Exhibits at the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society’s History Museum in the train station are seen on Sept. 12. (News photo — Chris Gaige)

Faithful readers of the Lake Placid News may recall that a couple of weeks ago, we visited the new phase of the Adirondack Rail Trail. This week, we return to the trail’s eastern terminus in Lake Placid.

Don’t let the location fool you. Rather than stepping on a bike, this week we step back in history.

If I have managed to confuse you, that’s because at the beginning of the rail trail in Lake Placid, you will find the train station on Station Street. Inside is the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society’s History Museum, which is chock-full of photos and artifacts that tell that story of this village’s history.

Walking into the museum through the station’s grand green doors on Thursday, Sept. 12, I was immediately greeted by a beautifully polished Adirondack guideboat suspended above the ticket counter. The bilge faces downward, allowing visitors to get a glimpse of the intricate ribs and seats.

I made my way to the counter, which was staffed by Chris Malmgren, who serves as director of the historical society. She provided a comprehensive tour of the museum. Our first stop was at the new Main Street exhibit, which shows how the village’s downtown stretch has transformed over time. The collection was put together by Jon Prime.

Exhibits at the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society’s History Museum in the train station are seen on Sept. 12. (News photo — Chris Gaige)

Three wide shots show popular stretches of Main Street buildings today. Several photos, taken at the same level and have the same lighting were carefully photoshopped together to create the elongated display that captures the essence of the buildings. Photos that capture individual or smaller clusters of the same segments of that street from various points throughout history are featured around the wide displays.

Remarkably, the images in this display were taken without people walking in front of the buildings, and only have a couple of cars parked along the road. While action shots have their benefits, Prime’s display allows viewers to appreciate the architecture and downtown layout with minimal distraction, or visual noise.

“It’s fascinating to see the buildings as they are, given that this sidewalk is usually so busy and there’s so much going on in and around them,” Malmgren said.

She noted that the exhibit was still a work in progress, and Prime was continuing to expand the amount of Main Street that he was featuring in the exhibit. The museum also has an iPad video display next to the Main Street photos that shows a collection of video footage of Main Street taken throughout the 20th century.

The tour’s next stop was a collection of area photographs taken by Grover Cleveland. Probably not the one you’re thinking of. This Grover Cleveland never served as the president of the United States, and, in fact, was born Jesse Grover Cleveland in 1887 — during President Cleveland’s first term in office, according to the museum’s exhibit. For reasons unknown, he scrapped his original name and went by Grover J. Cleveland.

Exhibits at the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society’s History Museum in the train station are seen on Sept. 12. (News photo — Chris Gaige)

A native of central New York, Cleveland became a professional photographer and first made his way to Lake Placid in 1916. He spent much of his life in and around the village, documenting the 1932 Olympic Winter Games, among a plethora of aspects of village aspects as he continued to work in the village throughout the late 1950s, according to the exhibit.

Cleveland’s daughter, Clara Cleveland Bass, donated many of her father’s original glass-plate negatives and photos to the historical society on her 100th birthday. Reproductions of those donations make up the exhibit.

While certainly not unique to Lake Placid, structural fires have impacted the village’s composition over the years. The tour’s next stop was at a photo by Nancie Battaglia capturing the 1992 Lake Placid Club fire that destroyed the property’s main complex — a nearly 100-year-old landmark at the time.

Today, one can look to that stretch of Mirror Lake Drive and see the same wall in the photo’s foreground with barren ground behind it, a stark and tragic reminder of how quickly history can vanish.

After briefly stopping by the museum’s gift shop, or, perhaps more accurately a gift table as Malmgren pointed out, we made our way back to the museum’s main room. A series of photo collections highlight Lake Placid’s distinctly different character throughout each season of the year. Other sets showcase sports — from the youth to professional level — around the village. There are photos and artifacts paying homage to some of the most spectacular camps on Lake Placid. Another area of the room focuses on transportation methods and means across the area.

Exhibits at the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society’s History Museum in the train station are seen on Sept. 12. (News photo — Chris Gaige)

Apologies to the reader if that last paragraph is rather curt. I was dreadfully short on time. One could easily spend hours analyzing the diverse array of collections offered in the museum, which I intend to return and do.

The History Museum provides an excellent opportunity for those looking to take a step off of the beaten path and immerse themselves in Lake Placid’s march from humble beginnings to one of New York’s preeminent destination towns. Even in my brief time, I was able to come away with an appreciation for much of the history that provided the foundations for the Lake Placid we see and cherish today.

Those interested in attending should act quickly. The museum is seasonal, and closes after Columbus Day weekend. During the winter months, the Historical Society does hold several lectures, which are free to attend, at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. They will reopen for the 2025 season over Memorial Day Weekend. The museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Additional information about their hours, exhibits and more can be found on their website, www.lakeplacidhistory.org.

Exhibits at the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society’s History Museum in the train station are seen on Sept. 12. (News photo — Chris Gaige)

Exhibits at the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society’s History Museum in the train station are seen on Sept. 12. (News photo — Chris Gaige)

Exhibits at the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society’s History Museum in the train station are seen on Sept. 12. (News photo — Chris Gaige)