Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about each collection in addition to inventories of their content. More information about our collections can be found on our website.
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Lake Placid Club Publications, 1898-1946
Melvin Dewey organized the Lake Placid Club (LPC) in 1893 on the shore of Mirror Lake. Dewey’s desire was that the Club would be a place not only of year-round relaxation but of instruction. The LPC became known for their distinctive customs and celebrations. The collection was donated by Smiley Brothers, Inc. whom inherited them from Daniel Smiley, former owner ...Read More
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Louis Curth Papers, 1885-2003
The Louis Curth Papers measure 12.87 cubic feet and date from 1885-2003. The collection consists of research materials used in the writing of The Forest Rangers: A History of the New York State Forest Ranger Force (1987) and includes manuscripts, reports, correspondence, photographs, and other records detailing forest ranger history as well as glimpses into Curth's career.
Louis Curth is ...Read More
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Louis Marshall Collection, 1918-1939
Renowned corporate, constitutional and civil rights lawyer Louis Marshall brought his four children, James, Bob, George and Ruth to the Adirondacks to their camp at Knollwood igniting a lifelong love of and dedication to the wilderness in them all. Bob and George would continue their father’s work to protect the wilderness and become well-known preservationists and authors.
The collection was ...Read More
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Milo R. Kniffen Case File on Panther Mountain Dam, 1923-1965
The collection consists of Milo R. Kniffen's legal files as attorney for the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks (AfPA) in the organization's successful fight against the proposed Panther Mountain Dam.
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New York State Conservation Council, Inc. Records, 1937-1989
The New York State Conservation Council, Inc. Records measure 1.89 cubic feet and were created during the years 1937-1989. The records consist of annual meeting minutes, reports, resolutions, and other records of the Council.
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New York State Trails Conference Records, 1935-1946
The collection consists largely of correspondence between the New York State Trails Conference and Legislators between 1935 and 1946 regarding such issues as a proposal to create ski trails on Whiteface Mountain. The organization arose from general dissatisfaction with the dictatorial conduct of affairs at the open meeting of the Skiing Committee of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) under the ...Read More
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Noel Riedinger-Johnson Papers, 1912-2013
The collection consists of the personal papers and research files of Noel Riedinger-Johnson, primarily relating to her writings on Jeanne Robert Foster. The papers include writings, notes, and photographs used in compiling poems and prose of Jeanne Robert Foster for "Adirondack portraits: a piece of time," published by Syracuse University Press in 1986. Research materials include newspaper clippings, catalogs, and ...Read More
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Norman VanValkenburgh Papers, 1935-2003
The Norman J. VanValkenburgh papers consist primarily of records from the Forest Preserve Centennial and research files for publications and reports by VanValkenburgh.
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Orra A. Phelps Collection
The collection consists of correspondence, notes, and other research materials used by Mary Arakelian in writing a biography of her aunt entitled, Orra A. Phelps, M.D.: Adirondack Naturalist and Mountaineer (2000). Orra A. Phelps was a physician, naturalist, botanist, hiker, mountaineer, teacher, and writer responsible for publishing the Adirondack Mountain Club’s Guide to Adirondack Trails (1934).
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Orson Schofield Phelps Collection, 1878-1973
Orson Schofield Phelps (1816-1905), or “Old Mountain Phelps” as he became known was one of the most notable of all Adirondack guides. He became the first white man to ascend Mount Marcy in August, 1849, bushed out the “Round Trip” trail in 1874 and brought over 500 tourists to its peak. Among the prominent figures that hired Phelps were Verplanck ...Read More
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Osmond D. Putnam Photographs, 1885-1986
Collection of 132 glass plate negatives, 150 photographs and information on images showing rural Adirondack life in the 1880s from the personal collection of Osmond D. Putnam (1861-1926). Images include depictions of labor and industry, rural education, landscapes, architecture and portraits of community members near Johnsburg, New York. Miscellaneous photographs include reproductions of Putnam family portraits, gravestones, and other scenes ...Read More
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Panther Mountain Legal Records, 1923-1957
In 1913 the Burd Amendment legalized the flooding of 3% of Forest Preserve lands for the creation of reservoirs and allowed for the formation of regulatory districts that could regulate the flow and course of rivers by use of dams. During the first half of the 20th Century dams were built and land was flooded in the Forest Preserve. Environmentalists ...Read More
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Paul Schaefer Collection, 1870-1997
The Paul Schaefer collection consists of ca. 62 cu ft of correspondence, maps, litigation manuscripts, legislative documents, pamphlets, circulars, published materials, photographic material, audio recordings, video recordings, and art prints. The collection is in good condition, however some of the material exhibits water or insect damage. The dates within the collection range from 1870 to1997, with the bulk of the ...Read More
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Per O. Moberg Papers
Materials related to the work of Per Moberg while employed with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, as a member of the Sierra Club and in other advisory committees spanning the years 1892 to 2009. Per O. Moberg (1920-2011) was a conservationist, licensed guide and officer of the Adirondack Mountain Club and Sierra Club.
The collection contains unit ...Read More
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Peter Fish Papers, 1969-2003
Peter Fish served New York State as Forest Ranger from 1969 to 1998 in the Catskills and the Adirondack High Peaks regions. (In an interview from 2008, Fish told a reporter that he had climbed Mt. Marcy 707 times.) During this time his duties included search and rescue, law enforcement, education, trail maintenance, disposition of facilities, and environmental protector of ...Read More
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Ranger Major Robert Rogers Collection, 1765-1987
Ranger Major Robert Rogers was an American colonial frontiersman serving in the British army during both the French and Indian War and American Revolution. His Rangers operated in the Lake George/ Lake Champlain region during the French and Indian War.
The collection is copies of books pertaining to Ranger Major Robert Rogers.
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Robert F. Flacke papers on the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Games, 1974-1980
The collection includes correspondence, legislative reports, agency reports, photos, postcards, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings related to the approval process, planning and regional impacts of the 1980 Winter Olympics held in the Town of North Elba, Lake Placid, NY
Planning for the 1980 Winter Olympics held in the Lake Placid area of New York State began years before. The Winter Olympics ...Read More
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Schenectady Wintersports Club Records, 1929-2002
The collection consists of the records of the Schenectady Wintersports Club and documents skiing and outdoor activities in New York's Capital District and Vermont. Administrative records consist of meeting minutes, financial records, membership lists, agreements, constitutions, bylaws and lists of officers. General records include newsletters, printed materials, historical files, information on ski lodge construction, photographs and miscellaneous materials from the ...Read More
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The Marshall Family Photograph Collection, 1900-1969
Photographs of the Marshall Family and friends at Knollwood on Lower Saranac Lake and hiking, camping and fishing in the Adirondacks. The collection also contains a few photographs of Bob Marshall sent to the family after his death by Mrs. Virginia B. Olmstead.
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Thomas L. Cobb Papers, 1975 – 2005
The Thomas L. Cobb Papers consist of his writings, correspondence, notes, and other materials relating to his academic, government, and advocacy work on environmentalism in New York State.
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Vincent Schaefer Papers, 1921-2001
Shortly after founding the Mohawk Valley Hiking Club in 1929, Vincent Schaefer conceived of a trail of notable places hikers could visit from New York City to the Adirondacks. Re-imagined in the 1960’s as a more traditional hiking trail, it now runs from Ft. Lee, NJ to Altamont, NY. There are plans to continue the route to the Canadian Border. ...Read More