Lake Luzerne, formerly the Town of Fairfield and then Luzerne, is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in southern Warren County, New York, United States. The town is located within the

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a park in northeastern New York (state), New York protecting the Adirondack Mountains. The park was established in 1892 for "the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure", and for watershed protection. At , ...

. The town is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lake Luzerne is west of the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

of Glens Falls. The town population was 3,079 at the 2020 census.US Census 2020 Report, Lake Luzerne town, New York https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Lake%20Luzerne%20town,%20New%20York

History

The area received its first permanent European settlers around 1770. The town of Lake Luzerne was set off from the town of Queensbury in 1792 as the Town of Fairfield.History of Warren County, edited by H. P. Smith - Chapter XXVI: History of the Town of Luzerne
/ref> The town is named after Anne-César, Chevalier de la Luzerne, who guaranteed a personal loan to provide food to American revolutionary troops and who served as a French Minister to the new country. In 1808, the town changed its name to Luzerne and in 1963 to Lake Luzerne.

Features

The town is known for its Adirondack Folk School, with classes designed to keep the arts, crafts and culture of the Adirondacks aliv

and for th
Lake Luzerne Chamber Music Festival
where artists such as classical guitarist Joel Brown
the Imani Winds
violinist Raymond Gniewek, saxophonist Erk Rist, jazz great
Chris and Dave Brubeck
and the Philadelphia Orchestra perform during the summer months. Every year, children from across the world compete to participate in music camps at the Luzerne Music Center, where free concerts are offered to the public. Woodward Hall was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2014. Lake Luzerne is also the home of th
Painted Pony Rodeo
the award winning Nettle Meadow Cheese Shop offering Kunik cheese, and the Double "H" Ranch, founded by Charles R. Wood and the actor,

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

. The ranch provides specialized programs and year-round support for children and their families dealing with life-threatening illnesses. The Ranch's purpose is to enrich their lives and provide camp experiences that are memorable, exciting, fun, empowering, physically safe and medically sound.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (2.66%) is water. The southern and western town lines are the border of Saratoga County and the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

. The northern town boundary is the border with the town of Warrensburg. The eastern town line is the border with the towns of Queensbury and Lake George. Just north of the bridge across the Hudson, to Hadley, is the narrowest point of the entire Hudson River, Rockwell Falls. Just to the south is where the

Sacandaga River The Sacandaga River is a river in the northern part of New York (state), New York in the United States. Its name comes from the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American ''Sa-chen-da'-ga'', meaning "overflowed lands". The Sacandaga Ri ...

meets the Hudson.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 3,219 people, 1,264 households, and 883 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,949 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.79%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.25%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.34% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.22% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population. There were 1,264 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.99. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $36,348, and the median income for a family was $40,104. Males had a median income of $30,152 versus $20,654 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $16,246. About 7.7% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations

*Beartown – A

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

in the eastern part of the town. *Danielstown – A hamlet in the southern part of the town in the vicinity of Daniels Road and County Route 32 (Call Street). *Fourth Lake – A hamlet west of a lake by the same name and north of Lake Luzerne hamlet on Route 9N. * Fourth Lake – A lake located east of the hamlet of Fourth Lake. *Hartman – A hamlet in the southern part of the town, east of Danielstown, in the vicinity of Hartman Loop and County Route 32 (Call Street). *Hudson Grove - A hamlet along the Hudson River, south of Lake Luzerne hamlet. * Lake Luzerne – A hamlet on the east bank of the Hudson River on Route 9N. It is southwest of a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

by the same name on the western side of town. This hamlet has ZIP code 12846. * Lake Luzerne – A lake located by the hamlet of Lake Luzerne. *Lake Vanare – A hamlet east of Fourth Lake on Route 9N. The hamlet is in the vicinity of two bodies of water, named Lake Forest and Lake Vanare. *Luzerne Heights (or "The Heights") – A community inhabited by numerous seasonal residents, off Pierpont Road.

References

External links

Lake Luzerne, NY town site
{{authority control Glens Falls metropolitan area Adirondacks Towns in Warren County, New York Towns in New York (state) New York (state) populated places on the Hudson River Populated places established in 1770 1770 establishments in the Province of New York