(rshsdepot) Lyon Mountain, NY

["James Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

rshsdepot

-From the (Plattsburgh, NY) Press-Republican...

Lyon Mtn. railroad
station selected
site of local museum
By CHRIS FASOLINO, Contributing Writer

LYON MOUNTAIN — Lyon Mountain is celebrating the importance and impact that
mining had on the community by creating a museum in the former Lyon Mountain
Railroad Station.

It will preserve and showcase relics of mining and the railroad industries
that shaped the town’s history.

A series of community events designed to raise awareness about the project —
including the first Heritage Days — has also raised money for the museum.

Jim Humiston was an organizer of Heritage Days and is now co-chairman and
grant writer for the project.

"We wanted to share the background and history of Lyon Mountain," he said.

Mining provided an economic base on which many of the community’s residents
once depended.

The Mining Day exhibit featured historic photographs relating to the mining
industry as well as a scale model of the mines.

"The iron ore from the Lyon Mountain mine was of exceptional quality," said
Humiston, adding that steel made from the iron ore was used to build the
Brooklyn Bridge, an engineering marvel of its day.

The ore had high tensile strength, which made it ideal for the construction
of long spans such as the bridge.

But the cost of mining it was dear.

"There were many deaths in the mines. That was part of what we wanted to
show — how people lived back then and how they died."

Last summer, a Railroad Day was held, where a local model-railroad club set
up a large display and activities included one that "let kids try their
hands at driving railroad spikes."

Other exhibits focused on signals and whistles used by the trains.

Heritage Days created the incentive to work on the museum.

"A lot of people donated historic artifacts and photographs for those
exhibits. Rather than just stick them in a drawer or a file someplace, we
want to display them."

That led to a group of interested members of the Chateaugay Arts Council to
form the Friends of Lyon Mountain with the goal of creating a Mining and
Railroad Museum.

The first step was finding an appropriate building.

That search ended in August with the purchase of the railroad station.

Built in 1903, it was used as a restaurant and bar after the railroad shut
down. The building has been vacant for the past six years.

The Friends of Lyon Mountain has applied to have the building placed on the
National Historic Register. But in the meantime, the group is raising money
for the necessary repairs to turn it into a museum.

First will be fixing the roof this spring.

"After that, we’ll look at the building and see where we want to go,"
Humiston said.

One of the challenges is finding construction companies with the skills to
perform historically accurate renovations.

"We want to keep this as authentic as possible," he said.

Money for the project has come from state grants and from 110 dues-paying
members of the organization as well as public donations, which can be sent
to the Friends of Lyon Mountain, P.O. Box 230, Lyon Mountain, N.Y., 12952.

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