North Pole is a small

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 ...

located in the town of Wilmington within Essex County, New York, United States, in the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...

Geography

North Pole is located in

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 ...

at the northern edge of Essex County near Whiteface Mountain, 12 miles (19 km) from Lake Placid and approximately 30 miles (48 km) from Plattsburgh. Fitting with the name of the hamlet, North Pole is one of the best places in the Northeast for snow. According to historical weather data that has been gathered at Tupper Lake every year since 1948, there's a 96% chance of some amount of snow for Christmas.

Demographics

The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

treated North Pole as part of a larger area including Lake Placid, NY for its 2000 census figures. Out of 8,098 people in the region, 1,444 are under 18, 1,072 are age 65 or over, 87% are

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

and 10.7% are

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. North Pole does not have its own bank, school, library, fire department, newspaper, police station or community organizations and most local businesses have closed their doors. North Pole has a small community postal station at 201 Main St, which is open only on a seasonal basis.

Media

In 1954, Burlington/ Plattsburgh-market

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

affiliate

WPTZ WPTZ (channel 5) is a television station City of license, licensed to Plattsburgh, New York, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh, New York Media market, market. It is owned by Hearst Television ...

(channel 5) was licensed to North Pole at the time of its sign-on (as WIRI). In 1999 the station petitioned the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

to reallocate its broadcast frequency (now on digital channel 14) to Plattsburgh, on the grounds that the hamlet has always been small and continues to lose population, with only four houses remaining near North Pole's main crossroads. While the station's studios were built on Television Drive in Plattsburgh, that lakeside city is low-lying ground relative to the surrounding

. The station's analog broadcast transmitter had therefore been situated upon a mountaintop near North Pole, operating from this location until 2009. While WPTZ's digital UHF TV transmitter facilities are now located atop

Mount Mansfield Mount Mansfield is the highest mountain in Vermont with a summit that peaks at above sea level. The summit is located within the town of Underhill in Chittenden County; the ridgeline, including some secondary peaks, extends into the town of S ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

, alongside WCAX-TV and other broadcasters in the region, the station's license (and therefore the on-air station ID) remained in North Pole until January 5, 2011, when the FCC approved WPTZ's request and formally moved its license to Plattsburgh.

Tourism

North Pole, New York's main attraction is

Santa's Workshop Santa's Workshop is the legendary workshop where Santa Claus and his elves are said to live and make the toys and presents given out at Christmas. The exact "location" of Santa's workshop varies depending upon local culture. There are at least ei ...

on Whiteface Mountain Memorial Highway, Route 431.

References

External links

NorthPoleNY.com

WPTZ TV5

{{Essex County, New York Hamlets in New York (state) Santa Claus Hamlets in Essex County, New York