Assembly Resolution No. 598

BY: M. of A. Butler

COMMEMORATING the 60th Anniversary of the
Adirondack Experience: The Museum on Blue Mountain
Lake on August 5, 2017

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that the quality
of life of the citizens of the State of New York is greatly enriched by
its exceptional cultural, educational and recreational institutions; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Adirondack Experience: The
Museum on Blue Mountain Lake to be celebrated at a Music Fest on
Saturday, August 5, 2017; and

WHEREAS, For six decades, the Adirondack Experience: The Museum on
Blue Mountain Lake has strived to educate visitors about the unique
history of the Adirondack region, the relationship between people and
the Adirondack wilderness, and the importance of making informed choices
for the future; and

WHEREAS, Since 1957, the Adirondack Museum, now known as the
Adirondack Experience: The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake, has shared the
history of the people who have lived, worked and played in the
Adirondack Park; the history of the very place on which it sits mirrors
the history of the Adirondacks itself: from lumber camp to summer hotel
to museum to Experience, it embodies the transformation of the
Adirondacks from mineral and lumber resource to resort to recreation
getaway; and

WHEREAS, The Adirondack Experience's story begins in 1867 when
Connecticut farmer, Miles Talcott Merwin, acquired 11,230 acres in the
Adirondacks, including most of Blue Mountain; six years later, Miles
Talcott and his son, Miles Tyler Merwin, traveled here "in order to look
over some prospects for lumbering"; after reaching Glens Falls, New
York, by train, they hiked for five days through dense forest to reach
Blue Mountain Lake; and

WHEREAS, In 1874, Tyler Merwin, employed a crew of men to build a
set of shanties, clear up some land, and plant some potatoes to help
feed a crew of lumbermen the next winter; he and his men logged two
tracts of land, one on Blue Mountain and another around nearby Tirrell
Pond, three miles to the north; and

WHEREAS, In the last quarter of the 1800s, the Adirondacks became a
popular vacation destination; wealthy summer tourists came to spend
several weeks or more each summer, escaping the heat and smog of urban
life; and

WHEREAS, Tyler Merwin put up overnight guests, first in crude rooms
in the lumber camp, then in a log annex; in 1880, he built a large frame
hotel with a broad veranda overlooking the lake, by 1907, his Blue
Mountain House hotel could accommodate as many as 100 guests; and

WHEREAS, True to his Puritan background, Tyler Merwin banned the use
of alcohol and tobacco on hotel grounds, although he did offer
amusements including ping-pong, piano, Victrola, radio, and when
occasion demanded, square and regular dancing; and

WHEREAS, The Blue Mountain House continued as a hotel into the 20th
Century; on Saturday July 3, 1948, then owner, William L. Wessels,
invited a group of men and women interested in the history of the
Adirondacks and the preservation of mementos of the past to meet;
together, they formed The Adirondack Historical Association; and

WHEREAS, Granted a charter by the New York State Legislature the
following year, the group made plans to build a museum in Blue Mountain
Lake; in 1954, the Adirondack Historical Association purchased the Blue
Mountain House property from William L. Wessels, and began construction
on a new museum building; and

WHEREAS, The Adirondack Museum opened on August 4, 1957, after two
years of construction and collecting; the new museum's mission was
"ecological in nature, showing the history of man's relation to the
Adirondacks"; and

WHEREAS, The first objects collected were from the Blue Mountain
Lake area, and exhibits featured the Marion River Carry Railroad engine
and passenger car, the steamboat Osprey, a stagecoach, several
horse-drawn vehicles, a birch bark canoe and dioramas depicting various
aspects of life in the Adirondacks; and

WHEREAS, Since then, the Adirondack Museum collection has expanded
to include artifacts representing community life from all over the
Adirondack region; recently, renamed Adirondack Experience: The Museum
on Blue Mountain Lake, it continues to actively collect, preserve and
exhibit objects which were made or used by Adirondackers; and

WHEREAS, These objects are historical records that tell how people
live, work, and play on the Adirondack landscape; most of these objects
have been donated by Adirondackers who want to preserve and share their
family and community history; and

WHEREAS, Today, the Adirondack Experience: The Museum on Blue
Mountain Lake is comprised of approximately 30,000 objects, more than
70,000 photographs, 9,511 books, and 800 pages of original manuscript
materials housed and exhibited there; and

WHEREAS, The success of the Adirondack Experience: The Museum on
Blue Mountain Lake is in direct correlation to the efforts of its staff,
whose involvement is, and always has been, characterized by an
impressive commitment, an unbridled enthusiasm, and an uncompromising
standard of excellence in all endeavors; and

WHEREAS, The natural world is a community to which we all belong,
and nowhere is this more consciously recognized than in the Adirondack
Park; the Adirondack Experience continues to bring to life the history
of man's relationship to this landscape so we may make better-informed
decisions about the future of this very special place; and

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that institutions
which are founded in educational purpose, and which help to preserve the

history and heritage of a people, merit the highest commendation; now,
therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Adirondack Experience: The
Museum on Blue Mountain Lake on August 5, 2017; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the Adirondack Experience: The Museum on Blue Mountain
Lake.