Agrarian Idealism in the Adirondacks

In reading both the Schneider and Terrie books, I was struck by the idea of the American dream in the Adirondacks. Families moving up to the North Country with the hopes of finding fertile farmland seems like a precursor to westward migration and the gold rush era in California. Unfortunately, it seems most families experienced hardship rather than success in the Adirondacks, much like those who journeyed to California to mine for gold.

People moving to the Adirondacks were lulled by reports of an agricultural paradise.  John Brown’s names for his proposed towns encouraged optimism and hope for idealist communities. Instead, they found mostly barren and rocky soil. As I was driving through the park today, I tried to imagine what the land I was seeing now was used for 200 years ago. It is definitely evident that the Adirondacks are not quite the agricultural strongholds of the Mohawk and lower Hudson valleys. Open fields and meadows now populated with dense brush are all that remain of former farms in many spots. It will definitely be interesting to keep learning about the history of the Adirondacks and other, more successful industries there.