Upper building is the New York Central Train Station, with a passenger train leaving bound South to Utica.
The building in the foreground is the Delaware and Hudson station.
Courtesy of Tim Mayer
New York Central's Inman Station, c. 1890s. A floor has been added since the photograph at top was taken
Jane Osborn writes: "I remember what the station looked like inside. Light wainscoting, a regulator clock, and the ticket office was on the left as you came in the door, so were the controls for the signal tower and the switch. On the right were benches, and a huge set of windows where one could see the train coming. My mother would pick of the mail sack and take it to the post office at Loon Lake Hotel. Sometimes the train stopped (back in the early 50s) and dropped the mail sack on the freight dock with other things; other times when they were running late, they flung it out the door onto the freight dock as they went by."
To the right of the station is the freight house for the Delaware and Hudson that ran parallel to the New York Central on the other side of the road. It was still there as late as 1984, and had been used and known as the Wild Goose Club for decades.
Courtesy of Jane Osborn
1908 USGS map Inman was a settlement in the town of Franklin, in Franklin County, New York. It may have been named for A. L. Inman of Plattsburgh, who was the General Manager and Purchasing Agent for the Chateaugay Railroad in 1886. The railroad stations for Loon Lake were located there, one for the New York Central Adirondack Division,and one for the Delaware and Hudson. The passenger trains stopped running in 1957, and there were a few freights for a while; in 1962 the tracks were taken up.
Source: The Official Railway List, April 1, 1886.
Fort Covington Sun, October 22, 1908,
The Forest Fires.
Inman, N.Y., Oct. 19, 1908.
My dear Editor:
One of the fiercest and most destructive forest fires that the people of Inman have experienced in recent years has raged here incessantly with ever increasing force since last Wednesday morning, at which time Catamount Mountain caught (supposedly from the D. & H trains) and the whole mountain was soon entirely enveloped in flames and smoke, the wind finally sweeping the fire towards Goldmiths. Early Friday the smoldering fires of the first forest fires, which occurred during the latter part of September, were again fanned by the winds into dangerous fires, which descended the Loon Lake mountain slopes with great speed towards Inman, and but for the timely arrival of the N. Y. C. fire train the residences of Eli Linois and Patrick Ryan would have been reduced to ashes.
On Saturday evening about eight o'clock the reflection of a fire coming from the north could be seen in the distance and at midnight the cry of “Fire” was given by those patroling the place and all the inhabitants were out in a few minutes doing all they could to protect their homes from the sparks which were falling in every direction. A scene was beheld which to describe with the same breath, was as beautiful as it was terrible, a gigantic wave—a solid mass of flames reaching a height of ten and twelve feet and a mile or more in length came roaring and sweeping everything before it. Here, again, the fire train rendered very efficient service. With their several hundred feet of hose they saturated with water everything for several hundred feet on each side of the railroad track, where the fire had to cross to reach several residences, the destruction of which would have been a certainty but for the fire train. The entire settlement of Inman would today be a bed of smoldering coals but for the fire train.
Sunday was also a day of terror. The wind blew a fierce gale, the fire raged, sparks flew in every direction. The fire train was kept in constant service protecting the property in greatest danger. A train was sent up to take us out if the danger became too great.
A few weeks ago we feasted our eyes on the beautiful foliage of variegated colors which covered these mountains and today, Monday, the fires are still smoldering, it is smoky and gloomy, and we gaze again on what was once beautiful scenery and see nothing but desolation.
Thanking you, my dear editor, for this space in your valued paper, I am, with best wishes, yours most respectfully,
JOHN LACOMBE.
Frederick J. Seaver, Historical Sketches of Franklin County, Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon Co., 1918, p. 369
Inman lies a little to the west and north of the center of the town, and consists only of the two depots of the Chateaugay Railway and the Adirondack and St. Lawrence Railway, three or four dwelling houses, a store, and a small hotel, built by Deming M. Roberts, formerly of Malone and Chateaugay, and now kept by William DesChamps.
Loon Lake is three miles distant, and between the two points the town built a macadam highway a year or two ago at a cost of thirteen thousand dollars, an expenditure that would have horrified the earlier residents. At Loon Lake there are only the group of buildings comprising the Loon Lake Hotel and cottages, and the store and dwelling house of Fremont F. Smith.
Outing: An Illustrated Monthly Magazine of Sport, Travel and Recreation. Vol. XIV. April, 1889—September, 1889. James H. Worman, Editor In Chief. "Borderer," English Editor. The Outing Company, Limited. New York: No. 239 Fifth Avenue. London: No. 61 Strand, W. C. p. 285
Along the line of the Chateaugay the timber has been ruthlessly burnt and cut off; the charcoal burners have devastated the region, and their poor huts are to the lover of woodland scenery anything but compensation for the giants of the forest. The next place which offered any attraction was Inman, the station for Loon Lake. We left the train and proceeded to make inquiries about the neighborhood from a handsome, courteous young fellow who was handling express matter. "Yes," he said, "you can get rooms at that big unpainted house. I board there, and the people are 'kind ' and the eating is good."
As he walked along with us, carrying some of the lighter bundles, his cough told a sad story, supplemented, however, by cheerful words spoken in a cheery tone. "Yes, I have consumption. My home is in Virginia. I spent last winter in Saranac, at the Sanatorium. Perhaps I shall get better in these spruce woods; I can't live anywhere else."
We found at the house recommended, the only dwelling in sight except charcoal burners' huts, clean beds in uncarpeted rooms and farmer's fare for 25 cents a meal.
Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel, InmanOUR LADY OF LOURDES CHAPEL
Tom Buckley
Mr. & Mrs. George Buckley and Sam and Joe Langlois built our Lady of Lourdes Chapel at Inman, New York.
George and Margaret Buckley and family lived at DeBar Park at DeBar Mountain located between Inman and Mountain View, New York. Sam and Joe Langlois were brothers "staunch Catholics”, who lived next to the school in Inman, New York. Together with the Langlois brothers as carpenters and with the expertise and labor of the Buckley family, the chapel was erected next door to the Langlois home.
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