Spring Comes to Sucker Brook

      

     Sometimes it seems like there is 'Washington County' and then there is 'Dresden and Putnam'. The two northern most towns can feel like a world apart from their more southerly cousins.  Cross over South Bay and things become sparer, leaner. There are more rock cuts than houses and those rock cuts are huge. Rt. 22 takes on the feel of an overgrown roller coaster with long slow uphills and thrilling descents. And the towns themselves further divide into the Lake George hugging hamlets of Huletts, Gull Bay and Glenburnie  while Clemons, Dresden Station and Putnam center are Lake Champlain oriented.

Google Earth image of Dresden and Putnam looking north

Lake Champlain Narrows right and Lake George upper left

     Because it takes me an hour of driving just to get there, I haven't explored this area as much as I'd like. But that's going to change and this spring is off to a good start. I've already made two trips to the Sucker Brook Preserve with, hopefully, more to come. If streams in the Town of Putnam took a vote it would be two against one with Charter Brook and Mill Brook both flowing east into the Narrows of Lake Champlain while Sucker Brook takes a turn to the west emptying into Lake George. Because much of the Sucker Brook watershed is owned and protected by the Lake George Land Conservancy it is easily accessible with a network of trails and viewpoints.

In this image from the LGLC's website the Sucker Brook Preserve is on the right with

Lake George left and center. Looking north. 

Uncredited but almost certainly a Carl Heilman photo

 

     The LGLC has been protecting land here since 1998. Today there is a block of conserved land from Flat Rock just south of the Essex County line all the way to Gull Bay Road. Three parking areas and trailheads give access to these properties. A trail off Schwerdfeger Road leads to the summit of Record Hill where there are great views of Lake George. Then there are trails into the Sucker Brook Preserve from Warrick Road near Glenburnie and Sagamore Road near Gull Bay. All the trails in Sucker Brook interconnect so you could explore the entire preserve from either the north or south but that would make for a long day. For most hikers it makes sense to split their visit into two trips. That's what I did recently with a walk from Warrick Road on the blue trail down to the lake and then a few days later using the yellow trail from Sagamore Road to the Cedar Swamp.

 

 

This map and list shows protected properties near Lake George 

in the Town of Putnam

     The LGLC maintains a seasonal dock so boaters can access the Sucker Brook Preserve from the lake. The blue trail connects the dock and lake shore to the North parking lot. While the distance and elevation change won't challenge experienced hikers it is a somewhat rocky, rugged trek. Lake George sits in its graben surrounded by cliffs and ledges and all the trails in the basin are challenged to find a route that isn't a rock climb. The woods here are fairly open with a mix of hemlock, pine and various hardwoods. I noted three different oaks: red, white and chestnut. Just before reaching the lake there is a spur to a viewpoint but this can be skipped. The trees have grown so as to obscure any view which once existed.

Lake George ice out at bottom of blue trail

Gwenne and Zia enjoying the view

     From Warrick Road there is also a short trail to an overlook of a large beaver pond. It might be possible to canoe here for the adventurist.  Below the beaver dam Sucker Brook tumbles steeply down to the lake. After hiking you should take a few minutes to drive down to Glenburnie if for nothing more than the gorgeous view of Anthonys Nose and Record Hill.

     Many people visit the southern section of Sucker Brook just to see the heron rookery. The birds use standing dead trees in a beaver pond to build their nest. It's thought that water surrounding the trees prevents many predators from climbing the trunks to steal eggs. Over time the dead trees fall and the area becomes less attractive to the herons. That seems to be happening here. As I walked the yellow trail a couple of days ago I couldn't see any activity but did spot a few nests that seemed abandoned. Fortunately the pond is still home to other wildlife as a flock of ducks near shore attested. 

Once upon a time

A heron on her nest at the Sucker Brook pond

(web image)

Evicted?

The herons don't seem to be using these nests anymore.

Sucker Brook has broke thru a small beaver dam

Cedar and hemlock on the east side of the swamp

The feathery spray of Northern White Cedar needles

     My next destination was the White Cedar Swamp. While I did see some Northern White Cedars there were many more hemlocks than arbor vitae where I was. Perhaps I wasn't in the right spot but I was reluctant to explore the wetland by myself late in the day. It would be interesting to come here with an experienced naturalist familiar with the place. The trees are known to prefer calcareous environments which makes me wonder if there might be marble bedrock. After poking around a bit a jammed camera lens convinced me to call it a day. On previous trips I checked out the beaver dam and climbed the sketchy red trail to a viewpoint and scene of a fire. From the parking lot staying on the blue trail will bring you to a Lake George overlook complete with a picnic table. It's a sweet spot to cap off your explorations.

(web image)

       

The Zombie Next Door

(web image)

     The Victory Mill went up in smoke on May 31, 2025. It was an 100+ year old former cotton and paper mill that fell victim to arson  by a couple of teenagers. It wasn't the first and probably won't be the last such structure to suffer this fate. John D'Alessandro, secretary of The Firefighters Association of the State of New York was quoted as saying, "We have a lot of those old vacant structures. This is going to be a problem fire departments are going to have to contend with for the near future." 

Screen shot from video walk thru of Stevens and Thompson plant in Middle Falls

posted on Youtube

     He makes a valid point. We build to meet a need and hopefully make a profit. But what happens when what we build is no longer needed? Abandoned and derelict structures are all too common in our area. Bio Tech, Skybel and Stevens and Thompson, all on the Battenkill River, come to mind. Then there is the Thompson Mill in Valley Falls. An effort to raze that building and create a park on the Hoosic River is projected to cost four million dollars. Dealing with asbestos is expensive. Almost all of these former mills are considered 'brown fields' with various toxic chemicals polluting the sites. The EPA, at taxpayer expense, did some clean-up at both Bio Tech and Skybel. Given the current administration's priorities it's hard to know if there will even be an EPA in the future.

Thompson Mill in Valley Falls

(web image)

     Waterpower was highly valued by early settlers. They built small dams and lumber and grist mills at many sites in Washington County. Historians have documented these places and you can sometimes still find traces of former activity. The Rexleigh Marble Mill is a familiar example. 

Rexleigh Mill

(Battenkill Conservancy photo)

     As agriculture developed, barns and silos were constructed. Evolving economics have made many of these obsolete and left them in various states of decay. For some this has resulted in second careers as subjects for area artists! ASA's Landscapes for Landsakes showcases these old farm buildings not as eyesores but as part of the charm of rural Washington County. 

Harry Orlyk painting

This prolific Salem artist has many more landscapes for sale on his website 

     Unfortunately, the paper mills that developed in the late 1800's and early 1900's lack the 'scenic' factor and are more likely to be contaminated with chemical residues.  Most are located near rivers and streams which causes additional concern. Time and technology have left these buildings behind. After years of failing to find an adaptive reuse for the Victory Mills plant it was slated to be demolished even before the fire hastened its demise. 

     Occasionally there are better endings, as a family story reveals. For years my grandfather managed a textile factory on Elm Street in Glens Falls. When the company that owned it looked south for labor savings Grandpa Butler went to North Carolina to oversee construction and manage the new factory staffed by low payed black women. Unjustly, they were the cheapest labor available. Eventually, even that plant closed and all production moved overseas where wages were lower yet. The good news is that the Glens Falls building where he had worked for many years was refurbished as upscale condominiums and continues in that function to the present day. A rare success story in reusing an old industrial structure. 

 

The former Clark Brothers textile mill in Glens Falls converted to condominiums

Jon and Deana Ketchum refurbished this Salem garment factory

It is now their home and furniture shop

(web image)

 

     For every site put to new use there are many others that are derelict. The GE and Ciba-Geigy plants in Fort Edward/Hudson Falls/Glens Falls have been demolished with their former locations empty and creating no jobs or economic activity. The same can be said for the Thompson Pulp and Paper Mill lot on the Hudson near Schuylerville. Other properties are tax delinquent, contributing nothing to the community while actually costing us in blight and remediation. They are dangerous 'attractive nuisances' that kids are drawn to explore. Local government officials seem at a loss in dealing with these situations. They are sometimes called 'Zombie Properties' but who wants to live with zombies in their midst? 

Thompson Pulp and Paper in better days

Old photo from top of Starks Knob?

Buildings have since been razed

     * Back in November of last year I was fortunate to hear a presentation by Skidmore College student Nicholas Sisto on "The Company and its Town: Textile Production in Victory Mills and the Community Built Around it." Sisto did a great job and his research has relevance to other 'company towns' in our area. The talk was filmed and you can watch it here.

Nicholas Sisko presenting on Victory Mills