This week’s story about the history of Great Sacandaga Lake and the communities that were lost in the creation of the reservoir/damming of the Sacandaga river struck a chord with readers. It was the most shared story of the week.

In the process, we heard from Northville artist Linda Finch, who happens to be showing a exhibition of her Sacandaga Valley Folk Art. The work is on display at the Northville Public Library until Thursday Oct. 29th. It then moves to the Nigra Arts Center in Gloversville from Nov 12, 2020, to Jan. 21, 2021.

Finch says this about the series: “It’s a historic visual retrospective of the valley before, during and after flooding. All 14 paintings have been meticulously researched as to accuracy. Including the Boneyard Gang, who exhumed some of the 3,872 bodies that were relocated.”

Click here for an overview of this week’s top stories from Adirondack Explorer and the Almanack.

Note: I also run through the week’s top stories in my “Adk News Briefing” email newsletter. Click here to sign up.

Like many beautiful Adirondack Lakes, the Great Sacandaga Lake is man-made.

It was created in 1930 when the newly constructed Conklingville Dam closed its valves and filled the valley with 38 billion cubic feet of water. The seed for damming the Sacandaga River was planted in 1874 when the New York State Canal Commission suggested that the “creation of reservoirs on the head-waters of the Hudson would allow control over its seasonal flow and prevent flooding of downstream communities.”

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