Detail of the 1908 Loon Lake quadrant showing Plumadore station and Plumadore Pond.Plumadore station was a stop on the Delaware and Hudson and the New York Central railroad lines north of Loon Lake's Inman Station, a mile south of Plumadore Pond. The two lines ran so close together that trains would race each other if they happened to be running side by side through that three-mile stretch.
Malone Palladium, March 10, 1887
…Leaving Loon Lake, at an altitude of 1,800 feet, the [rail]road runs through a dense forest and on a sharp descent, four and a half miles to Plumadore Pond Station, located some three-quarters of a mile or more east of Plumadore. Thence it is two miles to Wolf Pond and the crossing of Salmon River. This is at an altitude of 1,600 feet, about 50 feet higher than State Dam and Ringville. From this station it is six miles to Ragged Lake, the same to State Dam, and twenty miles to Malone, being the nearest point to the last named place. The land from Wolf Pond to the north end of the Ringville plateau is almost a dead level and very favorable for railroad building. From Ringville to Malone, some nine miles, the grade would be quite heavy, but by keeping on the hills it could be made gradual and not exceed at any point the maximum allowed on the line already constructed...
Malone Farmer, May 20, 1903
A big fire has been raging along the Hatch brook in Franklin from Ed Rivers, near the Duane line, south as far as Duck Pond and East to Plumadore Pond. Much of that territory was recently lumbered by Warren Walker and all it needed to entirely destroy that once delightful stretch of forest land was the fire which has now desolated it.
Malone Farmer, March 16, 1904
The plan of the Delaware & Hudson R R. in throwing open some of its choicest Adirondack holdings to the public at a nominal price contemplates the surveying off into lots of suitable size its land on the shores of Chazy Lake, Upper Chateaugay Lake, Loon lake, Twin Ponds, Wolf Pond, Plumadore Pond, Ragged Lake and a score of smaller and less important ponds and the selling of a lot to any bona fide purchaser who will erect thereon within a year a suitable camp or cottage—costing say $1,000. Probably not more than one lot will be sold to any one person and the company will reserve every third lot. The Chateaugay Ore & Iron company, recently acquired by the Delaware & Hudson, owns more than one hundred thousand acres of Adirondack land.
Plattsburgh Republican, August 7, 1909
ROD AND GUN CLUB CHANGE
Summer Headquarters shifted from Plumadore to Chazy Lake
The local Rod and Gun Club has deserted Plumadore pond for a summer headquarters this year in favor of Chazy lake. It was not because they do not love Plumadore just as much as ever but because they could not make satisfactory terms with the Deleware and Hudson company, the owners of the property where the camp has been previously located.
At Plumadore the club used a former lumber camp which was overhauled by the railroad company when the late President McKinley visited this section. It was intended to lure the president into the woods and give him a taste of real camp life. Mr. McKinley was, however, too well satisfied with camp life as he found it at the Hotel Champlain and refused to be moved.
Later the Rod and Gun club conceived the idea of leasing the camp for each summer season for the benefit of its members. This they did. They kept a man and his wife on the job during the season and any member of the club was permitted to visit the camp as often as he liked. There were accommodations for about fifteen or twenty at a time. The camp was located in the real woods and was unique and attractive. The club's occupation of the camp put several hundred dollars a year into the coffers of the railroad company as a result of railroad fares but that did not seem to weigh when the matter of lease came up. The members of the club thought the railroad company wanted too much and the camp was abandoned this season.
Instead of going to Plumadore the club made an arrangement with George S. Badger of the Lake View House on Chazy Lake. Mr. Badger has fitted up a bungalow which is reserved for the club members…
Malone Farmer, October 31, 1917
Elmer M. Merrill, of Saranac Lake, has purchased the E. J. Pickett property at Plumadore Pond, situated near the Plumadore station on the Delaware & Hudson R. R. The pond has been famous for many years because of its large speckled trout. Mr. Merrill's purchase is situated on the western side of the pond and consists of 42 acres of land, a two-story cottage and boat house.
Malone Farmer, April 11, 1923
. . . This year, as soon as the frost is out of the ground approximately 1,100,000 Scotch pine and Norway spruce trees will be planted near Plumadore by over 100 men who will be in camp at Plumadore station. The planting will occupy about six weeks. The success of the enterprise is clearly shown by the beautiful young forests at Middle Kilns and Wolf Pond, set out in 1910 and 1911, which have now reached a height of over 20 feet, and have completely changed the face of the landscape laid waste by the destructive forest fires of 19O8.
Plattsburgh Press-Republican, February 27, 1954
Matt Lucy, Railroader Since 1917, Looks Ahead
. . . Matt recalled some tough winter-time trips "up the branch" on snow plows. He mentioned one occasion when there was so much snow that the engine and plow became stalled on the Loon Lake run and remained stalled for 36 hours. He described cold trips on motor cars on the Lake Placid Run. He reminisced about some interesting races that D&H and New York Central crews had on the stretch of their respective railroads between Plumadore and Loon Lake Station. Matt has been a member of the railroad's safety committee since 1925.
. . . Matt likes to hunt and fish. Wolf Pond and Plumadore sectors have been his favorite stamping grounds for years. "I like that country so much that I bought the old Plumadore station as a souvenir," he went on "Yep got it from the New York Central in 1946, moved It to Wolf Pond and used it as a hunting camp."
