God’s Country - Church Histories

Dr. Samuel Niccolls makes his first visit to the Benjamin Stickney Camp on First Lake. Informal church services are conducted by Dr. Niccolls on the Point each Sunday for guests and their guides. Dr. Niccolls was appointed pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church in St. Louis in 1860  - and served his parish for fifty years. 

Reverend James A. Kelley said the first Catholic mass at Camp Pine Knot, Raquette Lake at the invitation of William West Durant.

September 12th - Bishop Doane of Albany consecrated The Church of the Good Shepherd on St. Hubert's Island in Raquette Lake. The Reverend Montgomery H. Throop was installed as priest-in-charge. The rectory, built in 1886, was donated by William West Durant to the people of Raquette Lake as was the church. Website info on restoration efforts available online.

The Church of the Transfiguration in Blue Mountain, built by William West Durant, was consecrated.

On June 28, 1890, St. William's Church, Long Point Raquette Lake was incorporated by Bishop Edgar P. Wadhams of Ogdensburg. The land and the church were donated by William West Durant. Website info & restoration efforts now online.

The First Presbyterian Church of Old Forge dedicated November 30th. Reverend H. H. Wallace appointed the first pastor.

St. Bartholomew's Church is built. Levi Deis the architect. Father John Fitzgerald is the new pastor replacing Father Byrne who came in 1895.

Holy Rosary Catholic Church was built by Big Moose lumberjacks and dedicated by Bishop Gabriels from the Ogdensburg Diocese.

Raquette Lake village moved to its present location from Long Point. Church services are held in private homes and the railroad station during the winter months.

Chapel of the Lakes Presbyterian Church in Inlet dedicated by Dr. Samuel Niccolls.

St. Peter's of the Lakes Episcopal Church on Fourth Lake founded and chapel erected in 1905 by Reverend William Mason Cook, then Rector of St. Augustine's Church in Ilion, New York. Dr. William Seward Webb donated the land and Chris Goodsell did the construction of the original building.

Presbyterian Chapel built in Thendara on land donated by Lyon deCamp.

Clergy Lodge at St. Peter's of the Lakes on Fourth Lake built.

Church of the Lakes manse completed in Inlet. The Church is moved back on the property unto a new foundation when Rte. 28 is built through Inlet.

St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church erected in Inlet, NY. Prior to 1915, services were held at one of the local hotels in the summer months & in private homes during the winter.

Dr. Niccolls dies on a fishing trip at the Adirondack League Club. George Villiere was his guide.

New Presbyterian Church plan adopted in Old Forge with the building of a Gymnasium and Sunday school. Much of the money came from friends of Dr. Niccolls and members of the Adirondack League Club. The building of the sanctuary was postponed due to limit funds during World War I.

Otter Lake Community Church dedicated. First service held July 9, 1921

Cemetery established in Old Forge on land donated by William Thistlethwaite

St. Mary of the Snows in Otter Lake dedicated in August

The minister's lodge for the Otter Lake Community Church was built.

Rev. Frank Reed, new pastor of Niccolls Church formerly the First Presbyterian Churh in Old Forge. He also ministered to Thendara, McKeever, Brandreth, Carter, Beaver River, Bald Mt. House, Little Moose-Bisby, and lumber camps.

Presbyterian Chapel in Thendara sold.

A parcel of land was sold by the Huntington heirs to the Church of the Lakes, Inlet for a sum of one dollar in September of 1927 to build the Raquette Lake Chapel. In the winter of 1928, the Chapel was dedicated by executive of the Presbyterian Synod of New York Reverend V. L. Mackey and Reverend Arthur Dean.

Death of Father John Fitzgerald, beloved pastor of St. Bartholomew's in Old Forge

The first Balsam Bee Fair is held at Big Moose to raise money for a permanent chapel.

A fire on undetermined origin engulfed Big Moose Chapel late July 19th, the night before the Sunday dedication service. Earl Covey was the architect and building contractor. The pink granite stone came from a quarry on Dart's Mountain. At services held outside the following day - the parishioners begin collecting funds to rebuild the church.

The Big Moose Chapel is formerly dedicated on August 2 as an independent, nondenominational church. In less than a year after the fire, enough money was raised to rebuild the interior of the church.

On January 18, 1938, fire destroyed the rectory at St. William's Long Point, Raquette Lake and all parish records. Father Daniel Lutz urged the community to build a new church in Raquette Lake village.

The dedication of the new St. William's Church in the village of Raquette Lake took place December 1, 1939. The total cost of the land and the building was $19,260.16.

In 1951, a dispute at Church of the Lakes arose over an organ and a second church split off forming the Inlet Community Church.

The Albany Episcopal Diocese sold The Church of the Good Shepherd, St. Hubert's Island in Raquette Lake to Reverend Ralph Carmichael, pastor of the Church of Transfiguration in Blue Mt.

Otter Lake Community Church observed its centennial year with special services. Sixty-seven ministers, serving two-week periods each summer representing the Baptist, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Methodist churches, have preached in the Community Church since 1921.

Rev. James Ulrich, becomes pastor of Niccolls Church in Old Forge. 

New sanctuary of Niccolls Memorial Church dedicated July 17th. Rocco DePaul and Sons did the construction work.

On Sunday, July 30, 1978, the Raquette Lake Chapel held its 50th Anniversary and published a booklet, The Raquette Lake Chapel - The First fifty Years.

Sunday, June 20, 1980, the first service of the Centennial year was held at The Church of the Good Shepherd at Raquette Lake. Extensive renovation work by the Carmichael family and friends of the Chapel over the past decade help to keep an annual service open to the public each summer.

Big Moose Station's Holy Rosary Catholic Church is demolished December 11th despite effort of a local committee to preserve the historic structure.

Dedication of new St. Bartholomew's Church in Old Forge

The non-profit group called the "Friends of St. Williams on Long Point" is organized to purchase and restore the historic Durant built church in the original Raquette Lake village.

Rev. & Mrs. Robert Stoudt come to Inlet Community Church

Rev. James Ulrich celebrates his 30th year as pastor of Niccolls Memorial Church in Old Forge.

Church of the Lakes in Inlet celebrates centennial. New parish hall in the basement dedicated to Rev. David McDowell for his years of support to the Presbyterian parishes in the region.

"God's Country" Exhibit on the History of the Churches opens at the Town of Webb Historical Association. The exhibit will be on display through September 2002 at the Goodsell Memorial Home, Main St., Old Forge, NY. The museum is open FREE to the public - Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays from 9am to 2pm.