Historic Saranac Lake

10/15/2026

: The staff at Historic Saranac Lake are hard at work on designing new exhibits for the Saranac Laboratory, so we are looking at photographs taken throughout the lab's history. This photograph from 1942 shows John Schmidt working in front of one of the lab's signature large windows. John worked as a hematologist at the laboratory for many decades, and kept an extensive collection of literature related to his work. Check our our wiki for more info on John: https://wiki.historicsaranaclake.org/index.php/John_Schmidt

Stay tuned for new exhibits coming next year!⁠
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[Historic Saranac Lake Collection, 2009.8.10. Gift of Dr. Steve Riskin and Dr. Marilyn Garber.]

10/14/2026

: Historic Saranac Lake needs your help identifying the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and/or WHY of this photo. This print is part of a set of unclaimed prints from Kollecker's Kodak and Gift Shop, and we don't recognize the house! It was likely taken before 1950, but otherwise we have no information. Do you recognize it? Let us know by leaving a comment or sending us a message!⁠
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[Historic Saranac Lake Collection, 2024.2.313.]

10/13/2026

FREE EVENT: Wednesday, October 14; 6 PM

HSL members and those interested in joining HSL are invited to join us for the 2026 Annual Meeting. The meeting will feature a special presentation from guideboat builder Chris Woodward, who will discuss the history and tradition of guideboat building in the Adirondacks. This talk is being held in conjunction with our current exhibit, Small Wonders: The Robillard Collection of Small Boats.

About the Speaker
Chris Woodward runs a guide boat shop that dates back to 1930. Like his predecessors, Willard Hamner and Carl Hathaway, Woodward builds and repairs guide boats using traditional methods. He has worked on hundreds of boats. Woodward Boat Shop is near Lake Street, where several boat shops and taxidermists once operated.

10/08/2026

: If you looked up up at the sky 114 years ago this week, you might have seen this Wright-Burgess Model B flown by George Gray! Local entrepreneur William "Caribou Bill" Cooper had arranged for Gray's plane to be on display (for a cost) and hundreds watched Gray fly around the area. He even raced a car! Learn more about this flight on our wiki: https://wiki.historicsaranaclake.org/index.php/George_A._Gray
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[Historic Saranac Lake Collection, 2024.2.63.]

10/07/2026

: Historic Saranac Lake needs your help identifying the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and/or WHY of this photo. This photograph is another mystery photo from unclaimed prints at Kollecker's Kodak Shop. We do not know much of anything about it, including when it was taken! What can you tell us? Do you recognize the house, or the man? Let us know by leaving a comment or sending us a message!⁠
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[Historic Saranac Lake Collection, 2024.2.190.]

10/06/2026

Get into the spooky season spirit tonight at the Saranac Laboratory Museum! Join us at 6:00 PM for a Spooky Story Circle with local lore author Carolyn Greenberg and Sue Goff of the Adirondack Park Paranormal Society. They’ll be sharing regional ghost stories and gathering new ones, so drop by to listen in or share a tale of your own!

See you tonight!

10/01/2026

: The fall colors are showing up beautifully this season! The trouble with historic photographs (and printing them in the newspaper!) is that you just have to imagine that the leaves are tinted with fall colors. Luckily, companies printed hand-colored postcards that could give a better show. This postcard showing fall colors on Upper Saranac Lake was printed sometime in the late 1910s, and mailed in 1922. Enjoy the scenery!⁠
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[Historic Saranac Lake Collection, 2021.3.68. Gift of the Florence Wright Tuberculosis Postcard Collection.]

09/30/2026

: Historic Saranac Lake needs your help identifying the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and/or WHY of this photo. We know that this Winter Carnival float shows St. George slaying a dragon. We even know it's from the 1911 Winter Carnival parade, and the photograph was taken by William Kollecker. But what we don't know is where they are on the parade route! Can you help us identify these houses in the background? Let us know by leaving a comment or sending us a message!⁠
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[Historic Saranac Lake Collection, 2025.1.405. Gift of Ann Pecora Diamond.]

09/28/2026

Today, Historic Saranac Lake is thrilled to receive an Excellence in Preservation Award at the Century Association in New York City. The Preservation League's annual Excellence Awards program shines a light on the people who are using historic preservation to make all of our lives better — through exemplary restoration projects, indispensable publications, individual action, and organizational distinction.

Leading up to the award, the League created this spotlight video featuring the Trudeau Building:

118 Main Street was the home and medical office of Dr. E. L. Trudea...