VAN BUREN BAY
- Program
- Subject
- Location
- Lat/Long
- Grant Recipient
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NYS Historic
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People, Site
- 220 Silver Bay Rd, Silver Bay, NY 12874, USA
- 43.700218, -73.506984
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Silver Bay Association for Christian Conference and Training
VAN BUREN BAY
Inscription
VAN BUREN BAYBENJAMIN VAN BUREN,
AFRICAN AMERICAN FARMER,
ACQUIRED LAND HERE CA. 1847.
LIVED HERE WITH HIS FAMILY
UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1879.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2023
An inlet along the northwest shore of Lake George in the town of Hague in Warren County, New York has been called Van Buren Bay as early as 1883. It was here that an African American man named Benjamin Van Buren settled around 1847. Mr. Van Buren was born circa 1800 in Rensselaer County. Around 1847, he acquired land in the town of Hague on the banks of Lake George. He established a farm and home here for him and his wife Jane, with whom he raised eight children.
Mr. Van Buren’s lakeside farm encompassed around 160 acres of land. According to census records, he kept horses and cows and raised sheep for wool, in addition to producing butter and hay. A variety of crops were grown, including wheat, rye, corn, oats, buckwheat, potatoes, and fruit trees. Around 1866, Jane died and four of Mr. Van Buren’s grown sons, Martin, Hiland, William, and Charles, continued to live with their father on the family’s farm. Mr. Van Buren lived here until his death in September 1879.
