Post on 24-Feb-2021
2013 THE WARREN COUNTY BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Memorial Markers in the Town of Hague on Lake George, NY
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1. Memorial to the Deceased Firemen of Hague Volunteer Fire Department and
Veterans of American Legion Post 1538.
At the entrance to Hague Cemetery and the triangle with State Route 8, West Hague Road
and Cemetery Road, is a rock embedded with two memorial plaques dedicated to Hague’s
deceased firemen and veterans. Many names of Hague’s most prominent citizens are
engraved on the headstones dating back to the earliest years since Hague was founded.
C.M. Ianson Photo
2013 THE WARREN COUNTY BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Memorial Markers in the Town of Hague on Lake George, NY
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2. Town of Hague
Centennial
Marker at Hague
Visitors Center.
Hague’s Visitors’
Center is Located at
the intersection of
Routes 8 and 9N.
A two-panel exhibit
describes major events
in Hague’s early
history.
C. M. Ianson Photos
Inscription on the Centennial Marker of the
Town of Hague:
“Warren County 1818-1913
The Town of Hague Known
as Rochester
Until April 9, 1808
Formed from the Town of
Bolton
February 28, 1807
Marker erected 1913
by Warren County
Centennial Committee”
2013 THE WARREN COUNTY BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Memorial Markers in the Town of Hague on Lake George, NY
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3. Robert E. Henry Memorial Marker with dedication to John T. Henry and Warren
County Centennial plaque 1776 - 1976 to the Cause of Liberty
This memorial rock is also located at Hague Visitors Center at the triangle with Routes 8 and 9N
at the entrance to Hague Town Beach and Park.
Debbie Manning Photo - 2010
Below, an excerpt from the Town of Hague Homepage www.townofhague.org
“Mrs. Robert E. Henry dreamed of giving a small beach to the Hague children in memory of her
deceased husband. A piece of property at Cape Cod Village was originally proposed for
donation, but the Town Fathers felt that the property was too far out of town….The Town Board
pursued the matter. The Burgey family had a lovely piece of property on the shores of Lake
George that would be beneficial to all residents of the Town. A public referendum was held to
purchase this 1½ acre piece of property with over 300 feet of lakeshore for the sum of $25,000 to
have a public park and beach. On July 7, 1955 the Town Board unanimously voted to name this
park the Robert E. Henry Memorial Park. In a thank you letter to the Town Board, Mrs. Henry
spoke of her family carrying out his ideals. The plaque in the park for John T. Henry explains
this vision.”
2013 THE WARREN COUNTY BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Memorial Markers in the Town of Hague on Lake George, NY
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4. Henry Knox Marker at Sabbath Day Point, Hague, NY Route 9N. This marker faces
south on the lawn of a private Sabbath Day Point residence. In the photo below, the view of
Lake George is to the north, towards Ticonderoga, the point from
which the cannons and artillery began their journey aboard flat-
bottomed barges. After six arduous hours, the flotilla made its first
stop. It was the ninth of December, 1775 when Henry Knox wrote
in his diary:
Employ'd in loading the scow, Pettyaugre and a battoe. At 3
O'Clock in the afternoon set sail to go down the lake in the
Pettyaugre, the Scow coming after us run aground we being
about a mile ahead with a fair wind to go down but unfair to help
the Scow. the wind dying away we with the utmost difficulty
reach'd Sabbath day Point about 9 O'Clock in the evening --
went ashore & warm'd ourselves by an exceeding good fire in an
hut made by some civil indians who were with their Ladies abed
- they gave us some Vension, roasted after their manner which was very relishing.
[-Source: [http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/services/KnoxTrail/kthistory.html]
Inscribed on Henry Knox Trail Marker:
“THROUGH THIS PLACE PASSED GEN. HENRY KNOX IN THE WINTER OF 1775-1776
TO DELIVER TO GEN. GEORGE WASHINGTON AT CAMBRIDGE THE TRAIN OF
ARTILLERY FROM FORT TICONDEROGA USED TO FORCE THE BRITISH ARMY TO
EVACUATE BOSTON”
View North to Ticonderoga from Henry Knox Monument at Sabbath Day Point – C. M. Ianson Photo
2013 THE WARREN COUNTY BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Memorial Markers in the Town of Hague on Lake George, NY
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5. Margaret Boyd Rowan Nature Preserve Silver Bay YMCA of the Adirondacks.
(Formerly named Silver Bay Association)
C. Ianson Photo 2011
Henry and Betty Rowan, and over 600 other donors contributed to keep 168 acres of forest and
Lake George shoreline across the lake from Silver Bay “Forever Wild.” The marker is at the
outermost point of the pavilion at Slim Point. In 1910, the first American Boy Scout leadership
training camp was held at Silver Bay. The dedication of the American Boy Scout Council Ring
took place here at Slim Point on August 9, 1947.
6. Historic New York Lake George Marker at Sabbath Day Point is inscribed with the
following paragraphs:
“The natural route by water and portage between the
St. Lawrence River and the Hudson River traversed
Lake George. Christened in 1646 by the Jesuit
missionary Isaac Jogues, it was renamed in 1755 by
Sir William Johnson to honor King George II.”
“Above the outlet of Lake George, overlooking Lake
Champlain, the French built Fort Carillon
(Ticonderoga), which became a military objective
during the colonial conflicts between the English and
the French. Fort William Henry, built at the southern end of Lake George to check the French,
was destroyed by French and Indians in 1757. In 1758, General James Abercrombie led a large
force northward to attack the French at Ticonderoga and was repulsed, but General Jeffrey
Amherst was successful in the following year. With the outbreak of the American Revolution
Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold took Fort Ticonderoga. Abandoned in 1777 to General John
Burgoyne’s invading army, it remained in British hands until 1782.”
2013 THE WARREN COUNTY BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Memorial Markers in the Town of Hague on Lake George, NY
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“From earliest times the singular beauty of this forest-bound lake has charmed visitors.
Sportsmen, artists and nature-lovers have been drawn to its shores. Boating and fishing have
made it a popular recreation area. State owned campsites and beaches today have preserved
some of its pristine charm. ”–Education Dept. New York State 1961 Dept. of Public Works
View across Lake George to the South from Hague Town Dock. – C.M. Ianson Photo 2011
7. Graphite Mine Marker located on the North shoulder of Route 8 viewed driving east
towards Hague Town Beach.
Graphite Sign Photo by Pat McDonough 2010 Graphite Mine Photo circa 1900 Courtesy Max Headroom
In 1887 Sam Ackerman discovered the mineral graphite in West Hague in the wooded hills
around Elephant Rock on both sides of Route 8. At first, the graphite ore dug out of Round
Mountain came from an open pit mine. .“The mine, an open pit,” wrote Hague historian Clifton
West, “was active only in the summer, with the graphite hauled to a processing plant in the
winter because it was easier for a horse-drawn sleigh to move it over ice and snow.” But tunnels
were dug at the main mine across the road and a mill was built on the slope up the northern side
of Route 8. After it was abandoned, this mine became the “bat hotel” for bats from all over the
northeastern US. Graphite was discovered on the hill of Lake Shore Terrace Road off Route 9N,
too. But both mines that once produced the graphite for the famed Ticonderoga pencils, machine
lubricant and that had many other applications, shut down altogether in 1921. Wilford Ross
wrote in his book, History of Graphite, New York (p. 24), that the cause was not for lack of ore.
There is still plenty of it left today. He learned from John Sullivan, the last Superintendent of the
American Graphite Company, that though the supply was plentiful, there were labor problems.
But the less obvious cause for the shut-down was that Hague’s underground ore was too
2013 THE WARREN COUNTY BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Memorial Markers in the Town of Hague on Lake George, NY
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expensive to dig out of the mountainsides for processing when a cheap source of the mineral was
discovered in other parts of the world, like in Madagascar. There the graphite ore lay on the
surface of the ground where the natives could pick it up into baskets and carry it to be dumped
into the holds of sea-going freighters as ballast. Wilford Ross wrote, that according to Mine
Superintendent Sullivan, “…when these ships arrived back in the United States the ore was
delivered free to the American Graphite Company headquarters in New Jersey for processing.”
History of Graphite, New York (p. 24)
8. Clifton F. West Hague Town Historian
Memorial Garden Marker August 2002
Historian West began to document the history of
Hague before the computer age by longhand or by
manual typewriter. The town of Hague honors him for his diligence in beginning the work of
collecting and cataloging historic documents and artifacts of the Town of Hague. After high
school graduation, Mr. West continued his education at the Mildred Elley Business School of
Albany. Mr. West became Town of Hague Historian taking that position after his
predecessor, Vila Fitzgerald. Clifton West and his wife Marguerite lived their whole lives in
Hague. Both were active in the Hague Baptist Church. Their home stood on the banks of
Hague Brook across from Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church.
8. American Legion Post 1538
Memorial Veterans Park
At the former site of American
Legion Post 1538, this park was
dedicated to those who served in
every war since the American
Revolution. Four tablets are
inscribed with the names of
Hague’s Veterans. It was a dream
of the late Adjunct Vincent Jones
and Commander Frank Koenig to
see the park established before
during their lifetimes. And so it
was in 2011. And so it is.
Submitted by Christine M. Ianson
Hague Historical Society - Oct. 22, 2011
Clifton F. West b. August 26, 1908 – d. July 06, 2001
Veterans Memorial Park 2011 – C.M. Ianson Photo 2011