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Background
The Open Space Conservancy acquired the 10,000-acre Tahawus property in 2003, after more than a decade of negotiations with a Houston-based mining corporation.
The Tahawus Tract sits at the southern gateway to the High Peaks Wilderness Area in the central Adirondacks and contains numerous lakes, streams, wetlands, mountainous peaks and spectacular vistas. The Hudson River originates on the Tract. It is a mecca for hikers, paddlers and cross country skiers.
Mining History
Less well known and appreciated is the property’s mining history, which began in 1827 when it was acquired by three partners: David Henderson, Duncan McMartin and Archibald McIntyre for the purpose of exploiting extensive iron deposits near the upper reaches of the Hudson River.
By 1829, the Adirondack Iron and Steel company had already established a settlement adjacent to Henderson Lake, known originally as the Village of McIntyre and later as Adirondac, that included several dwellings, a sawmill, forge and puddling furnace. One of the original dwellings on the property was known as MacNaughton Cottage. Historical sources indicate that it was built in 1834.
In 1844, the company constructed a hot blast furnace to improve iron production but production from that furnace was inefficient and reliable (its collapsed remains can still be viewed on the site). By 1846 there were 85 people living in the Village. In 1847 the company established its own bank, which was housed in a new wing added to MacNaughton Cottage.
In 1849 construction began on a larger, hot air “New” Blast Furnace, which was completed in 1854. It operated for only one or two years. Low production, the difficulty of transporting the iron from the remote location of the works, and the lack of financial viability of the entire venture brought the operations of the Adirondack Iron and Steel Works to an end by 1857.
Village of Adirondack
The Tahawus lands and the buildings in the Village were leased to sportsmens clubs from 1876 to 1947. In 1901, Vice President Teddy Roosevelt and his family visited Tahawus and stayed at MacNaughton Cottage. It was during their stay that President McKinley took a turn for the worse after being shot by an assassin in Buffalo, New York. When he learned the news, the Vice President was taken by horse and carriage to North Creek were a train was waiting to take him to Buffalo. President McKinley died while he was enroute.
In 1941, National Lead Company (later NL Industries, Inc.) bought the Tahawus property and resumed mining a few miles to the south of the iron mine, but this time for titanium dioxide. National Lead terminated its lease with the hunt club and ignored the numerous structures in the Village of Adirondac, including McNaughton Cottage and the nearby Blast Furnace.
They stood unused and unaltered, but not unchanged. All of the structures slowly deteriorated and many collapsed. Wooden parts and structure have been lost. The wood Charging Bridge collapsed and was dismantled, and the water wheels, blowing cylinders and pumps remain scattered in the forest between the furnace and the Hudson River.
While the historic resources continued to disintegrate, the State and federal government’s recognized the significance of Tahawus by adding the 800-acre area of the site to the State and Federal Registers of Historic Places in 1976.
OSI's Historic Preservation Efforts
Following acquisition of the property in 2003, OSC took a number of steps to arrest the further deterioration of the four key historic structures on the Tahawus property: MacNaughton Cottage, the “New” Blast Furnace, a remote hunting cabin on Upper Preston Pond and abandoned fire tower at the top of the property’s highest peak, Mt. Adams. OSC commissioned the New York State Museum to conduct an archeological reconnaissance survey of an 800-acre area known as the “Upper Works”, which was completed in November 2004.
For the first time since the iron mine closed in 1857, the Tahawus tract’s historic resources have been the focus of an intensive effort, led by OSC, to catalogue those resources, stabilize and restore the most significant structures, develop an overall disposition plan for the site with the help of local, regional and state resources and develop an interpretive plan to promote an understanding and appreciation for this nationally significant site.
 Historic Preservation Partners
Throughout the planning and implementation of its historic preservation work at Tahawus, OSC has engaged local, regional and state partners in its efforts.
Adirondack Architectural Heritage
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
NYS Museum
Adirondack Park Agency
Argus Architecture Preservation, P.C.
State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Adirondack Ecological Center
Adirondack Rock and River Guide Service | 
