Orson Schofield (Old Mountain) Phelps (May 6, 1817 - April 14, 1905) was an early Adirondack guide from Keene Valley. Although he was not regarded as a highly skilled guide, his enthusiasm for nature and poetic descriptions of the mountain scenery endeared him to many tourists. [1] He became a local legend due to publicity from writers Charles Dudley Warner and E. R. Wallace, photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard, and others. [2] [3] Phelps named many of the Adirondack High Peaks, and cut the first trail up Mount Marcy. [4] Phelps Mountain is named in his honor.
Two streams also bear his name:
- Phelps Brook, draining the southern flank of Phelps Mountain and the western flank of Table Top Mountain.
- Phelps Brook in the hamlet of Keene Valley, by which he made his home at Phelps Falls. [5]
References
- ^ Donaldson 1921, p. 53.
- ^ Healy 1992, pp. 5–9.
- ^ Donaldson 1921, pp. 54–57.
- ^ Donaldson 1921, p. 54.
- ^ Wallace 1876, p. 137.
Bibliography
- Donaldson, Alfred Lee (1921). A history of the Adirondacks. Vol. II. New York: The Century Co. p. 53. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
- Healy, Bill (1992). The High Peaks of Essex: The Adirondack Mountains of Orson Schofield Phelps. Fleischmanns, NY.: Purple Mountain Press. ISBN 0935796290.
- Wallace, E. R. (1876). Descriptive guide to the Adirondacks, and handbook of travel to Saratoga Springs, Schroon Lake, lakes Luzerne, George and Champlain, the Ausable Chasm, the Thousand Islands, Massena Springs and Trenton Falls. New York.: Forest and Stream Publishing Company.
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