19th century West Mountain — Weather lore

Watch the direction of the morning fog over West Mountain to get a sure indication of the day’s weather, a local farmer suggested.

“’It looks like it were going to clear up,’ said a gentleman who entered a Warren Street store yesterday afternoon,” The Morning Star of Glens Falls reported on April 16, 1895. “’Not today,’ answered a farmer who heard the remark. ‘I live near West Mountain, and when the clouds lifted this morning, I noticed that the fog went up the mountain side. That is a sure sign of more rain. When the fog comes down from the mountain side, clearing weather always follows.’”

In other 19th century West Mountain news collected from historic newspapers of the region:

• “T. Burnham of Glens Falls was here Wednesday tempting us to look with covetous eyes upon his new $700 team,” the West Mountain correspondent reported on May 18, 1895.
• West Mountain in the late 19th century was fertile land for timbering.

“I.S. Murray of Glens Falls is getting large sticks of timber from the Stewart place to be used at D.P. Delano’s brickyard. … S.A. Traver is getting out poplar to be manufactured into plugs at the J.L. Ingalsbe Company Steam Mill for the paper mill company at Glens Falls,” the West Mountain correspondent reported in The Morning Star of Glens Falls on Aug. 15, 1894.

• “Sherman’s teams are drawing some very heavy loads of logs from here to Glens Falls, two of the teams drawing forty-five logs on one trip,” the West Mountain correspondent reported in The Morning Star on Feb. 8, 1895.
• “During the severe storm Wednesday night lightning demolished a tree on the three corners near Ezra Mend’s, following a wire fence and entering the ground within eight feet of Wallace Codner’s residence,” the West Mountain correspondent reported on Sept. 8, 1894.
• “An unusually heavy wind and rain storm swept through this locality Saturday morning, doing much damage to buildings, fences and trees, but the worst effects were felt along the foot of the mountain, where several buildings were uprooted and otherwise injured,” the West Mountain correspondent reported in The Morning Star on Nov. 7, 1894.
• “Smith & Horton have a new horse for their delivery business, purchased Monday of Martin Wilke,” the West Mountain correspondent reported in The Morning Star on March 14, 1895.
• “The wood pile is engaging the attention of farmers preparatory to their usual spring work,” the West Mountain correspondent reported in The Morning Star on March 23, 1895.
• “Ransom VanDusen is remodeling the interior of his residence,” the West Mountain correspondent reported in The Morning Star on April 3, 1895. “Mrs. Lavina Trainer is treating her house to a new slate roof. A. M. Wellington has the job.”
• “Henry Codner is making extensive improvements both to the interior and exterior of his residence. The carpenters are A. M. Wilke of this place and Merritt Codner of French Mountain,” the West Mountain correspondent reported on April 12, 1895.

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