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Finger Lakes Facts!

Our new column! Neat facts about the Finger Lakes region of central and western New York State that you may or may not have known!

[Photo at left by Bill Hecht, showing Seneca Lake, the Village of Watkins Glen, and the gorge at Watkins Glen State Park in the lower left.]

OUR BOOK: A Walk through Watkins Glen

What became of the former Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Watkins Glen?

4/28/2014

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Answer: Hidden Valley 4-H Camp 
From 1935 until 1941, young men at the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp SP44 in Watkins Glen State Park built park buildings, trails, stonework, bridges, and many other projects. 
"Camp SP44 in White’s Hollow closed in 1941 as the nation turned its attention to war. But the camp buildings remained. In 1943, the federal government gave the CCC camp to the state park, which slowly converted it to a group camp for rental. 4-H became the principal tenant in 1946, and it has operated Hidden Valley 4-H Camp there each season since. A large dining hall was built in 1979, additional buildings were constructed, and all but one of the original CCC barracks were replaced by more durable structures." (Quote from our book, A Walk Through Watkins Glen: Water's Sculpture in Stone).
Photo above is from Hidden Valley 4-H Camp Facebook page.

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Which state park in the Finger Lakes had a Civilian Conservation Corps camp staffed and run by African Americans?

4/27/2014

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Answer:
Newtown Battlefield State Park
Newtown Battlefield Reservation State Park is on a hill just southeast of the City of Elmira, NY, and was the site of the only battle between the Continental Army and British, Loyalist, and Iroquois troops during the Sullivan Campaign invasion of the Finger Lakes in 1779. In the 1930s during the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps ran a camp at the park building roads, a picnic shelter, and other park facilities. Like much of the nation as a whole, CCC camps were segregated and there were a number of "colored camps," including the one at Newtown. Most, however, were run by white officers. But the Newtown Camp was one of only two CCC camps run by African American officers, the other having been at Gettysburg, PA. Find out more about the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Finger Lakes region in two episodes our of our show, Walk in the Park, "Civilian Conservation Corps in the Finger Lakes, Part 1 and Part 2."


Have you seen our BOOKS, Ithaca: the City, Gorges, and Colleges? Also, A Walk through Watkins Glen: Water's Sculpture in Stone. Now e-publications. Only $3.99 if you share them on Facebook! 

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In what state park is Lake Treman?

4/22/2014

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Answer:
Buttermilk Falls State Park
Lake Treman is a small lake created by a dam in Buttermilk Creek in the upper section of Buttermilk Falls State Park in Ithaca, NY. The lake was built in 1931. Later, Civilian Conservation Corps crews built bridges, steps, a road to the lake, the Lake Treman Picnic area, and a trail around the lake. Lake Treman was named for Robert H. Treman, who was chairman of the Finger Lakes State Parks Commission during most of the 1920s and 1930s. Hear the funny little story of how it was named for him as told by Josh Teeter of the Finger Lakes State Parks in our show, "Civilian Conservation Corps in the Finger Lakes, Part 1," shown in our Ithaca's public access television series, "Walk in the Park." See the schedule and/or watch it online anytime at our Walk in the Park vidblog. 

Have you seen our BOOKS, Ithaca: the City, Gorges, and Colleges? Also, A Walk through Watkins Glen: Water's Sculpture in Stone. Now e-publications. Only $3.99 if you share them on Facebook! 

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Where was the first Civilian Conservation Corps camp established in a state park in the Finger Lakes?

4/21/2014

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Answer:
Robert H. Treman State Park
Camp SP-6, Company 1265 operated a camp in the upper portion of the park from 1933 until 1941. It was one of more than 200 CCC camps created in New York State during the Great Depression. The CCC employed young men from 18 to 25 years old building trails, campgrounds, picnic shelters, swimming areas, and many other projects. There are museum exhibits about the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Old Mill in the upper park. You can also learn more about this camp and others in the Finger Lakes in this video, "Civilian Conservation Corps in the Finger Lakes, Part 1," featuring a presentation sponsored by the Friends of Robert H. Treman State Park. Part 2 should be published later this week.
In the photograph, CCC laborers build a dam in the park in July 1933.

Have you seen our BOOK, Ithaca: the City, Gorges, and Colleges? Now an e-publication. Only $3.99 if you share it on Facebook! See it here.

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What is the highest Finger Lake?

4/18/2014

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Answer:
Canadice Lake
Located in the hills south of Rochester, Canadice is 1099 feet above sea level. Compare that to Cayuga Lake, the lowest Finger Lake at about 381 feet. Canadice is also the shortest Finger Lake, only three miles long, whereas Cayuga, the longest, stretches 38 miles. Canadice and nearby Hemlock Lake are the only two Finger Lakes with undeveloped shorelines, and they provide the City of Rochester's water supply.

Have you seen our BOOK, Ithaca: the City, Gorges, and Colleges? Now an e-publication. Only $3.99 if you share it on Facebook! See it here.

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Which is the lowest Finger Lake?

4/12/2014

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Answer: Cayuga Lake
Cayuga Lake, at about 381 feet above sea level (the surface elevation varies a little with precipitation in the watershed and output at the northern end) is lower than all other ten Finger Lakes. In fact, Cayuga Lake receives water from Keuka Lake which drains downhill into Seneca Lake, which in turn pours down to Cayuga via the Seneca River/Cayuga-Seneca Canal. Cayuga's water then slides slowly downhill through the Seneca and Oswego Rivers to Lake Ontario, the lowest of the Great Lakes at 242 feet above sea level. 


Have you seen our BOOK, Ithaca: the City, Gorges, and Colleges? Now an e-publication. Only $3.99 if you share it on Facebook! See it here.

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What was the first state park in the Finger Lakes?

4/11/2014

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Answer: Watkins Glen State Park

Watkins Glen State Park was officially created in 1906, taking over a former scenic resort that first opened in 1863. It was called the Watkins Glen Reservation and was the first state park created in the Finger Lakes region. The park celebrated its centennial eight years ago.

In 2008, Owl Gorge Productions published A Walk Through Watkins Glen: Water's Sculpture in Stone, which has been available in the park's gift shop. An e-version will be available online soon from this website. In 2009, this book received first place in the small book category in the Media Awards competition of the National Association for Interpretation, the premier professional organization for park naturalists, historians, and others who interpret our natural and cultural heritage in national, state, and local parks, nature centers, historic sites, and other similar places.

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What early spring wildflower produces its own heat?

4/7/2014

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Answer: 
Skunk Cabbage
One of the earliest spring "wildflowers," skunk cabbage can send up its hooded "spathe" flowerhead even while snow might linger on its wetland habit in late winter. The skunk cabbage actually produces its own heat, thawing the icy ground it must push through and possibly attracting early season pollinators. 

Next to the spathe in this picture, large leaf buds push up out of the mud and soon will open out into broad green foliage (see below). Crush or bruise these leaves and you'll smell a strong, skunk-like or carrion-like odor! 

Photos taken along the Bear Trail in the upper portion of Buttermilk Falls State Park in ithaca, NY.

Have you seen our BOOK, Ithaca: the City, Gorges, and Colleges? Now an e-publication. Only $3.99 if you share it on Facebook! See it here.

Notice the withering spathe in the shadow below the skunk cabbage's leaves. 

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Which Finger Lake does not have a Native American name?

4/5/2014

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Answer:    Hemlock Lake
Ten of the eleven Finger Lakes have names associated with Native American origins, though they may not have been the original names used by Native peoples, the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois. Hemlock Lake lies in the hills south of Rochester. See our previous post with a map identifying the Finger Lakes. Hemlock Lake is named for the eastern hemlock tree, one of our most common needle-bearing evergreen tree species. The Iroquois name for Hemlock Lake was "O-neh-da."* 

Hemlock and Canadice Lakes are the City of Rochester's water supply and are the only Finger Lakes with undeveloped shorelines. The eastern hemlock tree, by the way, has been destroyed in much of the eastern United States by the invasive insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid.

Have you seen our BOOK, Ithaca: the City, Gorges, and Colleges? Now an e-publication. Only $3.99 if you share it on Facebook! See it here.


*Morgan, Lewis Henry (1851). League of the Iroquois

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Which Finger Lakes are connected to the Erie Canal?

4/4/2014

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Answer:    Seneca and Cayuga Lakes
Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake were connected via a canal using the Seneca River in 1818. In 1825, the Erie Canal was completed, and in 1828 the Cayuga-Seneca Canal connected these two largest of the Finger Lakes with the Erie Canal. The areas surrounding these lakes are part of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.

From 1833 to 1877, Keuka Lake was connected to Seneca Lake via the Crooked Lake Canal (the former name of Keuka Lake) along the Keuka Outlet, connecting Penn Yan at the northern end of the east branch of Keuka Lake with Dresden on the west shore of Seneca Lake.

Have you seen our BOOK, Ithaca: the City, Gorges, and Colleges? Now an e-publication. Only $3.99 if you share it on Facebook! See it here.

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    Tony Ingraham, owner of Owl Gorge Productions, author of A Walk Through Watkins Glen: Water's Sculpture in Stone, and co-author of Ithaca: the City, Gorges, and Colleges.

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