all old maps) but can be followed by keeping track of the side drainage ditches. If in doubt - keep going straight and eventually the road intersects the old, historic, Cedar Point Road. A newer woods road has been built over the old Cedar Point Road in this section. Turn right at this junction and follow this newer road a few minutes back to Route 9 approximately 1 mile south of where you began. This stretch is much easier to pick up and follow starting at the Sharp Bridge end. The intersection of the Cedar Point Road and Platt Rogers Road was evident 20 years ago but not so today.
A third deviation of the Platt Rogers Road and Route 9 can be seen from your car. On Route 9 heading north from Sharp Bridge, approximately half a mile from Sharp Bridge, one can see the old Platt Rogers Road 30 feet or so back in the woods (on the right - eastern side) and up 10 feet or so above Route 9. It traverses the slope and parallels Route 9. As one drives across the small bridge a mile or so north of Sharp Bridge, the old Platt Rogers bridge abutment is briefly visible if one looks north and up the Schroon River. The old road crossed the river on this bridge and joined a current dirt road that went through the once bustling village of Deadwater, which in the 1850s - 1870s, enjoyed prosperity as an iron producing town (doing especially well during the Civil War).The cellar holes are still evident - it had a store, P.O., school etc. as well as a large blast furnace that dominated the town. The location of this old town is about a mile north of Sharp Bridge, down some dirt roads on the right of Route 9.
Once in the old village of Deadwater, find the end of the pond and the start of the river and you'll see the remains of the dam. A road crossed here, giving access to buildings on both sides of the river. A large blast furnace was located just across the dam, 10-30 feet downstream of it. A trestle bridge/loading ramp connected to the top of the furnace from high up on the ridge above the eastern bank of the river. From this trestle they crushed/dropped their ore into the furnace. Slag can still be seen in the river downstream. Roads radiated from this once thriving village (1 leads through the woods, past a large cellar hole and on to the old Sharp Farm - now under the Northway - while another 2 old roads pass on either side of Deadwater Pond, both leading to the current Tracey Road and eventually the Crowfoot Pond Road upon which they received their raw ore from Port Henry).
The operation became unprofitable quickly after the Civil War ended and the village of Deadwater became another Adirondack "deserted village", with French Canadian squatters living in the old, abandoned buildings in the 1890s - 1900s...
For those history lovers that enjoy trying to locate the old state roads (in this case - the oldest) and could sit under an old tree and imagine a stage or horse driven cart rambling by, then these short, semi-bushwacks may offer a fun adventure.
Platt Rogers (1740 - 1798) was a private in the revolutionary War from Poughkeepsie, NY. After the war he became a surveyor and was hired by the state to lay out and construct the first road to run through the region (built from 1789 - 1793). It ran from Schroon Lake all the way north to Plattsburgh. He was paid in large land grants which he mostly sold off. He was also involved in the development of Plattsburgh, although the city was not named after him. He started a ferry service that ran from Basin Harbor Vt. to Split Rock (1 mile south of Essex). He also built the high bridge over Ausable Chasm. He eventually settled in Basin Harbor where he owned an iron ore bed. He was good friends with William Gilliland (first settler in this region - founder of Willsboro in 1765) and it was actually Platt Rogers that Gilliland was visiting when, upon his return trip across a frozen Lake Champlain, William got disoriented in a blizzard and eventually succumbed to the elements. His frozen body was found the following spring at the base of Coon Mountain, what today is an enjoyable 1 mile hike (between Essex and Westport).
The Platt Rogers Road heads north from Schroon Lake, basically following the course of today's Route 9. in 1805, approximately 15 years later, the Great Northern Turnpike was constructed, which from Schroon Lake to Keeseville, almost completely followed the same course as the Platt Rogers Road. The newer road simply avoided a few hills and widened and improved upon the older road in places.
As mentioned, the Platt Rogers Road basically follows the course of Route 9. It deviates in a few places and locating/tracing these short stretches can be entertaining. One such deviation occurs around Split Rock Falls, south of Elizabethtown. Heading north on Route 9 towards Split Rock Falls, approximately 500 feet before the waterfall at a sharp bend in the road, an obvious by-pass road - the Platt Rogers Road - cuts off to the right. Park nearby and follow this old road downhill and within 15 minutes or so it leads to an old stone bridge foundation that leads back to Route 9, a half mile of so below the falls. A huge blast furnace once existed on top of the hill just above the falls, on the eastern bank. Iron ore slag is still very evident lying amongst the rocks where swimmers leave their towels just below the bottom pool/falls...
Another, longer, more primordial feeling (and more highly recommended) stretch of the Platt Rogers Road that deviates from Route 9, starts at Sharp Bridge near North Hudson. To walk this 1 mile plus section of old road, park on the southern side of Sharp Bridge. Walk across the road to the east side of Route 9 and head south (uphill) about 50 feet from the bridge. Where the guard rail ends near a road sign, climb the left highway bank and dive into the woods. Nose around and the old road should become evident. The road soon crosses a ravine where an old bridge once existed and can be picked up on the other side. It traverses a slope high above the Schroon River, following it downstream. After 10 minutes or so, the road enters a section of old, large, pine trees, some down across the road. Here is where old telephone wires and even an insulator or two can be found (please leave in place) on the left side of the road. These lines must have followed the path of the old road and were probably put in around 1920 to bring telephone service to the newly opened Sharp Bridge Campground (one of the first 2 campgrounds opened by the state).
The road soon crosses lower, flatter land (the bane of all old road tracers) and staying on it really tests one's mettle. It stays very straight (as shown in all old maps) but can be followed by keeping track of the side drainage ditches. If in doubt - keep going straight and eventually the road intersects the old, historic, Cedar Point Road. A newer woods road has been built over the old Cedar Point Road in this section. Turn right at this junction and follow this newer road a few minutes back to Route 9 approximately 1 mile south of where you began. This stretch is much easier to pick up and follow starting at the Sharp Bridge end. The intersection of the Cedar Point Road and Platt Rogers Road was evident 20 years ago but not so today.
A third deviation of the Platt Rogers Road and Route 9 can be seen from your car. On Route 9 heading north from Sharp Bridge, approximately half a mile from Sharp Bridge, one can see the old Platt Rogers Road 30 feet or so back in the woods (on the right - eastern side) and up 10 feet or so above Route 9. It traverses the slope and parallels Route 9. As one drives across the small bridge a mile or so north of Sharp Bridge, the old Platt Rogers bridge abutment is briefly visible if one looks north and up the Schroon River. The old road crossed the river on this bridge and joined a current dirt road that went through the once bustling village of Deadwater, which in the 1850s - 1870s, enjoyed prosperity as an iron producing town (doing especially well during the Civil War).The cellar holes are still evident - it had a store, P.O., school etc. as well as a large blast furnace that dominated the town. The location of this old town is about a mile north of Sharp Bridge, down some dirt roads on the right of Route 9.
Once in the old village of Deadwater, find the end of the pond and the start of the river and you'll see the remains of the dam. A road crossed here, giving access to buildings on both sides of the river. A large blast furnace was located just across the dam, 10-30 feet downstream of it. A trestle bridge/loading ramp connected to the top of the furnace from high up on the ridge above the eastern bank of the river. From this trestle they crushed/dropped their ore into the furnace. Slag can still be seen in the river downstream. Roads radiated from this once thriving village (1 leads through the woods, past a large cellar hole and on to the old Sharp Farm - now under the Northway - while another 2 old roads pass on either side of Deadwater Pond, both leading to the current Tracey Road and eventually the Crowfoot Pond Road upon which they received their raw ore from Port Henry).
The operation became unprofitable quickly after the Civil War ended and the village of Deadwater became another Adirondack "deserted village", with French Canadian squatters living in the old, abandoned buildings in the 1890s - 1900s...
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