Reynolds, Neil Photograph Collection

Collection Type
Images
Year Start
1919
Year End
1924
ID

PRI5151

Quantity

192 black-and-white photographs (various sizes) and 102 black cardboard pages from the scrapbook with captions (1 box, 0.25 cu.ft.)

Access

Open to research. Use white gloves when handling photos.

Acquisition

Purchase, Nestler, April 1994

Processed By

James Alvin, Visitor's Service I, and Billie Aul, Senior Librarian, April 1994. Revised October 2002. Revised February 2010.

Biographical Note:

Admiring the scenery: photo of two men, seated on a rock, looking out over Trout Lake.
"Admiring the Scenery " 
See more images from the Reynolds Collection.

Neil Bailey Reynolds was born in 1903 in Scotia, New York. He attended public school in Scotia and earned his bachelor's (1924) and master's degrees from Union College (Schenectady, N.Y.). Reynolds also earned a master's in physics from Princeton University. In 1929, he married Marion Van Vorst; the couple did not have any children. Reynolds worked for many years as a chemical engineer for General Electric. From 1933 to 1935, he taught physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and then returned to General Electric. Reynolds authored many scientific articles and earned one patent. He was a long-time member of the Mohawk Club and the Schenectady County Historical Society. He was also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigma XI, the State Historical Association, the New York Folklore Society, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the National Trust for Historical Preservation, and the First Baptist Church of Scotia. From 1946 to 1959, he served as historian for the Village of Scotia. Reynolds died in 1993.

Scope and Content Note:

The collection consists of 192 images (photographs and a few Real Photo postcards) from a photograph album believed to have belonged to Neil B. Reynolds. Reynolds took the majority of the pictures while vacationing in the Adirondack Mountain region with his family. These images include scenes of nature, lodges and campsites, as well as family shots in numerous locations throughout the Adirondack Mountain region, which includes Saratoga, Hamilton, Warren, and Essex counties. Besides scenic views there are good shots of automobiles, camp sites and Camp Arondack, a wooden lodge on Fourth Lake. Also included are approximately 25 pictures of students, buildings, graduation activities, and Alpha Gamma Phi fraternity members taken at Union College, Schenectady, New York. Of special interest are the scenes of Cane Rush, 1920, and Salt and Tomatoes, 1920, annual traditional class fights between Union College's freshman and sophomore classes that were a feature of life at the college from the mid-1800s until the 1930s, as well as a scene of the fall Idol Fight which took place annually from 1911 until 1930. While scenes from the Schenectady County area and Adirondacks region predominate, there are also photos of views in central and western New York, at locations such as Watkins Glen and Niagara Falls. One picture shows the campus of Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, and one other shows the campus of Colgate College (now University), Hamilton, New York.

The majority of images have been identified. Several images are missing from the album. The album was disbound in May 1994. The captions were copied to the backs of the photographs. The original album pages were retained for caption comparison.

The collection originally was called the Empire State Conservationist Photograph Collection based on the logo of the Empire State Conservationist found on the title page of the album.

Image List


 

PagePhotographCaption / [Description]
Front Cover1Unidentified / [country lane]
Title page2[negative photostat of a hand-drawn logo for Empire State Conservationist]

Title page is followed by two blank pages, one missing photographs.
13Unidentified / [three children]; real photo postcard
14Wells, New York, from West Hill, August 1919
25Unidentified / [family in and around canvas peaked open tent]
26Stone House on Sacandaga, 1920 / [stone chimney only]
37First view of Schroon River South of Warrensburg, July 1920
38Unidentified / [probably Schroon Lake]
49Unidentified / [family at camp site]
410Ravine, Lebanon Springs, May 31, 1920
511The Bridge over Ravine, Lebanon Springs / [several men and women and one child dressed up; two individuals holding American flags; probably Memorial Day or other patriotic celebration]
5--Lebanon Warm Spring 1920 / [missing]
6--Abandoned Hotel, Lebanon Springs, 1920 / [missing]
612"Long. Long Ago" / [similar to photo #5]
713Labor Day - 1919 Schroon / [boy with fish]
714South End of Schroon Lake, 1919 / [bridge, tour boat and people in a canoe]
8--The Great Western Gateway Is Begun, September 1920 / [missing]
8--Missing
9--Riverside Avenue - 1920 / [missing]
9--The Mohawk at Flood / [missing]
10--Riverside Avenue – 1920;  Neil B. Reynold's '24 / [missing]
1015Salt and Tomatoes, September 21, 1920 / [Union College – several men in foreground; Nott Memorial in background]; real photo postcard
1116'23 Lined up for the Cane Rush, 1920, Neil B. Reynolds / [Union College – several men in foreground lined up ready to run; building in background]; real photo postcard
1117'23-24 – 9/21/20 "Victory or Death," Neil B. Reynolds, '24 / [Union College – several men in foreground; spectators and Nott Memorial in background]; real photo postcard
1218The Mohawk at Crescent, 1920
1219The new Bridge at Crescent, New York, 1920
13207:30 a.m. Camping Place North of Warrensburg (Labor Day 1920)  / [men and women sitting around a campfire]
1321Unidentified / [automobile; man sitting at table; tent behind man]
1422Up and Down the Boquet River near Underwood, September 1920
1423Up and Down the Boquet River near Underwood, September 1920 / [different view]
1524Dinner by the Boquet River, September 1920 / [man and two women at picnic table; car]
15--1713-1920 Glen-Sanders Mansion / [missing]
1625Unidentified / [woman fishing]
1726Long Flats, Wells, June 1920 / [men and women at picnic table; automobile and tent in background]
1727State Fireplace, Wells, 1920 / [women working at a table next to a stone fireplace; tents in background]
1828Camp in the Old Road – Wells, 1920 / [women working at table; man working behind them; two cars and a tent off to the right]
1829New Road to Speculator, End of Construction, 1920 / [river in foreground; bridge in background]
19--Riverside Avenue 1903 / missing]
1930View of Sacandaga River from Mountain Top, 1920
1931What Fire Can Do.  North of Wells, 1920 / [stand of dead trees]
2032West Hill, Wells, New York, August, 1919
2033Camp along the Sacandaga. August, 1919. From inside of tent looking toward river / [tent flap on left; table on right]
2134Long Flats on the Sacandaga, August 1919. View of camp / [man and woman sitting on a log between a table and a tent]
2135Schroon Lake, Labor Day, 1919
2236The Island up Schroon Lake, 1919
2237Down Schroon from the Wooded Point, 1919
2338Unidentified / [Schroon Lake?]
2339Good Bait for a Good Catch / [man in boat with fish]
2440East Branch Sacandaga River, 1919
2441The Meeting of the Ways. View showing the union of the East and West branches of Sacandaga River
2542The Schroon, 1919 / [man and woman in foreground]
2543Camp on the Road to Adirondack-Schroon, 1919 / [man and two women sitting on front bumper of a automobile parked near a tent
2644Outlet of Schroon / [man and woman in rowboat]
2645Coesa Spring, Saratoga 1920 / [people standing at spring house; automobile parked near building]
2746Coesa Creek. Coesa Spring House and pond III 4 Saratoga Springs  / [building at left; bridge crossing water]
2747Kinderhook Creek, May 31, 1920, near Brainard Station
2848Camp on West Bank of Schroon Lake, 1920 / [automobile and tent on left; work table on right]
2849The Bank Schroon Lake, 1920 / [man standing on bank of lake]
2850The Bank Schroon Lake, 1920 / [different view of man on bank of lake; may be fishing]
2951Supper at the Old Lime Kiln, July 1920 / [man and woman in foreground; automobile in background]
2952"Horicon" from the Glens Falls Road / [Lake George]
3053Unidentified / [man at table]
3054Fishing in Schroon Lake / [man standing in boat and fishing at edge of lake]
3155The Falls of the Hudson, Glens Falls, 1920 / [good view of dam]
3156View from Schuylerville Monument, 1920
3257South-west Corner [of] Schuylerville Monument, Showing B[enedict] Arnold's Vacant Niche
3258Caroga Creek, Palatine Church, N.Y. / [shows wooden dam]
3359Caroga Creek on Its Way to the Mohawk, 1920
3360Hylle Hurst / [house; automobile in foreground]
3461'24 Defends The Idol. Neil B. Reynolds / [Union College? – of large crowd taken from above and to one side of the crowd]; real photo postcard
34--Missing
3562Old Lime Kiln near Warrensburg, 1920 / [portion of kiln]
3563Up Lake George. The Steamer in Sight, 1920 / [steamer barely visible – taken from railway station]
3664The Woods That Surround Fort William Henry and Horicon – Cooper, 1920 / [Lake George – railroad visible but no fort]
3665King Hendrick Spring – near Lake George. Hendrick - a Mohawk Chief - was killed near here in 1755 while aiding Sir William Johnson. – 1920 / [automobile parked at side of road]
3766Supper near Clifton Park, 1920 / [two men and two women sitting on the ground in front of an automobile]
3767Trout Lake, Memorial Day 1921
3868First Trip in the Essex [automobile], 6-30-21 / [men and women in and near two automobiles; good view of automobiles]
3869Lake George from Bolton Hill, 1921
3970A Holiday at Trout Lake / [men and women sitting on ground in foreground]
3971Dinner is Served, 6/30/21 / [different view of same people in #70]
4072Admiring the Scenery / [backs of two men sitting on a rock looking at lake; carved on the rock: "1917"; "Trout Lake"; drawing of an American flag]
4073Unidentified / [woman with camera in foreground; man wading in water]
4074Hills Sloping Down to the Mohawk – Gloversville – Caroga Lake Road
4175Where Green Lake joins Canada L[ake], 1921
4176Upper Caroga Creek, 1921 / [bridge]
4277The Trail to Vanderwhacker Mt. Observatory Begins / [automobile parked at trail head]
4278Where the Boreas Winds Twixt the Rows of Blue-back Spruce
4379Long Lake Camp, from the Rock Slope on the Hill / [automobile and tent are dwarfed by landscape]
4380Tenting on Long Lake's Shore, August 23-26, 1921 / [two tents, automobile, picnic table]
4481Where Waters Reflect Like A Mirror - Long Lake '21
4482North from the Little Hill to the Wilderness beyond Long Lake
4583Up Long Lake Toward Deerland
4584A Rendezvous For Those Who Camp in Tents, August 24, 1921 / [torn; automobile and tent in foreground; automobile in background]
46--And A Tall Spruce Guards the Fork - To Raquette Lake / [missing]
4685The Plunge of the Raquette River - Buttermilk Falls '21
4786The Warrensburg Camp - August 22, 1921 / [automobile, tent, stone fireplace, work table]
4787Falls of the Raquette Where the Canoeist Portages – Buttermilk Falls – '21
4888Buttermilk Falls in Midsummer near Head of Long Lake
4889Harris Lake - Near the Hudson's Headwaters – Newcomb / [photo taken from road; automobile partially visible on left]
4990The Adirondack Giants Lift Their Heads O'er Jeweled Lakes – Newcomb
4991Moxham Mountain's Rock - Scarred Face Minerva
5092Lunch on the Homeward Road near Weaver Town, August 26, 1921 / [automobile parked at side of road; another auto rounding the bend]
5093Top O' The World (Peaks to the Northwards 1921)
5194Down The Hudson at Riverside, 1921
5295Dr. Nott's Carriage Features in the 1921 Alumni Day Exercises / [line of parked cars in background near building; pedestrians]
5296The "Old Grads" Parade on the Old Campus 1921 / [mass of people in front of Nott Memorial, Union College]
5397Alpha Gamma Phi 1921 / front of building - Union College]
5398'21 Falls in Line with the Alumni / [Union graduation; graduates in caps and gowns]
5499Alpha Gamma Phi Just before the 1922 Banquet / [graduates, in caps and gowns, sitting on steps; part of bicycle can be seen at left]
54100'22 Class Day Exercises (Class Oration - Horning) / [men in caps and gowns sitting on the ground listening to a speaker; men and women standing in a semi-circle around group]
55101Alpha Gamma Phi Classes 1920, '21, '22, '23, '24 and '25 Represented / [men sitting on steps]
55102E.J. Berg Scholarship Cup
55103Campus in Commencement Dress (Day Light View of Lantern) / [automobiles motoring along roadway on campus]
56104Wishing Well - In the Garden / [woman standing next to well]
56105Jackson's Garden from "The Balcony," Union College
57--Glenotia Park / [missing]
57--Missing
58106On the Mohawk Above Visschers, Memorial Day 1922
58107On the Mohawk Above Visschers, Memorial Day 1922 / [men and women sitting on the ground picnicking; picnic baskets on the right]
59108Bunny and Minnehaha / [little boy dressed nautical shorts and shirt holding doll]
59109Cliffs Below the Aquaduct [sic]
60110Grand View - Cohoes / [houses and church; looking east?]
60111A Letter "S," from Amsterdam Road, Big Bend in the Mohawk
61112Split Rock Falls on the Bouquet '22
61113Split Rock Falls on the Bouquet '22 / [different view]
62114The Road To "The Cobble" and "The Branch" Which Roared, 1922 / [bridge over water]
62115Camp on "The Branch" near Elizabethtown, 1922 / [picnic bench, automobile, tent]
63116High Falls of the Upper Ausable, Wilmington Notch
63117Lower Ausable, in Keene Valley
64118High Falls Gorge, Wilmington Notch
64119A Valley Guarded by Giants (Keene Valley) / [farm and roadside ad for Kelly Springfield Tires]
65120Whiteface Mountain Carries a Storm on His Back
65121Wilmington Notch
66122The Upper Ausable
66123Whiteface in the Background
67124Lake George from Bolton's Landing, 1922
67125Lake George from Bolton's Landing, 1922 / [different view]
68126Black and Tongue Mountains, 1922.  Lake George N. from Bolton Landing
68127At Warrensburg Camp Ground, August 1922 / [men and women sitting and standing near car]
69128Camp Arondack, Fourth Lake / [wooden structure]
69129Across the Lake - Fourth Lake
70--One August Afternoon / [missing]
70--Missing
71130Potash Mountain
71131South over Fourth Lake - Fourth Lake Near Luzerne
72132And Then We Went Out in the Boat / [man and women in bathing suits]
72133From off the Porch, Fourth Lake
73134M.V.V., 1922 / [woman sitting on a blanket]
73135Dinner - August 30, 1922 / [Camp Arondack, Fourth Lake; three women sitting on porch]
74136Seen Thru the Morning Fog
74137Ruins of Old Fort George / [pile of stones with sign in front of pile]
75138A Different View of the Potash Kettle - Road to Stony Center
75139Niagara Brook Disappears - Natural Bridge
76140Cave of Darkness - Natural Bridge
76141The Silver Veil of Fog, from the Porch of  "A Lodge in Some Vast Wilderness"
77142At Fourth Lake, Fall 1922 / [boy on gate]
77143October 1, 1922 / [boy with oar]
78144Bunny, September 1922 / [small boy]
78145Ancestral Mansion, 1922 / [house with automobile in driveway]
79146Over a Century Old, Alpha Gamma Phi's New Home / [front façade of building]
79147Lower Campus in Fall Dress, 1922 / [Nott Memorial and two other buildings, Union College]
80148Horstman's Creek, Winter and Spring / [winter scene]
80149Horstman's Creek, Winter and Spring / [spring scene – no water]
811508:00 to 9:00 p.m. in Midwinter - 1923 / [houses on street]
81151The Rotterdam Hills from Sacandaga Road
82152[Alpha Gamma Phi members - individuals identified – same image as #101]
82153Unidentified / [Union College campus – street, fence, buildings, automobile]
83154Unidentified / [façade of building on Union College campus]
83155Up the Mohawk in Early Spring - Bridge Approach 1923
84156May, 1923 - near Mariaville / [three men sitting on running board of an automobile]
84157Unidentified / [looking down on a valley]
85158Unidentified / [three men sitting on a hill looking at scenery]
85159Reflections in Thirteenth Lake (Ben Straight's Landing) / [two rowboats at edge of water]
86160Standing on a Beaver House in Peaked Mountain Pond / [man standing on beaver dam]
86161Beaver Dam in the Creek along the Peaked Mountain Trail
87162Looking Down from the Heights. The Pond is Dammed by Beavers.
87163Peak of Peak Mountain Height – 13th Lake in Right Background / [man stands silhouetted against background]
87--Along the Old Wells - Speculator Road / [missing]
88164A Long Way Down to Peaked Mountain Pond from the Mountain
88--Near the South End of Indian Lake / [missing]
89165Ten Minute's Walk from Thirteenth Lake / [waterfall]
89166Conservation Comm. Camp at Schroon River / [four tents in background]
89167Chapel Pond Road, for Scenery Wild, Varied, and Wonderful / [two men standing on road next to a parked automobile]
90168From the Chapel Pond Road Leading to Keene Valley
90169Spruce Hill and the Mountains West of Keene Valley / [electricity or telephone pole standing next to a road]
90170Same subject as photo #169  [farm]; real photo postcard
91171Dinner in Wilmington Notch, August 19, 1923 / [three men sitting at a picnic bench]
91172Briggs Burying Ground near Ballston Spa / [grave stones]
92173Unidentified / [man standing in front of trellis in garden]
92174Almost within Sight of Clifton Park / [two men and two women having a picnic]
93175Hamilton College - Labor Day – 1923 / [buildings mostly hidden by trees]
93176Taken in Watkins Glen [N.Y.] - September 4, 1923 / [standing portrait of woman]
94177Watkins Glen [N.Y.]
94178American Falls from "Maid of the Mist" Niagara - 1923
95179Part of the Horseshoe [Falls]
95180Just Getting the Spray / [on the "Maid of the Mist"]
96--Two pictures missing
97181Unidentified / [view of river]; real photo postcard
97--Missing
98--Missing
98182Where the Memorial Chapel Is to Stand, Spring 1924 / [Union College?]
99183L. Leverenz, E.W. Colt, E. Powell, A.P. Buettcher, L. Garrison / [standing next to or sitting on running board of automobile]
99184Alpha Gamma Phi 1924 / [interior of room with Alpha Gamma Phi banner on wall]
100185E.W.C. / [E.W. Colt – standing portrait on sidewalk in front of building]
100186Where I have worked: Physical Chem. Lab / [interior view of lab]
101187E.W. Colt, Dr. C.B. Hurd, A.A. Vernon, E.C. Strube, May 1924 / [standing outside building]
101188Baptist Church at Hamilton, New York, 1924 / [side façade]
  Loose pictures
--189[Unidentified woman and child - child might be Bunny]
--190[Moon on water ?]
--191[Unidentified man]
--192[Unidentified woman]