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During the 1870s the North Creek Train Depot may have been the last
stop on the railroad, but it was the beginning of the journey.
William West Durant improved the stage road from North Creek to Blue
Mountain Lake. Those journeying to their camps in Indian Lake,
Blue Mountain Lake and Raquette Lake would continue by stage. The
stories of train history in North Creek are told in each room of the
North Creek Depot Museum. The most famous story occurred on September
14, 1901. At approximately 5 a.m., then Vice President Theodore
Roosevelt arrived at the North Creek Train Depot to learn that
President McKinley had died from an assassin’s bullet and that he
would become the 26th President of the United States.
March 4, 1934 brought the first “Snow Train” to North Creek from
Schenectady and New York City. By 1936 a “Snow Train” would
leave Grand Central Station at 12:45 a.m., arrive in North Creek at
7:20 a.m. for two full days of skiing, and return to New York City at
11:05 Sunday night. Saks 5th Avenue was a major sponsor of the “Snow
Trains,” furnishing a railroad car with ski rentals and equipment.
By 1944 the first train load of ilmenite was moved from the Tahawus
mine by rail to North Creek. Over 90% of the world’s industrial
garnet is mined in North River, NY.
The museum also salutes the men and women of the Town of Johnsburg,
who have served in the United States Armed Forces, with a special
tribute to the 10th Mountain Division.
The North Creek Depot Museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days
a week, through Labor Day; Wednesday to Sunday through September and
October.
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