Harbor Walk
Walking Guide Showcases Sackets Harbor’s Historic Architecture
By Kara Dunn
Sackets Harbor, NY – With sponsorship from Watertown Savings Bank, the Sackets Harbor Historical Society has published a new, updated edition of its Harbor Walk: A Guide to the History & Architecture of Sackets Harbor, NY. The guidebook is available from the Sackets Harbor Historical Society and at several venues in the village.
The 44-page illustrated guide celebrates the historic architecture as seen at homes, businesses and buildings in this area that was a shipbuilding center during the War of 1812. Featured are the waterfront village, Madison Barracks, and sites on a 17-point Town of Hounsfield Driving Tour in western Jefferson County, NY.
Sackets Harbor Historical Society President Jan Maas says, “This guidebook interprets more than 200 years of our cultural, economic, and military history by showcasing the architectural quality of our built environment, and serves the Historical Society mission to educate the public about the unique heritage of our community.”
The book’s front cover features the Sackets Harbor Bank Building, circa 1836, situated at the corner of West Main and Broad Streets. The Sackets Harbor Bank housed here in 1836 was Jefferson County’s second bank. Watertown Savings Bank now operates a branch in the main bank building, and the Sackets Harbor Historical Society offices are located in the wing.
Union Hotel, at West Main and Ray Streets, now owned by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, highlights book’s back cover. The former Union Hotel now houses the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Discovery Center. Frederick White, reputedly the wealthiest man in Jefferson County, built the hotel in 1817-18 to take advantage of the post-War of 1812 hotel trade. The guidebook notes that the building’s “well-preserved interiors are counted among the finest of any Federal-era public buildings in New York State.”
Harbor Walk includes a short history of Sackets Harbor, a guide to 13 architectural styles, a glossary of architectural terms, and a bibliography.
The original text was prepared by Michael D. Sullivan and has been updated by Sackets Harbor Historical Society President Jan Maas. Local historians Bob and Jeannie Brennan, Sackets Harbor State Historic Battlefield Manager Connie Barone, the staffs at the Pickering-Beach Historical Museum, Flower Memorial Library, and Olin Library at Cornell University have contributed to the Harbor Walk guide’s development. Sackets Harbor artist Lawrence Barone provided the new cover design and updated several maps.
The Northern New York Community Foundation and the Heritage Area Program of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation provided funding for the first edition of the guide. Sackets Harbor is a New York State Heritage Area Community.
Sales of the guidebook benefit the Historical Society’s interpretive projects.