Fulton Chain of Lakes: A History

In 1798, a Rhode Island importer named John Brown came into ownership of 210,00 acres of property in the northern new york state. This was part of the 1792 Macomb's purchase, the first series of land patents granted in New York State following the American Revolution. Brown hired surveyors and laid out a Tract which included 8 townships which he named Frugality, Unanimity, Perseverance, Sobriety, Regularity, Enterprise, Economy and Industry. He had a 25-mile wagon road cut through the wilderness and subsidized 20-30 farmers to move into the Tract. He then built a dam on the middle branch of the Moose River, a sawmill and a gristmill in the township of Economy, in what is now Old Forge, a hamlet of the town of Webb. He soon realized that farming was not a profitable industry in this area and soon after his death in 1803, the settlement was abandoned.

In 1811, Brown's son in law Charles Frederick Herreshoff came and built a home near the Thendara railroad station. He brought 300 Merino sheep, built an iron mine behind his home and a forge near the refurbished gristmill . All his endeavors failed which led him to shoot himself in 1819. John Brown Francis, John Brown's favorite grandson who had inherited Township No. 7 initially tried to save the project without success. The forge and the gristmill closed in 1825.

In 1837, a struggling Boonville farmer named Otis Arnold hiked in and discovered Herreshoff Manor. He moved in with his family and soon after, they (which by then included 12 children) were running some sort of hotel, charging guests $1.50 a day or $11.00 a week. In 1867, Otis got into an argument with a guide, eventually killing him. Fearing arrest, he hiked up to Nick's Lake and drowned himself. Mrs. Arnold and her children eventually abandoned the building by 1880. By then, the region has become known for its beautiful rivers, lakes and mountains and continued to draw visitors until the present times.

The Fulton Chain of Lakes consists of 8 lakes starting from the dam at Old Forge. Starting from the Old Forge Pond, it travels the 1 mile channel or "Narrows" to First Lake then to Second and Third, through a channel to Fourth Lake to the Towns of Eagle Bay and Inlet - a 7 mile trip and then continues to the smallest, Fifth lake. From there one must portage their boat to Sixth and Seventh Lakes, which are navigable from one to the other and then portage again to Eight Lake.

Only the first 4 lakes which are the largest, were part of John Brown's Tract. The 5th to 8th lakes were actually part of the Totten and Crossfield Purchase of 1171. Water flowing through the Fulton Chain enters the Middle branch of the Moose River at the Old Forge Dam which is then joined by its north branch below the dam. The river then flows past the town of Lyons falls to the Black River and goes northwest into the Black River Bay on Lake Ontario.

In 1811, a commission was formed to investigate the feasibility of making a continuous waterway across the Adirondacks. Robert Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat and a member of the commission visited the chain of lakes that crosses Brown's tract and was quite enthusiastic about their possibilities. Even though the scheme never materialized, the lakes became known as the Fulton Chain of Lakes.

Sources:

A History of the Adirondacks. By Alfred Led Donaldson

Old Forge Historical Association

Fulton Chain of Lake Association

Early Maps of Town of Webb