LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 16 This Lower Saranac Lake bay is named so because one can see the 3,330 -foot Ampersand Mountains from it. A postal station dubbed Ampersand opened in Hotel Ampersand at this bay in 1889 with postmaster and hotelier John Harding in charge. The hotel itself operated from 1888 to the night of September 23, 1907, when it burned. Before it became a smoldering pile of ruin, 100 -room Ampersand Hotel was "heated with steam, furnished luxuriously, and equipped with elevator and all other modern appliances," while the grounds "afforded a superb view southwesterly… to that distant mountain which shared its enigmatic name." The United States Geological Survey made this toponym part of its topographic maps in 1955. Sophus Von Dorrien was born August 10, 1832, in Germany, 4,000 miles from Upstate New York. That's a long distance for a name to travel. Sophus has rightfully earned his place in Adirondack his- tory through this 3,012-foot summit. Sophus was a forester. More important than just that, Sophus was a forester from Germany. The modern practice of forestry was refined in that country and has been practiced there since before 1700. When state sur- veyor Verplanck Colvin petitioned the State of New York to create the Adirondack Park, he consulted Sophus. What Verplanck received was a November 4, 1878, document, fifty pages long, that explained how forestry works. It carried the impressive title "Forests and Forestry: A Letter Addressed to Ver- planck Colvin, Esq., Superintendent of the Adiron- dack Surveys, on the Importance of Forests, Their Management in Germany, with a Short Review of the Historical Development of Forestry." Sophus's document supported Verplanck's reason for wanting to preserve the Adirondacks. That is, forests are im- portant components of healthy ecosystems, espe- cially when it comes to controlling runoff. Before passing away July 26, 1907, Sophus had this rugged mountain named for him. Astute readers will notice the difference in the spelling of Sophus's last name and the name of this mountain. This is called a "name corruption." Such misspellings are more com- mon than one would think. Place Names of the ADK By Erik Schimmer Van Dorrien Mountain Ampersand Bay (as seen from Ampersand Mountain)

• Cover