Wells has a proud history. It is the first town to be formed in the region that was later to become Hamilton County. Flat lands around the Sacandaga River offered opportunities for farming, with an elevation of 1,010 feet. The Sacandaga River is joined by the East Branch North (Rt. 8) of the Village and the West branch coming off West Hill (by the NYS Campsite). In the 1800s, the Town of Wells was known for its many sawmills, several tanneries, and vast lumbering activities. 

 

Wells remained the most progressive town in Hamilton County in the early 1900s. It has successfully come through the loss of the tanneries with the opening of several veneer mills. Two newspapers (The Adirondack Herald and The Hamilton County Record), county leaders, and the farming families remained. The daily stage connected Wells to Northville and Lake Pleasant. Businesses in the Village included three hotels; three churches; two schools; four general stores; a hardware store; dry goods store and grocery store; a creamery; a blacksmith; two wagon makers; a ladies' dress and hat shop; jewelry store; insurance agents; a barbershop; Girard's Sugar Bush, which was the biggest sugar bush in the Southern Adirondacks; boarding houses; and a Town Board of Health with a town doctor.

Historical Events

2024

Total Eclipse - April 8, 2024

Photos provided by Michael Kriever.