Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and old-book passages.
The Lake George post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake George. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lake George.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lake George yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 906 to 1,008 (+11%).
Passages that mention Lake George, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The suggestion has often been made by thoughtless writers that the name of Lake George should be changed to Lake Horican, but in view of Cooper's admission that the name he gave had no historical basis or significance, but was purely fanciful and his own invention, the suggestion should never be renewed. There is no more reason for changing the name of Lake George — though named for
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The mysterious game fish of Lake George is the land-locked salmon. At long intervals one is caught on a lake-trout rig, and immediately reveals his identity (and shows his marvelous strength) by dragging the heavy sinker to the top of the water and jumping high in the air, which the lake trout never does; but it is doubtful if any angler on Lake George ever went out with the deliberate purpose
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
About half a mile from the village of Calclwell, the fjouth, or upper end of Lake George, comes in sight, glittering among the verdant hills like a sea of glass. This view is one of extreme beauty, yet in the course of his rambles down the lake, the traveller will obtain others that are finer.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
ness, in a measure mitigate the severity of censure. The design of this little work, as before expressed, was exclusively a history of Lake George, to serve in the full capacity of the Tourist's Guide, but the important post of Ticonderoga, so historically connected with Lake George, has induced me to give a description of this memorable
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
3 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1854Cottage near Hague, on Lake George, New York
1865Birch canoe
1898Arch over Shore Road, Ft. Wm. Henry Hotel, Lake Georg…Postcard
1898Arlington and Worden Hotels, Lake George, N. YPostcard
1898Battle Monument (front), Lake George, N. YPostcard
1898Battle Monument (side), Lake George, N. YPostcard
1898Battle of Lake George (Glen Falls Ins. Co.)Postcard
1898Battle of Rogers Rock (Glen Falls Ins. Co.)Postcard
1898D and H Station, Lake George, N. YPostcard
1898Early Morning, Silver Bay, Lake George, N. YPostcard
1898From Sunset Mountain, Silver Bay, Lake George, N. YPostcardFire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1911Sheet 1 of 3Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lake George’s page.
Retake this view · +15Nobody well known was born in Lake George itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
The Lake George post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
