While kayaking on beautiful Lake Durant near Blue Mountain Lake, NY, one June day, my wife Carol Ann asked, "Where does Blue Mountain get its name?" So we visited the nearby Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake to buy a place names book. But there was no such publication.
So... I wrote What's With Those Adirondack Mountain Names?

"In the spring, when the thickets are green ... One of our sweetest, loudest songsters is the [Western] meadowlark; this I could hardly get used to at first, for it looks exactly like the Eastern meadowlark which utters nothing but a harsh disagreeable chatter. But the plains air seems to give it a voice, and it will perch on top of a bush or tree and sing for hours in rich, bubbling tones." TR, a renowned ornithologist, adored all birds but was particularly fascinated by the meadowlark he described above.

TR, who grew up on New York's Long Island, was a bird watcher from a very young age and observed birds wherever he went. He spent three summers in the Adirondacks studying birds with his Harvard University classmate, Henry Davis Minot. They co-authored The Summer Birds of the Adirondacks in Franklin County, N.Y., in 1877.

Throughout his career, TR maintained friendships with ornithologists and often took bird-watching trips as part of his official duties. By the end of his official duties, he had publicly opposed killing birds for fashionable hats and established several national protected areas to serve as bird refuges.

You probably know TR better as Teddy or Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt is best known for much more, like leading the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, as governor of New York State and vice-president of the United States under President William McKinley, and especially for his Adirondack midnight ride to the presidency.

On September 6, 1901, an anarchist shot President McKinley in Buffalo, New York, while he was attending the Pan-American Exposition. At the time, Theodore Roosevelt was vacationing with his family in the Adirondacks and learned of the attempted assassination. Fearing the worst, Roosevelt immediately traveled to Buffalo. He stayed with McKinley until he was out of danger before returning to the Adirondacks to spend time with his family at the Tahawus Club, a remote hunting and fishing preserve.

While there, Roosevelt climbed New York's highest mountain, Mount Marcy, on September 13 but descended after fifteen minutes due to a rainstorm. While having lunch at Lake Tear of the Clouds, he received news that McKinley's condition had worsened and was dying. Roosevelt and his party quickly returned to the Tahawus Club, where they learned at 11:00 PM that McKinley's condition was dire.

In an open buckboard, Roosevelt began his journey to the North Creek train station. The ride was dark and uncomfortable, requiring three drivers and their teams of horses. At 2:15 AM on September 14, McKinley passed away. At that time, Theodore Roosevelt was at Aiden Lair Lodge waiting for a change of horses and a new driver, John Cronin. Cronin suggested that Roosevelt stay overnight, but TR insisted on continuing his journey.

In the early morning, Cronin and Roosevelt arrived in North Creek, where Secretary of State John Hay's telegram confirmed that he had become the 26th President of the United States. He then traveled to Buffalo to be officially sworn in.

In the polls of the most famous American presidents, Theodore Roosevelt is almost always in the top five. Roosevelt's sculptured face and George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson make up Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota.

In September 1999, in Newcomb, New York, Governor George Pataki renamed Indian Falls Peak TR Mountain for Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) during the yearly Teddy Roosevelt Days.

Author's Note: Thanks to Margie Amodeo, Coordinator, at the Kelly Adirondack Center (Union College) for her contributions and photos for this article and many others for Simply Saratoga.