A house on the south side of Birch Island. 
A house and boathouse on the north side of Birch Island. Birch Island is a 28-acre island in the southern half of Upper Saranac Lake.
In 1881, it was owned by Emma E. Taylor who had inherited it from Archibald Taylor, according to a July 21, 1881 legal filing published in the Malone Palladium.
Edythe M. Donovan was born there in 1900. In the summer of 1957, it was the home of William W. Clark and his wife Judy Clark who were pastors of the churches of Chapel Island and Indian Carry Chapel.
Birch Island appears in lists of land offered in tax sales by the state in 1883, 1884, 1886, and 1900.
In 1902 it is mentioned as belonging to Dr. C. A. Herter.
In 1955 Bill and Judy Butterfield bought Birch Island, holding on to one of the five homes and selling the others to friends.
New York Times, June 7, 1903
… Alfred L. White of New York has added a cottage to his camp on Birch Island, Upper Saranac Lake…
From an unidentified clipping in a scrapbook kept by Alfred L. Donaldson, marked "News –- Aug. 1914 — "
Frederick Woodruff, of Orange, N. J., was one of the first to build a camp in the vicinity [of Wawbeek]. He located on Birch island only half a mile from the Carry house and his camp was a notable one for that time. Dr. Herter purchased it later. William P Elery, a New York broker, was another.
Tupper Lake Free Press, November 29, 1934
Boat Used By Victims Of Drowning Tragedy Found By Searchers
Bodies of Harry Baldwin, Jr., and Chester Derby, Drowned in Upper Saranac Lake Wednesday, Still Missing — 50 Men Push Search Today
Hope of finding the bodies of Chester A. Derby, 40, caretaker of Camp Jungaloska on Upper Saranac Lake, and Harry Baldwin Jr. of this village brightened yesterday afternoon when workers who have been dragging the "Narrows" between Birch Island and the Wawbeek dock since Thursday grappled with and dragged to the surface from a depth of more than 50 feet the heavy steel boat which figured in the tragic death of the two men.
The boat was located about 2 o'clock at a point about 300 yards off Wawbeek dock, in a direct line with Birch Island. The find marked the first progress in the dreary task of locating the bodies of the men, although between 40 and 50 volunteer workers have kept steadily at the task day after day. The search was continued this morning, but the bodies had not yet been located at press-time today.
Birch Island, center. Courtesy of Noreen Oslander
Birch Island in southern Upper Saranac Lake, 1912Derby, who was caretaker at the camp of Isaac Harby, and Harry Baldwin, who was visiting him, are believed to have drowned Wednesday night. They left camp on Birch Island Wednesday evening to cross to the mainland at Wawbeek for supplies, left at the dock for them to pick up by the delivery truck from Brown Brothers here. Thursday it was noted that the supplies had not been claimed, and an investigation disclosed the fact that lights were still burning at the camp where Derby lived. State police stationed here were notified, and a search began, directed by Troopers Clifford Revoir and Donnelan, Fire Chief William Girard, Fred Derby, a brother of the missing caretaker, and Harry Baldwin, Sr., father of the younger victim. A score of local firemen and volunteers and caretakers of camps on Upper Saranac, who furnished boats, are still pushing the search.
High winds which prevailed in the Upper Saranac sector Wednesday are believed to have swamped the boat. Although it had air tanks built in, the craft sank rapidly after it had been brought to the surface yesterday. A constant search for the bodies will be maintained while fair weather holds...
[A later story said that the dragging of the lake bottom continued for many days, and was discontinued only when the lake froze over.]
Syracuse Herald-Journal, November 24, 1945
Harry Furman Estate Is Sold
SARANAC LAKE.—The estate of Harry Furman, located on Upper Saranac Lake, has been purchased by Thomas P. and Marjorie E. Churchfleld of Miami Beach, Fla.
The estate, totalling 43 acres of woodland on Birch Island, comprises two equipped camps. There are also several guest houses and two boat houses.
