North Pole is a small hamlet located in the town of Wilmington within Essex County, New York, United States, in the Adirondack Mountains.
North Pole is a small hamlet located in the town of Wilmington within Essex County, New York, United States, in the Adirondack Mountains.
North Pole is located in Adirondack Park at the northern edge of Essex County 44°18′N74°00′W / 44.3°N 74°W near Whiteface Mountain, 12 miles (19 km) from Lake Placid and approximately 30 miles (48 km) from Plattsburgh.
Fitting with the name of the hamlet, North Pole is one of the best places in the Northeast for snow. According to historical weather data that has been gathered at Tupper Lake every year since 1948, there's a 96% chance of some amount of snow for Christmas.[ citation needed ]
The United States Census Bureau treated North Pole as part of a larger area including Lake Placid, NY for its 2000 census figures. Out of 8,098 people in the region, 1,444 are under 18, 1,072 are age 65 or over, 87% are White and 10.7% are African American.
North Pole does not have its own bank, school, library, fire department, newspaper, police station or community organizations and most local businesses have closed their doors. North Pole has a small community postal station at 201 Main St, which is open only on a seasonal basis.
In 1954, Burlington/Plattsburgh-market NBC affiliate WPTZ (channel 5) was licensed to North Pole at the time of its sign-on (as WIRI). In 1999 the station petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to reallocate its broadcast frequency (now on digital channel 14) to Plattsburgh, on the grounds that the hamlet has always been small and continues to lose population, with only four houses remaining near North Pole's main crossroads.
While the station's studios were built on Television Drive in Plattsburgh, that lakeside city is low-lying ground relative to the surrounding Adirondack Mountains. The station's analog broadcast transmitter had therefore been situated upon a mountaintop near North Pole, operating from this location until 2009. While WPTZ's digital UHF TV transmitter facilities are now located atop Mount Mansfield, Vermont, alongside WCAX-TV and other broadcasters in the region, the station's license (and therefore the on-air station ID) remained in North Pole until January 5, 2011, when the FCC approved WPTZ's request and formally moved its license to Plattsburgh. [1]
North Pole, New York's main attraction is Santa's Workshop on Whiteface Mountain Memorial Highway, Route 431. [2]
Clinton County is a county in the north-easternmost corner of the state of New York, in the United States and bordered by the Canadian province of Quebec. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 79,843. Its county seat is the city of Plattsburgh. The county lies just south of the border with the Canadian province of Quebec and to the west of the State of Vermont.
Essex County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,381. Its county seat is the hamlet of Elizabethtown. Its name is from the English county of Essex. Essex is one of only 2 counties that are entirely within the Adirondack Park, the other being Hamilton County.
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303.
North Elba is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 8,957 at the 2010 census.
North Hudson is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 240 at the 2010 census. The town derives its name by being near the northern end of the Hudson River.
Westport is a town in Essex County, New York, United States overlooking Lake Champlain. The population was 1,312 at the 2010 census.
Wilmington is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,253 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the nearby town of Wilmington, Vermont.
Keeseville is a hamlet in Clinton and Essex counties, New York, United States. The population was 1,815 at the 2010 census. The hamlet was named after the Keese family, early settlers from Vermont. It developed along the Ausable River, which provided water power for mills and industrial development.
WCFE-TV is a PBS member television station licensed to Plattsburgh, New York, United States, serving the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh, New York market. Owned by the Mountain Lake Public Telecommunications Council, the station maintains studios at One Sesame Street in Plattsburgh, and its transmitter is located atop Lyon Mountain, between Plattsburgh and nearby Malone. WCFE-TV is branded as Mountain Lake PBS; this name was adopted to reflect Plattsburgh's location between the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain.
The Ausable River, also known as AuSable River and originally written as "Au Sable", runs in the U.S. state of New York, from the Adirondack Mountains and past the village of Lake Placid and Au Sable Forks to empty into Lake Champlain. It has an East and West branch that join at Au Sable Forks. The river forms a partial boundary between Clinton County and Essex County. The Ausable River is known for its gorge, Ausable Chasm, located a few miles east of Keeseville.
The body of water named Lake Placid is a lake in the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York, the United States. It is on the northern side of the Village of Lake Placid.
WPTZ is a television station licensed to Plattsburgh, New York, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh, New York market. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside Montpelier, Vermont–licensed CW affiliate WNNE. WPTZ and WNNE share studios on Community Drive in South Burlington, Vermont, with a secondary studio and news bureau on Cornelia Street in Plattsburgh; through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WPTZ's spectrum from an antenna on Vermont's highest peak, Mount Mansfield.
Whiteface Mountain is the fifth-highest mountain in the U.S. state of New York, and one of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains. Set apart from most of the other High Peaks, the summit offers a 360-degree view of the Adirondacks and clear-day glimpses of Vermont and even Canada, where the skyscrapers of Montreal, 80 miles (130 km) away, can be seen on a very clear day. Located in the town of Wilmington, about 13 miles (21 km) from Lake Placid, the mountain's east slope is home to a major ski area with the greatest vertical drop east of the Rockies, which hosted the alpine skiing competitions of the 1980 Winter Olympics. Unique among the High Peaks, Whiteface features a developed summit and seasonal accessibility by motor vehicle. Whiteface Memorial Highway reaches a parking area at an elevation of 4,600 feet (1,400 m), with the remaining 267 feet (81 m) being obtained by tunnel and elevator.
WFFF-TV is a television station licensed to Burlington, Vermont, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh, New York market. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to ABC affiliate WVNY under a shared services agreement (SSA) with Mission Broadcasting. Both stations share studios on Mountain View Drive in Colchester, Vermont, while WFFF-TV's transmitter is located on Vermont's highest peak, Mount Mansfield.
WYCI is a television station licensed to Saranac Lake, New York, United States, serving the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh, New York area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Burlington-licensed CBS affiliate WCAX-TV. Both stations share studios on Joy Drive in South Burlington, Vermont, while WYCI's transmitter is located on Mount Pisgah north of Saranac Lake, along the Essex–Franklin county line.
New York State Route 86 (NY 86) is a 39.11-mile (62.94 km) long state highway located within Adirondack Park in northern New York, in the United States, linking Franklin County to Essex County. The western terminus of the route is at NY 30 in the hamlet of Paul Smiths. The eastern terminus is at NY 9N in Jay. Although largely a two-lane road, NY 86 is one of only two east–west highways in the High Peaks area of the Adirondack Park, providing a major link between hamlets and tourist destinations.
The McKenzie Mountain Wilderness Area, an Adirondack Park unit of the Forest Preserve, lies in western Essex County in the towns of St. Armand, North Elba and Wilmington. In general, the Saranac River and Franklin Falls Pond border on the north; the Wilmington-Franklin Falls road, the Whiteface Mountain Memorial Highway and the west branch of the Ausable River form the eastern boundary; the Saranac Lake-Lake Placid Road, NY 86, forms the southern boundary; and the Saranac River forms the western boundary.
Ray Brook is a hamlet in New York State, United States located on NY 86 between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid in the Town of North Elba in Essex County. It is the site of the Adirondack Park Agency, the District 5 office of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Federal Correctional Institution, Ray Brook and the Adirondack Correctional Facility. The New York State Office of Real Property Tax Services—an office within the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance—has an office here as well. The ZIP Code for Ray Brook is 12977.
McKenzie Mountain is a 3,861-foot (1,177 m) mountain in western Essex County in the towns of St. Armand and North Elba in the Adirondack Park, a unit of the Forest Preserve.
44°24′N73°51′W / 44.400°N 73.850°W
Municipalities and communities of Essex County, New York, United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
