Wanakena, New York

Wanakena is a hamlet located on the shore of Cranberry Lake in the town of Fine in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. Tourism is a major industry in the area; a small year-round population is supplemented by an influx seasonal residents each Summer. It is the location of the Ranger School of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

History

The town was founded in 1902 by brothers Herbert and Horace Rich, founders of the the Rich Lumber Company. Rich Lumber purchased 16,000 acres on the southwestern shore of Cranberry Lake, and constructed a lumber mill. Housing for the millworkers was built in part from lumber salvaged from the company's abandoned Pennsylvania lumber operation. There were up to 1500 workers at the Rich mill and associated industries. The company built a school in 1903. A logging railroad was constructed connecting Wanakena to the Carthage and Adirondack Railroad at Benson Mines, starting operation in 1905.

A 171-foot suspension footbridge built between the village and the mill for company workers before 1908 is still extant, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Ranger School was established in 1912.

External links

* [http://books.google.com/books?id=tgctip_b89EC&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87&dq=history+of+wanakena&source=web&ots=npN3RBTfG4&sig=HQx8IaKUIU65r8g7Crll_wFTeEA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result Google books: Smeby, Susan Thomas, "Cranberry Lake and Wanakena"]
* [http://nyroute30.com/towns/wanakena_star_lake_newton_falls.php NY Route 30 - Wanakena]
* [http://townoffine.org/content Town of Fine, NY]
* [http://www.esf.edu/rangerschool/ SUNY ESF Ranger School]
* [http://www.esf.edu/rangerschool/ New York State Ranger School]
* [http://rangerschool.esf.edu/wanakena/default.htm Wanakena, NY]
* [http://history.rays-place.com/ny/fine-ny.htm Early Fine history]