Railroad Track With Wilderness Vanishing Point Stock Image

Transportation in Central New York underwent a transformation in the early part of the 19th century with the completion of the Erie Canal and New York Central and Hudson River Railroads. With people and goods now traveling more easily and more quickly than ever before across New York State, as well as the increased pressure to utilize natural resources of the northern part of the state, the Adirondacks began to experience an influx of people. In addition to loggers, trappers, and hunters, many wealthy families began to construct estates in the Adirondacks, today known as the “Great Camps.” Roads, difficult to construct through the heavily wooded and mountainous terrain were not practical for transportation of large quantities of goods or wealthier families, accustomed to a higher class of transportation. Dr. William Seward Webb, a medical doctor by trade, president of the Wagner Palace Car Company, and husband of Lila Vanderbilt, of the wealthy Vanderbilt family, figured the best way to access Nehasane Park, his large hunting preserve to the north, was by train. In 1890, he financed a railroad into the Adirondack wilderness.