Abandoned Adirondac (north country ghost town?)
The above photo was taken in the Adirondacks as well. It is titled “rock wall”, but in reality it is neither. It is really a close up of a small portion of an abandoned stone foundry chimney in the Tawahus reserve. It is left over from the iron ore foundry in the McIntyre mine. Back in 1826 a small community called Adirondac sprung up in the wilderness of the Adirondack mountains to mine iron ore. It was abandoned in 1857, because of an impurity in the iron. It reopened later as the Tawahus Club, and it was here, in a small cottage, that Teddy Roosevelt first heard that President McKinley had been shot. Roosevelt became president on his way from Tawahus to Buffalo when McKinley died from his wounds.
The mine was reopened during WWII by National Lead to mine the impurity that had doomed the earlier attempt. That impurity was Titanium. There were new residences built, and the mine was operated until the early 80’s when it closed, probably for good. New York created the Tawahus reserve in 2003, and it is now a popular hiking spot. The foundry chimney, various pieces of antique equipment and many of the cabins (although not safe to enter) are still there. Of course, there are plenty of stories of hauntings that come with abandoned buildings left open in the wilderness. Tawahus is between Newcomb and the Northway, just follow the signs to the dirt road leading past the chimney and dead ending at a parking area right after the abandoned cabins. Remember, although the cabins are left open and easily accessable, entrance is not recommended-many are in very poor condition and serious injury could easily occur if flooring gave away.
