1915 Map of Number Four

About this map

Number Four serves as a central landmark in this high Adirondack wilderness surveyed shortly before the First World War. The landscape is defined by the complex hydrology of the Oswegatchie River and its branches, alongside a dense network of glacial ponds such as Raven Lake, Gregg Lake, and Tied Lake. Evidence of early resource management and industry appears in the form of remote infrastructure like Beech Dam and the Silver Mine Dam near the southern boundary. Significant elevations like Stillwater Mtn and Peaked Mtn rise above the wetlands and flats, including the prominent Balsam Flats. This era of the New York woods shows a transition from pure wilderness to a managed forest, where the early 20th-century surveyors meticulously documented every stream crossing and remote peak, from Mt Tom to Buck Mtn.