Women's History Month: Josephine Smithwick

Today we have a special St. Patrick's Day post for Women's History Month! We want to share the story of Josephine Smithwick, who was an Irish-American cure cottage operator here in Saranac Lake. She ran the Smithwick Cottage, built 1917, at 60 Park Avenue (now 109 Park Avenue). They had originally come to the area for her husband Michael's health in 1912, but he passed away in 1918. Smithwick operated the cure cottage until her death in 1948.

It is most likely that Smithwick is pictured at the upper right in this photograph of the "Smithwicks Gang," from an album of photographs kept by Verdo Newman in the 1920s.

To learn more about Smithwick and the Smithwick Cottage, visit our wiki.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!