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History · Cranberry Lake

Cranberry Lake’s post office opened in 1891, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1919 on.

1891first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mwanner · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Cranberry Lake began

When was Cranberry Lake founded?

1891

The Cranberry Lake post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 174135 years
Founding year: the first Cranberry Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Cranberry Lake’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Cranberry Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19195 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1999. Watch Cranberry Lake change.Old housesHalf of Cranberry Lake’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cranberry Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cranberry Lake’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Cranberry Lake on the map, 1919 to 1999

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cranberry Lake. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cranberry Lake on the 1919 USGS mapCranberry Lake on the 1921 USGS mapCranberry Lake on the 1931 USGS mapCranberry Lake on the 1968 USGS mapCranberry Lake on the 1999 USGS map1919Cranberry Lake sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cranberry Lake.

The story so far

Cranberry Lake, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cranberry Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Cranberry Lake is a hamlet in the eastern part of the Town of Clifton, in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. It lies along New York State Route 3 on the north shore of Cranberry Lake. As of the 2020 census, Cranberry Lake had a population of 174. The community is listed as a census-designated place. Cranberry Lake is the 3rd largest lake in the Adirondack Park and its surrounding land is primarily undeveloped and state owned. The Cranberry Lake area has many ponds, streams, and mountains with extensive trails, such as the Cranberry Lake 50, a 50-mile hiking trail around the Lake. There is one remaining historic building in Cranberry Lake, the Presbyterian Church, built in 1897, t…

Its first post office opened in 1891. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 200 to 174 (-13%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Cranberry Lake

Nobody well known was born in Cranberry Lake itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
L
Lucy BaconAmerican artist · b. 1857
Jordan GreenwayAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1997
Ozora P. StearnsAmerican judge · b. 1831
Bertrand SnellAmerican politician · b. 1870
Irving BachellerAmerican journalist and writer · b. 1859
Rollin M. DaggettAmerican politician · b. 1831
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

CliftonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townColton3 historic placesA−

Questions about Cranberry Lake’s history

What year was Cranberry Lake founded?

The Cranberry Lake post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.