Beaver River is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

that is six-tenths of a mile square, at the east end of

Stillwater Reservoir Stillwater Reservoir is a man-made lake located by Beaver River, New York within the Western Adirondacks. The lake has a large amount of recreational uses including camping, canoeing, boating, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, and cross-country sk ...

, in the town of

Webb Webb most often refers to James Webb Space Telescope which is named after James E. Webb, second Administrator of NASA. It may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Webb Glacier (South Georgia) * Webb Glacier (Victoria Land) *Webb Névé, Victoria ...

Herkimer County Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named af ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. The hamlet is surrounded by the

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a part of New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure”, and for watershed protection. The park ...

. The hamlet has a year-round population of eight that increases during the summer, as many people have camps in this wilderness area. There are 125 private properties and three commercial businesses. No roads lead to the hamlet; it is accessible only by hiking, small self-propelled private track speeder or boat in the summer and by snowmobile, snowshoes or cross country skis in the winter. There is no electrical service. The town is named for the Beaver River, which was impounded to form the Stillwater Reservoir. The Beaver River is a west-flowing tributary of the Black River and part of the

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

watershed. The former

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

right of way, on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, passes through the hamlet; an existing bunkhouse is a part of the historic property. The Adirondack Railroad will resume tourist passenger service from Utica to Tupper Lake, via Beaver River, in 2023: 42 years since the last passenger train ran on its trackage. The last New York Central Railroad passenger train left Beaver River on April 24, 1965.See Wikipedia article on Adirondack Railroad.

History

Beaver River was created in 1892 by railroad builder Dr.

William Seward Webb William Seward Webb (January 31, 1851 – October 29, 1926) was a businessman, and inspector general of the Vermont militia with the rank of colonel. He was a founder and former president of the Sons of the American Revolution. Early life Webb w ...

as a stop on his newly completed

Adirondack and St. Lawrence Railway Adirondack may refer to: Places *Adirondack Mountains, New York, US **Adirondack Park, a protected area in the US, containing a large portion of the Adirondack Mountains * Adirondack County, New York, a proposed county in New York * Adirondack, Ne ...

, which became the

Mohawk and Malone Railway The Mohawk and Malone Railway was a railroad that ran from the New York Central Railroad's main line at Herkimer north to Malone, crossing the northern Adirondacks at Tupper Lake Junction, just north of Tupper Lake. The road's founder, Dr. Willia ...

and ultimately, the

New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

. Webb owned some in the area, which was popular with hunters and fishermen. Extensive logging began at the turn of the century. In 1902, the Norridgewock Hotel was built, which became the social hub of the community. A school house was built in 1912 by early settler Ben Bullock; the school continued to operate until 1965.

References

Sources

*Bill Donnelly
"Beaver River History"
from ''A Short History of Beaver River'', Town of Webb Historical Association, Old Forge, NY
Beaver River Property Owners Association

External links

Beaver River Property Owners Association

Stillwater Reservoir Boaters' Map
{{Herkimer County, New York Hamlets in New York (state) Adirondacks Hamlets in Herkimer County, New York Car-free zones in the United States

History

See also

References

Sources

External links