• Visit
  • Events
    • HSLParty
  • About
    • Visit
    • Historic Saranac Lake
    • The Museum
    • Trudeau Building >
      • Contractor Portal 2023
    • PRESS Room
    • History Matters Blog
  • Research
    • Collections
    • Oral History Project
    • Local Wiki
    • Resources
    • HISTORY MATTERS Blog
  • Projects
    • Trudeau Building
    • Architectural Preservation
    • Collections
    • The Bartok Cabin
    • Oral History Project
    • Cure Porch on Wheels
    • School Outreach
    • Special Exhibits >
      • Pandemic Perspectives
  • Support Us
  • Contact
  • Museum Store
HISTORIC SARANAC LAKE
  • Visit
  • Events
    • HSLParty
  • About
    • Visit
    • Historic Saranac Lake
    • The Museum
    • Trudeau Building >
      • Contractor Portal 2023
    • PRESS Room
    • History Matters Blog
  • Research
    • Collections
    • Oral History Project
    • Local Wiki
    • Resources
    • HISTORY MATTERS Blog
  • Projects
    • Trudeau Building
    • Architectural Preservation
    • Collections
    • The Bartok Cabin
    • Oral History Project
    • Cure Porch on Wheels
    • School Outreach
    • Special Exhibits >
      • Pandemic Perspectives
  • Support Us
  • Contact
  • Museum Store

Museum Monday: Union College Tour

8/30/2021

6 Comments

 
Picture
We spent Saturday afternoon with students participating in Union College's Adirondack Mini-term and had a great time! The program looks at the theme of "a Peopled Wilderness" and allows students to learn about the history, literature, and socio-economics of living in the Adirondacks. Our Archivist/Curator Chessie led them on a tour of downtown Saranac Lake and the Saranac Laboratory Museum while talking about the history of the tuberculosis industry and its effects on the economy and culture of the village. Thanks to the students and professors for being such an enthusiastic, friendly, and engaged group! We're so glad to contribute to your experience in the Adirondacks!
6 Comments

Museum Monday: Pandemic Perspectives

8/16/2021

19 Comments

 
Picture
This Museum Monday, we want to share more about our Pandemic Perspectives exhibit! Visitors can examine 12 freestanding panels throughout the museum. Each panel has an emotion inspired by the Covid-19 and tuberculosis pandemics, and visitors are encouraged to reflect on how they have experienced these emotions. Have you come in to share about your experience yet?
Picture
Picture
19 Comments

Museum Monday: Tours

8/2/2021

9 Comments

 
Picture
We had a great time on our tour of Little Red and the Trudeau Statue last week. Thanks to everyone who joined us to learn more about these icons of Trudeau Sanatorium and the tuberculosis industry!
If you want to join us on a future tour, see our schedule and grab tickets on our events page!
9 Comments

Museum Monday: Crystal Spring House

4/19/2021

2 Comments

 
Picture
We're spending this #MuseumMonday inventorying a recently donated group of materials, so we thought we'd share a peek at it! The Crystal Spring House came up a number of times when we shared last week's photo of the Waverly House, so we thought it was an interesting coincidence to see this photo among the newly donated items. We have seen a different version of this photo that shows the "Crystal Spring House" sign above the porch (see the wiki). We're not sure who the "Dr. Baldwin" is listed on the mounting, but the Crystal Spring House was owned by Madison Baldwin. The Crystal Spring House burned down in 1895.

Learn more about the Crystal Spring House on our wiki.

Stay tuned for more on this very important collections donation!

[Historic Saranac Lake Collection, TCR# 680]
2 Comments

HSL Awarded IMLS Inspire! Grant

8/17/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
We are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded an Inspire! Grant for Small Museums from the Institute of Museum and Library Services! The $48,300 award will support our work to catalog and rehouse a portion of our image collections. The project will enable us to gain intellectual and physical control over our collection in preparation for a major expansion into the historic Trudeau Building adjacent to the museum. Over two years, we will create catalog records for photographs, postcards, and photo albums, and implement long-term archival storage. The project tackles a major next step identified in the museum's recently completed Collections Preservation Plan, also funded by a grant from IMLS.

Read the IMLS announcement and see a list of all of the awardees here.

Read our press release here.

Image: HSL Museum Administrator, Chessie Monks-Kelly, examines a recent donation to our collections.
1 Comment

Museum Monday: Native American History

7/27/2020

2 Comments

 
Picture
On July 22, Historic Saranac Lake staff met with Historian and Artist, John Fadden of the Six Nations Indian Museum and SUNY Potsdam Archeologist, Tim Messner to brainstorm ideas for an exhibit in the new museum about Native American history in Saranac Lake. Once the restoration of the Trudeau building is complete, the building will offer much more space for us to present much more history of the region. We look forward to highlighting the long history of Native American peoples in the area, and we are thrilled to have expert advice from John and Tim. A Vision Grant from NY Humanities is supporting this project. Contact us to find out more or get involved!

Image: A socially distant group photo. (L to R) Kayt Gochenaur, Oral History Coordinator, John Fadden, Tim Messner, and Amy Catania, Executive Director.
2 Comments

Museum Monday: Family Collections

6/22/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
If you're like us, you've done a bit of spring cleaning while you're spending more time at home. If you're also like us, you may be thinking about the best ways to store and care your historic photographs, letters, books, and more that document your family and community history. We hope that you're also thinking about the final home of your family's papers. Donating them to an institution such as Historic Saranac Lake can ensure their preservation and use for generations to come!

No matter what's on your mind about historic objects, we're here to help! Do you have a question about how to store a particular object, or want to ask how to donate or bequeath materials to our collection? You can contact us here on Facebook, or email our Museum Administrator/Archivist, Chessie.

[Photograph: Barbara Baldwin Knapp and Gunnar Knapp meet with Chessie Monks-Kelly to donate papers from the Baldwin Family to Historic Saranac Lake in 2019.]
1 Comment

Museum Monday: Post Office Pharmacy

3/23/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
It's Museum Monday, so we're excited to share a project we've been working on behind the scenes. We were all saddened by the closure of Post Office Pharmacy in December, but we are happy to share that we've been working with Jim Bevilacqua to preserve the history of the last of our historic independent pharmacies in Saranac Lake. Over the last couple of months, our Museum Administrator Chessie and Museum Assistant Nathan have been working to survey, select, and rehouse items from the decades of pharmacy history in the building.

We have selected hundreds of items to add to the collection at Historic Saranac Lake, including bottles, prescription logs, pharmacy tools, photographs, correspondence, and more. These objects document the history of pharmacies, patient care, and daily life in Saranac Lake since the 1880s, including trends and innovation in the treatment of TB patients. We still have a lot of work to do on this collection, but we are already planning ways to display items from and do research with this historic collection. Stay tuned for more updates as we work with these items and make interesting discoveries! And a HUGE thank you to Jim for his enthusiasm and support in preserving our history.

In the mean time, you can learn more about the history of Post Office Pharmacy on our wiki.

PS - Did you know that P.A.S. was the second antibiotic found to be effective against tuberculosis? Check out that label!

Picture
Picture
1 Comment

Museum Monday: Sam Senseney

12/9/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
This Museum Monday, we're sharing another story from our Annual Meeting. This one came from our Oral History Coordinator, Kayt:

"A few months ago I had the opportunity to interview Denny and Erlene Senseney. They came to Saranac Lake to see Will Rogers; Denny’s father, Sam Senseney, had taken the cure at Will Rogers Memorial Hospital. While at Saranac Village at Will Rogers, they happened to hear about the museum and came to pay us a visit. We were lucky to get to talk to them while they were here, and ended up sitting down for a last-minute oral history interview!
While curing Sam learned ceramic and leather work. When he returned home to Kansas, Sam brought these new skills with him. He got a job at a TB Sanatorium teaching patients the ceramic and leatherworking skills he learned here in Saranac Lake!"

You can hear a snippet of Denny and Erlene's interview here.

[Photograph of Sam Senseney, courtesy of Denny Senseney]

1 Comment

Museum Monday: Baldwin Family Papers

4/15/2019

2 Comments

 
It’s Museum Monday, so we want to share the news of an exciting collections donation we received this week! On Thursday, we were honored to receive six boxes of materials from the Baldwin Family. You may recognize the Baldwin name from last week’s Tuberculosis Thursday post about Dr. Edward R. Baldwin, but the collection also contains papers, photographs, journals, correspondence, and more from Mary Ives Baldwin, Ernest H. Baldwin, and Anne Leonard.

As we shared on Thursday, Dr. Baldwin was a close friend and colleague of Dr. E.L. Trudeau, and was the Director of the Saranac Laboratory. Mary Baldwin was the wife of Dr. Baldwin, and was active in local civic and philanthropic organizations, including the Village Improvement Society. Mary was also a talented photographer. Ernest Baldwin was Dr. Baldwin’s brother, and together with his wife, Anne Leonard, founded the Baldwin School in 1907. Ernest was also the first director of the Saranac Lake Free Library in 1907.

The collection was donated by Barbara Baldwin Knapp, Dr. Baldwin’s granddaughter, with assistance and accompaniment by her son and daughter, Gunnar and Tina (pictured in front of the Baldwin House). This donation is a thrilling addition to the collections here at the Saranac Laboratory Museum, and we can’t wait to share the contents (and future additions!) with you as we process them!

We want to share just a few snapshots of items from the collection, starting with photographs of Dr. Baldwin as a scientist, father, and outdoorsman; correspondence from Dr. Baldwin to his son Henry and his membership certificate for the Stevenson Society of America; travel medicine kits (including this one with Dr. Baldwin’s handwritten instructions); photographs and pamphlets from the Baldwin School; a travel diary from Mary Baldwin’s (pictured) trip to Europe in 1924; and photographs of Saranac Lake life (including Winter Carnival scenes) from a scrapbook from the 1910s.

Thank you to the Baldwin Family for their generosity and hard work in preserving (especially Gunnar!) and sharing this fascinating material with us!

To learn more about the Baldwin Family, visit our wiki!
Picture
Picture
Learn more about the Baldwin Family!
2 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>

    About us

    Stay up to date on all the news and happenings from Historic Saranac Lake at the Saranac Laboratory Museum!

    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019

    Categories

    All
    12 Days Of SL Mas
    Bartók
    Black History
    Collections
    Cure Porch On Wheels
    Events
    Exhibits
    Friday Link
    Grants
    History
    History Matters Column
    Image Of The Week
    Letters From The Porch
    Museum Monday
    Nurses
    Oral History
    School Programs
    Staff
    Talking Points
    TB Patients
    Trudeau Building
    Tuberculosis Thursday
    Visitors
    Wednesday Mini Tours
    Winter Carnival
    Women's History Month

    RSS Feed

Historic Saranac Lake at the Saranac Laboratory Museum
​89 Church Street, Suite 2, Saranac Lake, New York 12983
​(518) 891-4606 - mail@historicsaranaclake.org ​
Join our mailing list

Historic Saranac Lake is funded in part by:
  • the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature;
  • a Humanities New York SHARP Grant with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal American Rescue Plan Act;
  • an Essex County Arts Council Cultural Assistance Program Grant supported by the Essex County Board of Supervisors.
Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Picture
Picture
Picture
​© 2023 Historic Saranac Lake. All Rights Reserved. Historic photographs from Historic Saranac Lake Collection, unless otherwise noted. Copy and reuse restrictions apply. ​
  • Visit
  • Events
    • HSLParty
  • About
    • Visit
    • Historic Saranac Lake
    • The Museum
    • Trudeau Building >
      • Contractor Portal 2023
    • PRESS Room
    • History Matters Blog
  • Research
    • Collections
    • Oral History Project
    • Local Wiki
    • Resources
    • HISTORY MATTERS Blog
  • Projects
    • Trudeau Building
    • Architectural Preservation
    • Collections
    • The Bartok Cabin
    • Oral History Project
    • Cure Porch on Wheels
    • School Outreach
    • Special Exhibits >
      • Pandemic Perspectives
  • Support Us
  • Contact
  • Museum Store