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History · Lake Pleasant

Lake Pleasant’s post office opened in 1828, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1820.

1828first post office
6on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lake Pleasant’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lake Pleasant began

When was Lake Pleasant founded?

1828

The Lake Pleasant post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Newton Corners (1864), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 312 in 18202020 census: 897198 years
Founding year: the first Lake Pleasant post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lake Pleasant’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19073 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1990. Watch Lake Pleasant change.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of Lake Pleasant.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Pleasant’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFMIB 43081 Lumberman's Dam below: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Lake Pleasant on the map, 1907 to 1990

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

Lake Pleasant on the 1907 USGS mapLake Pleasant on the 1954 USGS mapLake Pleasant on the 1990 USGS map1907Lake Pleasant 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 Lake Pleasant.

On the National Register

6 historic places in Lake Pleasant

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
Hamilton County Courthouse Complex
Hamilton County Courthouse ComplexWakely Mountain Fire Observation Station, built 1916Pillsbury Mountain Forest Fire Observation Station, built 1924Lake Pleasant Town HallGrace Methodist Church Complex, built 1909Civilian Conservation Corps Camp S-90 (Speculator)
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Utilitarian2
Greek Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Rustic1
Late Victorian1
Hamilton County Courthouse ComplexGreek Revival
Wakely Mountain Fire Observation StationUtilitarian · Built 1916
Pillsbury Mountain Forest Fire Observation StationUtilitarian · Built 1924
All 6 listings
Lake Pleasant Town HallBuilding · listed 2009Grace Methodist Church ComplexBuilding · listed 2015Civilian Conservation Corps Camp S-90 (Speculator)District · listed 2016

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Lake Pleasant came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lake Pleasant.

Read it all →

Archaeological evidence of Native Americans has been found in arrowheads and spearheads near the shores of Lake Pleasant. Many historians believe Lake Pleasant was the hunting and fishing grounds of both Mohawk and Algonquin tribes. These Native Americans would travel to the Adirondack Mountains to hunt only during the warm months, while their villages were located in the Mohawk and Hudson Valley regions.

ChaptersNative AmericansFirst settlersWar of 1812Transformation of Lake PleasantAge of tourismAge of lumbering

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lake Pleasant, 1828 to 1924

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828Post officeThe Lake Pleasant post office opens
  3. 1864Post officeThe Newton Corners post office opens
  4. 1896Post officeThe Newton Corners post office closes
  5. 1896Post officeThe Speculator post office opens
  6. 1897In the archiveFMIB 43081 Lumberman's Dam below
  7. 20th century
  8. 1907On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1909BuiltGrace Methodist Church Complex is built
  10. 1916BuiltWakely Mountain Fire Observation Station is built
  11. 1919In the archiveLake Pleasant New York USGS topo map 1904
  12. 1924BuiltPillsbury Mountain Forest Fire Observation Station is built
By decade

Lake Pleasant, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1910s2 items
FMIB 43081 Lumberman's Dam below1897FMIB 43081 Lumberman's Dam belowLake Pleasant New York USGS topo map 19041919Lake Pleasant New York USGS topo map 1904Map
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today9 recent
Speculator Mountain2026Speculator MountainLake Pleasant and mountains2026Lake Pleasant and mountainsSt. Hubert’s of the Lakes2025St. Hubert’s of the LakesCivilian Conservation Corps Camp S902025Civilian Conservation Corps Camp S90Lewey Lake Fall of 20112011Lewey Lake Fall of 2011Hamlet of2011Hamlet ofSt. James Major Catholic Church2010St. James Major Catholic ChurchLake Pleasant, New York2010Lake Pleasant, New YorkHamilton County Courthouse and Clerks Office NY Aug 102010Hamilton County Courthouse and Clerks Office NY Aug 10
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

FMIB 43081 Lumberman's Dam below
Retake this viewFMIB 43081 Lumberman's Dam below, 1897

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lake Pleasant’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Lake Pleasant, census by census

02004006008001,0001850190019502000897

Grew from 312 people in 1820 to 897 in 2020.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lake Pleasant’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Lake Pleasant’s post office has been open since 1828. Another post office, Newton Corners, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lake Pleasant
1828–today
Newton Corners
1864–1896
Speculator
1896–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Speculator
Gone or out of use
Bostrups Landing Seaplane Baseairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lake Pleasant
Fish MountainLove's

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Wells1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAriettaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSpeculator2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIndian Lake6 historic placesB+

Questions about Lake Pleasant’s history

What year was Lake Pleasant founded?

The Lake Pleasant post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Lake Pleasant?

6 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Hamilton County Courthouse Complex (listed 1992, the first), 1 historic district, the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp S-90 (Speculator), with 5 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 12 historic buildings in all.

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 Wikimedia Commons (11), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.