Riding the Adirondacks



From Union City I went left onto Casey Rd. and then left onto Silver Lake Rd on into Clayburg. From Clayburg I went left onto Rt. 3 and branched off onto Standish Rd. and followed that up to Lyon Mountain. I’m not sure if it was on Standish Rd. or 374 into Dannemore but somewhere along the way there was a town in the middle of nowhere with run down houses and a “Community Center” which looked like it was about ready to fall down by sunset. But, it was in use! A boy had a skate board setup in the middle of the street which showed me not many come through this way. Now I consider myself a nut at times but even I didn’t want to stop to take pictures. Something told me to keep moving or else become part of some sacrificial ritual of which I would not merely be a spectator. The place was as creepy as they come and it was as if I was being watched by those just waiting for me to either be foolish enough to stop or fall over to be caught. So onward I pushed only then to come into the town of Dannemore not knowing it’s the home of the largest state correctional facility in New York!

I’m slowing as I entered town as I always do and I notice the southern side of the street looks fairly vacant. Then I notice the north side of the street is just a wall. It was the wall of the Clinton Correctional Facility. The town IS the correctional facility basically. But Cook St. (374) looked like a town from the past with very few places left open with one being a liquor store. I would imagine a large portion of the town is employed there as I later learned the place confines 3000 inmates. They have a web site here and describe the place as “With only a few thousand residents, our village provides a safe and friendly atmosphere and we welcome all to our neighborhood.” Ok let’s see if I have this right then. You have a few thousand residents and that prison currently holds a few thousand? I’ll be right up to raise my family there! No offense to those living in Dannemore, and God bless those who work there. But living in a town with a one to one ratio to the inmates is certainly something different.

http://www.villageofdannemora.com

I found an old pic on their site very close to where I took mine.


1950



My pics in 2009






Further up the road were buildings formally part of a structure for the criminally insane back in 1900. Today the structure is used as part of the prison facility.




From Dannemora I stayed on Cook St. (374) out towards West Plattsburg. At this point the ride is less scenic but at the top of hills I could see the mountains of Vermont across Lake Champlain. From 374 I went right to go south onto Rand Hill Rd. and then right onto 22B to head south down to Peru. As I pulled in to the camp ground I thought how the adventure was over, but I was wrong about that.


Leaving the mountains for now, heading to camp in Peru, NY




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