Irish Loggers at Alder Brook

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Did you know that the community of Alder Brook had a huge influx of Irish immigrants in 1848 and 1849 following the Great Potato Famine? Those settlers often worked in logging camps in the area. Our friend and former board member Jim Clark told a wonderful story of his great-grandfather, Lawrence Keys, walking to work in the Loon Lake lumber camps. This interview was given as part of the North Country at Work project in 2017. Listen here.

Learn more about Alder Brook on our wiki.

[Log jam in the Stone Valley area, circa 1900. Photo courtesy of the Colton Historical Society.]