Essex, New York Guide and Community Blog
Heritage Properties of the Adirondacks was founded in 2009 by Lauren Murphy. This real estate company is dedicated to connecting buyers with historic homes and properties in nature that will continue to be preserved and protected by new owners. Find the right local real estate and ensure that an important part of Essex and Champlain Valley heritage [...]
Union School was built in 1867 in the center of in Essex, NY, on the corner of Elm Street and Station Street. This school replaced the smaller, Old Brick Schoolhouse down Elm Street. Although the population of this once busy port town was declining, a new school was still an important expenditure for the futures of Essex [...]
Arriving in Essex, NY from Charlotte, Vermont by ferry, or by NYS Route 22 from the North travelers are greeted by a row of stately homes known as Merchant Row. Four elegant historic mansions overlook Lake Champlain and Vermont’s Green Mountains beyond. Built by wealthy merchant families in the 1800s, Merchant Row has withstood the test [...]
The hamlet of Essex, NY, is on the United States list of historic districts. Essex was once a popular maritime port, but after 1850 the population shrank as a result of the decline in industrial and commercial activity, and with the advent of the railroad trade by waterway diminished. This decline in activity and population unintentionally preserved many historic [...]
The Old Essex Firehouse is an early commercial building in Essex, NY built out of locally quarried graystone. Currently serving as a seasonal gallery for the Adirondack Art Association, the space has served many purposes over the years. The prominent building located at the intersection of Main Street (aka Lake Shore Road) and Station Road [...]
The Van Ornam building is currently undergoing renovations under the guidance of Karen and Rick Dalton to transform the second floor and rear annex into the national headquarters for College for Every Student. The Old Brick Block was a mercantile shop(s) in Essex, NY that burned in 1924. It was replaced in 1937 (Images of [...]
Located on the southwest corner of School Street and Elm Street, the Billings Stone Cottage is a Federal period cottage that was built by P.P. Billings out of local graystone that was quarried immediately behind the house. The same quarry also supplied building material for many other Essex buildings during the early 19th century (Images [...]
As its name implies, The Old Brick Store is a brick building that was originally built to serve as a commercial store during the time of Essex’s economic boom. This utilitarian Greek Revival store was built in c. 1840, and has stood on Essex’s Main Street for 172 years. With the original three-bay storefront facade, this building is a [...]
The Dr. Samuel Shumway House was built early in the 1800s (Historic Essex/ECHO documents suggest 1832, but Everest & McNulty claim 1815), in stately Federal style with some Greek Revival architectural influences. Dr. Samuel Shumway was a town officer in Essex (1841-42), and was of course a local physician (History of Essex, New York). You can see a very brief [...]
The Charles G. Fancher House of Federal design was built circa 1824. The wooden house is located near the end of Elm Street as it approaches School Street. The original owner, Charles G. Fancher, for whom the house is named, was once the owner Wright’s Inn and was also Essex’s postmaster for a time (History of [...]
