Boats Build Specially for Sightseeing

Postmarked 23 Jully 1933

Watkins Glen, New York

Published by C. Pomeroy, Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Printed b C.T. American Art Colored

Postcard Caption

FRONT: Boats built specially for sightseeing / For free parking turn right at P.R.R. Station, Foot of Main Street / Dock directly in front of station / One of the strollers on Seneca Lake at Watkins Glen, N.Y., Capt Palmer's Line 

BACK: The Lake ride on Seneca Lake at Watkins Glen is particularly beautiful. The head of the lake lies between the foothills of the Alleghenies and the trip is one of great scenic beauty. Hector Falls, historic Painted rocks, sheer rocky cliffs rising from the lake, with the Indian Trail nearby, are all passed in panorama by the Strollers. These are 75 passenger sight-seeing boats which make about one hour trips leaving the dock across from the Penn. R. R. Station at short intervals during the summer season. For the evening trips, 1,000,000 candle power floodlights directed on the shore make the trip particularly attractive.

Postcard Message

Hello Delano:- / Emerson and I have been to Niagara and now are on our way home - Watkins Glen is beautiful wish you might see it all. / Best Wishes to all / Emerson and -ieda

Touring boats don't populate Seneca Lake as they did when this postcard was written, but you can still take a tour of the lake on Stroller VI (christened in 1934, one year after the postcard was sent) operated by Captain Bills.

I took this photograph of Seneca Lake, looking towards Watkins Glen, last month when we watched the cardboard boat races during the annual Waterfront Festival. The large hotel is very new, but you might notice a brick building on the right side of the picture that was likely in place back in the 1930s.

See all my photos from the Cardboard Boat Regatta on Flickr!

Greetings from the Finger Lakes

Postmarked July 22, 1952

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Postcard Caption:

FRONT: Greetings from the Finger Lakes of Central New York 

BACK: One of the great vacation and tourist centers of America is the Finger Lakes Region of Central New York It was the Garden of Eden of the Red Men.

F - Historical Canandaigua Court House
I - General John Sullivan's Monument near Waverly
N - Taughannock Falls, near Ithaca
G - Skaneateles Lake
E - The Historical Scythe Tree
R - Geneva Harbor, Seneca Lake
L - Famous Catharine Creek Trout Stream
A - Lucifer Falls, Robert Tremain State Park, near Ithaca
K - A trail in Watkin Glen Sate Park
E - Sailboating, Keuka Lake
S - Harris Hill, Gilder Capitol, Elmira

Postcard Message:

Dear John / arrived in Niagara Falls. Around 4 p.m. / Hoping everything is O.K. - Pi---

The Finger Lakes landscape was formed over two million years ago when glacial flows cut deep trenches in the earth as they crisscrossed the region. The Native Americans living here attributed the finger-shaped lakes to the Great Spirit who left fingerprints when he touched the earth to bless it with fertility and marked it as sacred ground. Unfortunately for the Iriquos who were living in the region, they sided with the British during the American Revolution. In 1779, George Washington ordered Generals Sullivan and Clinton to retaliate, and their campaign destroyed over 40 villages, hundreds of acres of farmland, and stored food and supplies. Since then, the land has been in the hands of white settlers. After a brief period of industrialization, the region is now known for recreation, the wine industry, and its higher education institutions.

View Larger Map

I really haven't explored much of the area, even though we've been here nearly six years now. Of course, we have spent a lot of time at Cayuga Lake, and a reasonable amount of time around Seneca Lake. George and I, with the dogs, have driven around Keuka Lake together once. In 2012, I swam across Cayuga Lake (the short way, about 1-1/2 miles) to raise funds for HospiCare, and George now works at a winery that overlooks Seneca Lake. But there is still lots to do to catch up!

T-B: Seneca Lake, Robert Tremain State Park, Keuka Lake, Cayuga Lake

I'd love to see your Finger Lakes Region postcards or hear about your favorite attractions in the region!

References

• Finger Lakes History
• The Finger Lakes Museum, Walk through Time
• USDA Forest Service, Finger Lakes - History and Culture

Moonlight Over Seneca Lake

Postmarked 1945

Seneca Lake is one of the Finger Lakes, and it is the closest one on the west of Cayuga Lake. Watkins Glen, New York, is at the Southern tip of Seneca Lake, and that is the first town we visited when we came to Central New York for the first time, to visit the Farm Sanctuary and attend the Zoop! fundraiser.