Rewind:  December 15, 2024 – “The First Lake George Bicycle Craze”

by Dave Waite

With the emergence of Ebikes, riders today face a choice of embracing new technology or staying with a traditional, all-manual powered bicycle.  One hundred and thirty years ago riders also faced a choice, that of leaving behind the unstable and dangerous hi-wheeled bicycles of the time for a far safer variety.  This new bicycle, appropriately called the “safety bicycle,” was powered by the rear wheel, and was low enough that a rider could touch the ground with his feet.  Designed by English engineer Harry John Lawson in 1876, by the early 1880s, these bicycles were being manufactured and offered for sale in the United States.

With the growing interest in bicycles, places to ride away from established roadways were soon needed.  The effort to bring these to Lake George began in the summer of 1896 with a fundraiser held on the steamship Horicon.  The evening cruise from Caldwell to the Hundred Island House lasted three hours, with Hobluko’s Hungarian Gypsy Orchestra providing entertainment.  During the evening the ladies of the local Methodist Episcopal Church served cake and ice cream, which they offered at a “reasonable charge” to the attendees.  The announcement for this fundraiser in the August 22, 1896, Lake George Mirror encouraged readers to attend, saying, “Every person should interest themselves in this public improvement and purchase a ticket which are now on sale at the two drug stores, post office and telegraph offices at lake house, depot, and Crosbyside.”  The fare for the round-trip cruise was fifty cents, with children under six years old free.

By the next spring, bicycle paths had expanded in the Lake George region to the point where riders from as far away as New York City could follow established paths to the lake.  This route from the south took a bicyclist through Albany and then into Saratoga County, passing through Round Lake and Saratoga.  From Saratoga, the route turned towards Warren County into Glens Falls and then on to Lake George.  Once at the lake, there were good side paths to Bolton and Warrensburg, and and even further north into Chestertown and Schroon Lake.

It was not just men and boys who took to this new bicycle craze, women of all ages also took to the wheel.  To address this growing phenomenon, the Lake George Mirror of August 24, 1895, published a “Don’t” list that is included in this article.

Beyond transportation and recreation, there was also a positive effect on mental health.  In the June 22, 1897, edition of the Johnstown Daily Republican, an unnamed Saratoga physician is quoted as saying that just before the time when the bicycle craze took the public by storm, “an epidemic of nervous disorders seemed about to invade society.”  The article continued with this explanation of the change brought about by bicycle use:

Since almost everyone has succumbed to the fascination of riding, the decrease in complaints of this character has been marked.  The bicycle is saving the American people from many of the ill effects of too much hustling.  It gives exercise in a pleasant way and has come to stay.

Despite the health benefits of bicycle riding for the general public, the increase in the number of machines on the road brought with it a greater number of conflicts between riders and those using more traditional modes of transportation.  In a Mechanicville Mercury editorial titled “Bicycle Hogs:  The Many Suffer for the Few,” both sides of the controversy were aired.  The biggest problem for the bicyclists was that rough, debris-covered roads were forcing riders onto sidewalks.  This was causing both inconvenience and danger for pedestrians and strollers who already had rightful use of the space.  While this editorial was offered in the hope that everyone would work harder at treating each other with kindness, changes to address the issues were on the way in the form of both laws and legislation.

The first of these improvements was a change to the penal code in 1896 by New York Governor Levi Parsons Morton that made it a misdemeanor to place nails, tacks, or other substances that “might injure or puncture any tire used on a cycle” on public sidewalks or streets.  That same year a bill was introduced in the New York State Legislature that established committees in each county to oversee the construction of paths along county roads exclusively for the use of bicycles.  Given the name “side paths,” these new routes were developed to move bicyclists off the roads and sidewalks.

Oversight of the side paths was given to a Side Path Commission that was to be established by the Board of Directors in each County.  Serving without pay, it was expected that the majority of the members of the commission would be active bicyclists.  To fund the construction of the side paths, a fee of between fifty cents and one dollar was to be levied on every bicycle that was used on the path.  As these paths were for the exclusive use of bicycles, the legislature included wording that made it a misdemeanor to drive horses, cattle, or any vehicles on or along the side paths.

To identify those who paid the yearly fee to use side paths in Warren County an aluminum badge was attached to their bicycle.  The size of a half-dollar, each badge was stamped with a number that was painted black.

Without this badge, it was illegal to ride on a side path, as one Glens Falls resident found out the hard way.  In July of 1902 William C. LaFountain was arrested by a Patrolman and brought before the local justice for not having the proper badge attached to his wheel.  The fine for this offense was stiff, a five-dollar fine, or five times what it would have cost to have obtained the side path badge.

As with any fad, interest in bicycling for the general public began to decline and by 1903 there was no longer enough money for repair and maintenance from sales of side path badges.  Within a few years, side paths in the county were abandoned, either left to be overgrown by weeds or covered over as roads were widened to accommodate the next fad:

motorized vehicles.

Illustrations: The photo of the side path is from the book: Sidepaths, Monroe County, 1899 at libraryweb.org, the woman’s Don’t List is taken from the Lake George Mirror of August 24, 1895, and the map of side paths in Saratoga is from pinterest.com.

Sources for this article are the online newspaper archives at fultonsearch.org and nyshistoricnewspapers.org