North Country At Work

Workers constructing the Ice Palace, a hallmark of the annual Saranac Lake winter carnival. Date unknown. Saranac Lake, NY. Courtesy of the Saranac Lake Free Library.

The Ice Palace was built as part of the annual Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, which drew locals and tourists alike. 1989. Saranac Lake, NY. Courtesy of the Saranac Lake Free Library.

Concrete sidewalk construction on Dorsey Street; the stone wall was built to support the sidewalk. Circa 1910. Adirondack Daily Enterprise, November 23, 2002

Steel beams being delivered for the construction of the new Town Hall. Bricks are stacked behind, and barrels, possibly of rivets, line the sidewalk. From left, you can see the Paul Smiths Building, Currier Block, 16 Main Street, and Seaver A. Miller Cottage. Circa 1927. Saranac Lake, NY. Courtesy of Historic Saranac Lake.

A large group of men work to enlarge the canal. Circa 1900. Whitehall, NY. Courtesy of the Chapman Museum.

Two workers from the D.E. Van Wirt Construction Company with a horse-drawn dump wagon and steam roller. They are doing work for the Hudson Valley Railway Company. Circa 1910. Glens Falls, NY. Courtesy of the Chapman Museum.

Four employees of the D.E. Van Wirt Construction Company posing with shovels and pickaxes, doing a railroad project for Hudson Valley Railway. Circa 1910. Glens Falls, NY. Courtesy of the Chapman Museum.

A D.E. Van Wirt Construction Company worker operating a steam roller, as a project for the Hudson Valley Railway Company. Circa 1910. Glens Falls, NY. Courtesy of the Chapman Museum.

Workers for the D.E. Van Wirt Construction Company doing work for the Hudson Valley Railway Co. using horses. Circa 1910. Glens Falls, NY. Courtesy of the Chapman Museum.

Workers reinforcing the base of the east wing wall at Union Falls Dam. September 17, 1942. Black Brook, NY. Courtesy of the Paul Smith’s College Joan Weill Adirondack Library Archives