TUPPER LAKE, N.Y. (WCAX) – Remnants of Tupper Lake, New York’s history have found a new home — one that invites visitors to pull off the road and dive headfirst into Adirondack history.
“It is just those wonderful memories, and memories is really what keeps people in your community,” said Marlene Duprè Hyde, a board member with the Tupper Lake History Museum. She says those memories will continue to live on in their new location after a two-decade moving process. “Literally, we were in boxes, unpacking, packing, finding a new home.”
She says the museum purchased property at 291 Park Street, a building that’s been a gas station, restaurant, and hair salon. Now, after some renovations, the structure holds some of the town’s most important artifacts and educational material, offering visitors a glimpse of the community’s rich history, including when logging was at its height and when the town burnt to the ground in 1899. “The people decided, what are we going to do? Are we going to move or are we going to stay,” and they decided that they were going to rebuild — which they did,” said museum president Kathleen Lefebvre.
Despite upheaval over the years, including the departure of the mills, railroads, and logging, the museum illustrates how the people of Tupper Lake have always kept moving forward. “They taught us that you just never give up and keep going and if something doesn’t work, try something else,” Lefebvre said. A lesson they want to spread to upcoming generations now that they have a permanent home. “We have had younger people come in and they just do not know the history of Tupper Lake, so this is the way that they will learn.”
The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 to 4 p.m. and is free.