Lake Champlain ‘one unbroken sheet of ice’ in February 1871

On Feb. 7, 1871 The Glen’s Falls Republican reported that Lake Champlain was completely frozen over for the 14th time in 55 years.

“Lake Champlain presents an unusually impressive appearance. It is one unbroken sheet of ice, which extends as far as the eye can reach.”

It was so cold in Essex County that the Republican editor, tongue-in-cheek, threatened drastic measures.

“The mercury sank to thirty degrees below zero up in Essex County not long ago,” wrote the editor from Glen’s Falls. “Unless such doings are stopped, we shall oppose the annexation of any portion of Essex to Warren County.”

In Warren County, it was not too cold for the Glen’s Falls Trotting Association to stage harness racing the first week of February 1871 on Long Pond in Horicon.

“The ice was in excellent condition, the weather pleasant, and the sport fine. — The excitement at times reached a fever pitch.”

February is the month of hope for weather watchers.

“Hudson Falls’ pet ground hog was stretching itself yesterday and getting ready to stick its head out today to see what the weather is like,” The Post-Star reported on Feb. 2, 1921. “If the weather man has guessed correctly, it might just roll over and hit the hay again.”

Some years the weather brings hope actualized.

“The first robin has arrived in Glens Falls — or maybe he’s one that forgot to go south,” The Post-Star reported on Feb. 14, 1921. “He was chortling at the corner of William and Ridge streets sitting up in the top of a tall tree taking a sub bath.”

Other years it is hope deflated.

“It is estimated that over 200,000 bushels of potatoes were lost in Washington County alone during the late cold snap, freezing in the cellars where they had been stored. This probably never before happened so generally,” the Republican reported on Feb. 13, 1866.

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