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White Face... Highest Mountain In New York...
White Face... Highest Mountain In New York...
Item # 554181
May 13, 1837
THE GLOBE, Washington DC, May 13, 1837
* Early Whiteface Mountain description
A page 3 report about the "Highest Mountain In New York" states, in part: "White Face, a mountain in Essex County...is found by Professor Emmens...to be 4855 feet above the level of the sea...while Round Top of the Catskill range, hitherto deemed our highest peek, is only 3804....The region is not free from snow three months in the year..."
Other news of the day with advertisements throughout this 4 page issue. Some light foxing, otherwise in good condition.
wikipedia notes: Whiteface Mountain is the fifth-highest mountain in New York State, and one of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains. Set apart from most of the other High Peaks, the summit offers a 360-degree view featuring the Adirondacks and perhaps on a clear day glimpses of Vermont and even Canada. Located in the town of Wilmington (about 13 miles from Lake Placid) the mountain is home to a ski area with the highest vertical drop in the eastern United States (3430 feet, or 1,045 m). Part of the post World War II growth in recreational skiing attributed to the efforts of returning veterans of the Army's 10th Mountain Division, Whiteface also hosted the alpine skiing competition of the 1980 Winter Olympics. Unique among the High Peaks, Whiteface features a developed summit and seasonal accessibility by motor vehicle.
Whiteface Castle and the Whiteface Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway were Depression Era public works projects similar to the New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects that followed. Construction on the toll road began in 1929, after passage of a necessary amendment to the state constitution, with a groundbreaking ceremony featuring then-New York State Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. Eventually costing 1.2 million dollars and ending within 300 vertical feet (90 m) of the summit the roadway is 5 miles long and features an impressively steep 8% average grade. Officially opened July 20, 1935 in a ceremony featuring Roosevelt, by then President, the highway was dedicated to veterans of the Great War.
Whiteface Castle, built with granite excavated during the road construction, dominates the summit area. From the adjacent parking lot there are two routes to the summit proper. The first route is the Stairway Ridge Trail, a footpath with handrails and intermittent cement and stone steps approximately 0.2 mile (120 m) long. The second is a 424-foot (129 m) long tunnel into the core of the mountain. At the end of the tunnel is an elevator, which rises 276 feet (84 m, or approximately 27 stories) to the summit.
Category: Pre-Civil War
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