The other day my husband and I were bear searching as we drove to a former iron mine town in the Adirondacks of Upstate NY called Tahawus. Now, in all honesty, I’ve never heard of this ghost town until my husband told me about it, hence the title of this weeks’ blog, “The Little Lost Town.” Sadly we didn’t spot any bears on the way up there. We did find some ruins of this iron mine town though and that was pretty cool in and of itself.

There are several ruins there that you can tell were homes by looking at the length of the ruins and it’s clear to see where the fireplaces would have been in one of them. There are signs provided showing you what the homes looked like and explaining who lived in them or built them. I told my husband when we were looking at them, they are not castle ruins or Church ruins, but they are ruins so I’ll take what I can get at the moment. Anyway, this lost iron town starts near where the Hudson River starts and you can still see quite a bit of the material that was used way back when. There are the remains of the water wheels and other industrial equipment that would have been used. There is also the large stone building which is an “Iron Ore Blast Furnace” that is very intact. There is a walking path that you can take along the river. Along this path, you will see the ruins and you will end up at the blast furnace. It does make for a nice outdoor walk.

This mining town was built in 1827 and about 70 years later it became a “hunting and hiking club” that Theodore Roosevelt used to go to. I am told this is where Vice President Roosevelt was camping with his family when he heard the news of President McKinley’s death. From what I understand the hunting and hiking club was there for a number of years, but obviously isn’t there anymore. If you live in Upstate NY and are interested in visiting this little lost iron town it is located at the “Upper Works Trailhead” in the Adirondack Park. There isn’t that much to see, but it is a nice drive and a nice little hike along the river with a little bit of history added in.

Kathleen Smith is an indie author, blogger and she has her own podcast Kathleen’s Korner. You can read or listen about her life in Brooklyn and Upstate NY. You can also either read or listen to her personal story of how she and her husband kept their marriage together through 3 miscarriages in Miscarriages My Story