WELCOME TO NEWCOMB
We invite you to discover the town of Newcomb, a picturesque and friendly community in the heart of the Adirondack Park.
Located on western edge of Essex County, the town of Newcomb was formed in 1828 and now has about 475 year-round residents. Its industrial history dates back to the days of lumbering, mining and hospitality. Although these local industries haven’t quite faded into the history books, Newcomb today mainly plays host to travelers searching for outdoor recreational opportunities in all seasons: hikers, campers, hunters, fishermen, cross-country skiers, snowshoers, paddlers, bird watchers, horseback riders, golfers, snowmobilers, etc.
The Town of Newcomb Comprehensive Plan calls Newcomb “one of the Adirondack Park’s signature communities. Founded as a mining town, forged out of the wilderness, it supplied the nation first with iron, and then with titanium ore, crucial to the Nation’s WW II effort. However, with the closure of the Tahawus mine, Newcomb is now defined by its remote character and ‘forever wild’ State forest lands. Newcomb’s story is one of perseverance and patience, resourcefulness and determination, ingenuity and practicality—it is the story of a people who have sustained themselves by living in harmony with the landscape.”
Newcomb is home to the southern gateway of the High Peaks Wilderness Area at the popular Upper Works trailhead. Residents and visitors have ample access to thousands of acres of state-owned land in the High Peaks, the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest and the Camp Santanoni Historic Area. The town also boasts the headwaters of the mighty Hudson River, as it empties out of Lake Henderson. Rich Lake and Lake Harris are popular destinations for paddlers and fishermen.
The Adirondack Park’s only “ghost town” is located in the town of Newcomb. The former village of Adirondac, located at the Upper Works trailhead along the banks of the Hudson River, was once an iron mining community and place where the Tahawus Club members stayed during their “sporting” vacations. It is now owned by the Open Space Institute and is expected to be turned into a destination for historic interpretation. One exciting feature is the MacIntyre Blast
Furnace, built in 1854.
Great Camp Santanoni is one of a couple of original Adirondack Great Camps open to the public. Most of the camp’s buildings, many of which have been recently restored, are located on the shore of Newcomb Lake in the state-owned Camp Santanoni Historic Area. Access to the camp is achieved by hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, or snowshoeing along a 5-mile dirt road from the Gatehouse near Route 28N. And don’t forget the more than 25 miles of backcountry equestrian trails accessed from this point. Horse-drawn wagon rides to the Great Camp are also available in non-winter months.
Perhaps the most famous visitor to Newcomb was Theodore Roosevelt, a native of New York City and former New York governor. In September 1901, he came to Newcomb to climb Mount Marcy as the vice president of the United States and left as the country’s 26th president, making a mad dash in the middle of the night, on a buckboard, from the Tahawus Club to the North Creek train station, where he learned that President William McKinley had died from a gunshot wound. At age 43, he became the nation’s youngest president. The Open Space Institute recently stabilized the historic McNaughton cottage at the village of Adirondac, where Roosevelt was vacationing in 1901 and began his midnight journey. The tablet at the Teddy Roosevelt Monument on Route 28N reads: “Near this point while driving hastily from Tahawus Club to North Creek at 2:15 a.m. Sept. 14, 1901 Theodore Roosevelt became president of the United States as William McKinley expired in Buffalo.” Three relay drivers were named: David Hunter, Orrin Kellogg and Michael Cronin.
For more information about the town of Newcomb, contact the Newcomb Chamber of Commerce at (518) 582-2274 or check out the town’s web site at www.newcombny.com.
