- April 5, 1941 – The Schenectady Union Star – Saturday, April 5, 1941
Scenic Beauty for all the People –
THE ACQUISITION by the State of New York of some seven thousand acres of virgin forest on the mountainside that slopes down to the east shore of Lake George, which seems now assured, will put the people in the position of owner of the last remaining wooded area along that matchless lake.
This will be the consummation of the hopes and struggles of a group of nature lovers who foresaw what commercial lumbering would do to this scene of incomparable beauty. Beginning in 1924, and on through Governor Smith’s administration, they secured constant acquisitions by the State of properties along the Lake until now ten thousand acres on its shore are preserved for the people for all time that they may enjoy its scenic beauty.
That the public is privileged to enjoy Lake George at the camping site a short distance north of Bolton Landing is due to the vision and hard work of these men. Lake George where the Lake’s shores come closest together at the narrows in the Paradise Bay region will continue to charm and delight generations to come as it has delighted every generation since the eyes of white men first glimpsed this panorama of Lake, forest, mountains and sky.
Thousands of people may now camp near to nature’s heart where formerly private ownership of the lake shore prevented public camping. To those private owners who, for upwards of a century, have kept the shores in a natural wildness until it became possible for the public to enjoy them a measure of thanks is due.
State roads and automobiles have been the main factors in opening the region to all the people. Prior to that, access to Lake George was by train to the head of the Lake, thence by horse-drawn stage. Most people, fifty years ago, caught glimpses of Lake George shores only from the excursion steamers in one-day trips. Now practically everybody can go independently any time and stay as long as he chooses, and tour the entire length of the Lake shore.