The Northern Turnpike was built in 1799 from Lansingburgh to Granville. The Turnpike Road from Eagle Bridge to Cambridge was part of it.
From Cambridge to Salem the Northern Turnpike followed what is today NY 22 … except around Lake Lauderdale.
The turnpike originally curved right at the northwestern corner of Lake Lauderdale. It curved around the east side of McLean Pond (today Schoolhouse Pond), then onto Ackley Road and reconnecting with NY22.
The road was changed in 1937 to continue straight at the northern end of Lake Lauderdale, then going between Dead Pond and Schoolhouse Pond. All 5 of these lakes are spring fed (Clarks, Hedges, Dead, Schoolhouse Lauderdale). In addition, all but Dead Pond have a river inlet/outlet which may be how it got its name.
A tavern on the northeast corner of the lake was a stagecoach stop on the Turnpike. In 1880 the Lauderdale House was built on this spot. The Wilson family owned this in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Their son, Arno Wilson, had a TV sales and service store in the Hubbard Block in the 1950s and 1960s. Here’s a photo of Lauderdale House in the early 1900s.
One of the earliest settlers, John McLean, owned land that is today probably about where Lauderdale Farm is located. The farm faces westward overlooking Schoolhouse Pond (previously McLean Pond).
The Valentine family owned the farm at the southwestern end of Lake Lauderdale. The Lauderdale Fair was held there from 1880-1890, when it was purchased by J.B.Rice and moved to Cambridge.
(click to enlarge image)
The Valentines built a hotel on the southeast corner in 1880. When it burned in 1890, they built the St George Hotel with an octagon-shaped dance hall.
They had a side-wheel steamboat that traveled from the south end to the north end of Lake Lauderdale in 30-45 minutes. It held 60 passengers and cost 5-cents.
An 1892 fire destroyed the St George Hotel and the steamboat
Edwin McClellan, one of the brothers who built Mary McClellan Hospital in honor of their mother, started his education in Jackson District School No 9. He went on to Yale University. Following his death, his widow donated money to Yale to erect McClellan Hall which still stands today on that campus