History of Lake Pleasant in Song

Song: History of Lake Pleasant
Music & Lyrics: AI

[Verse1]
Upon the deep-wooded slopes of the Adirondack heart,
Where whispers of old Mohawk tales set the hills apart.
For centuries, they roamed this hunting ground,
Before the first pale settler's axe was heard to sound.
Here, Captain Gill told legends by the fire's gleam,
A Mohawk guide along the winding Sacandaga stream.
He spoke of Flying Heads, and the ancient tribe's disgrace,
A haunting echo of this rugged, wild-wood place.
[Chorus]
Today, the lake reflects a tranquil, modern view,
With cabins, camps, and hikers, both old and new.
The history remains beneath the water and the stone,
A story of a region, a place to call your own.
[Verse2]
The wilderness, a challenge for the pioneering few,
Who came for cheap, vast acres, and to start life anew.
The first mills rose around seventeen ninety-five,
The terrane was hard to keep a family alive.
Then by eighteen twelve, Lake Pleasant became a town,
The settlers kept farming and working the ground.
The pioneers fled during the War of eighteen twelve's fight,
But then returned with arms to defend freedom's rite.
[Chorus]
Today, the lake reflects a tranquil, modern view,
With cabins, camps, and hikers, both old and new.
The history remains beneath the water and the stone,
A story of a region, a place to call your own.
[verse3]
The lands were stubborn, winters harsh and long,
Many left for kinder earth, where they felt they could belong.
Yet some remained, and slowly, a new life took its hold,
A story of persistence, in this mountain valley told.
The Victorian era brought a change, a different kind of prize,
As city folk sought refuge beneath these mountain skies.
First came the sportsmen, seeking wilder sport,
With local guides to lead them from the hotel and the port.
[Chorus]
Today, the lake reflects a tranquil, modern view,
With cabins, camps, and hikers, both old and new.
The history remains beneath the water and the stone,
A story of a region, a place to call your own.
[Verse4]
Then families followed, with their summer camp desire,
As inns and cottages rose like sparks from a growing fire.
They filled the grand hotels with laughter and with song,
The wild, raw Adirondacks was where they'd come along.
The lumber trade followed, with its own ferocious pace,
Cutting old-growth forest to make a new-fangled space.
The Sacandaga River, a new, fast highway for the wood,
Carrying fallen giants beyond the endless waters could.
[Bridge]
But voices rose for nature, for the wild things of the land,
And the "Forever Wild" creed began to take a stand.
By 1892, a Park was born, a boundary drawn in blue,
A solemn promise for the wild, and all that it held true.
[Chorus]
Today, the lake reflects a tranquil, modern view,
With cabins, camps, and hikers, both old and new.
The history remains beneath the water and the stone,
A story of a region, a place to call your own.
From ancient Mohawk lore to logging's final sound,
Lake Pleasant's story is in this very ancient ground.