Great Sacandaga Lake Continued
This is
another view of
Conklingville as seen from the south side of the river. Note the
bridge again in the foreground. Conklingville was basically a mill town,although timbering and farming were also a large part of its economy.
According to Larry Hart, author of The Sacandaga Story, the economy of Conklingville started going downhill after the mill and factory moved out to merge with another firm upstream. The mill had employed 50 people so their leaving really hurt the town.
According to Larry Hart "Conklingville, separated by the river, was like two villages in one. The two parts were connected by a long steel bridge just west of the factory and by a smaller bridge to the east of the rapids.""The north section of the village, the side on which the mill was located, was the main part. Its only street was called Main Street - it continued west toward the village of Day and east to Hadley. About 50 families lived along the village thoroughfare, including the impressive white-painted family residence of B.S. Jenkins." (he owned the mill).
"Also located in the north section of the village were a tannery, a barbershop run by a French-Canadian named Dick Talbot, a weather- beaten hotel owned by Morgan Smith and a Methodist Church."
"Ben Jenkins Jr.
also was proprietor of a general store on this side of the river.
Since most of his customers also were his employees at the mill, the
store maintained charge accounts to be adjusted in their pay at the
end of the month. Some months found many of the paychecks woefully
meager." The charge accounts may be gone but not the store. It was
moved from its near-river location to its present location on North
Shore Road. The store can be seen in the picture to the right; it is
the second building in from the right. It has a flat roof.
To see more about the evolution of the store click
on the store link below. To see the
NITE LIFE on Great Sacandaga Lake click NITE LIFE.
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