Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Transportation

Location

107 Dillon Rd, Raquette Lake, NY 13436, USA

Lat/Long

43.813708, -74.657312

Grant Recipient

Town of Long Lake

In the summer months it was common for city residents wishing to escape the heat and hustle & bustle of the city to holiday in the Adirondack Mountains. The Raquette Lake Railway made the remote wilderness of the Adirondacks readily accessible to summer tourists. Completed around 1900, the  Railway facilitated the construction of the Raquette Lake train station. Once passengers arrived at the train station in Raquette Lake, steamboats, operated by the Raquette Lake Steamboat Company, transported tourists to camps and resorts. In addition to tourists, the Railway spurred economic development in the Adirondacks.

The Raquette Lake Railway operated for more than 30 years. Eventually the number of tourists traveling by train declined, causing the Railway to cease operation, as described in a March 12, 1934 edition of the Syracuse Herald:

The Raquette Lake Railway owner and New York Central operator, have been authorized by the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon 18.1 miles of track from Carter to Raquette Lake, serving resort sections in Herkimer and Hamilton Counties of New York State. Despite objections by some residents in the affected area, the ICC approved the abandonment in the grounds that traffic was insufficient to justify continued operation.

After its abandonment in 1934, the Raquette Lake Railway officially dissolved in 1938.