Neil B. Reynolds Photograph Collection
1919-1924
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:
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
| Page | Photograph | Caption / [Description] |
|---|---|---|
| Front Cover | 1 | Unidentified / [country lane] |
| Title page | 2 | [negative photostat of a hand-drawn logo for Empire State Conservationist] Title page is followed by two blank pages, one missing photographs. |
| 1 | 3 | Unidentified / [three children]; real photo postcard |
| 1 | 4 | Wells, New York, from West Hill, August 1919 |
| 2 | 5 | Unidentified / [family in and around canvas peaked open tent] |
| 2 | 6 | Stone House on Sacandaga, 1920 / [stone chimney only] |
| 3 | 7 | First view of Schroon River South of Warrensburg, July 1920 |
| 3 | 8 | Unidentified / [probably Schroon Lake] |
| 4 | 9 | Unidentified / [family at camp site] |
| 4 | 10 | Ravine, Lebanon Springs, May 31, 1920 |
| 5 | 11 | The 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] |
| 6 | 12 | “Long. Long Ago” / [similar to photo #5] |
| 7 | 13 | Labor Day - 1919 Schroon / [boy with fish] |
| 7 | 14 | South 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] |
| 10 | 15 | Salt and Tomatoes, September 21, 1920 / [Union College – several men in foreground; Nott Memorial in background]; real photo postcard |
| 11 | 16 | ’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 |
| 11 | 17 | ’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 |
| 12 | 18 | The Mohawk at Crescent, 1920 |
| 12 | 19 | The new Bridge at Crescent, New York, 1920 |
| 13 | 20 | 7:30 a.m. Camping Place North of Warrensburg (Labor Day 1920) / [men and women sitting around a campfire] |
| 13 | 21 | Unidentified / [automobile; man sitting at table; tent behind man] |
| 14 | 22 | Up and Down the Boquet River near Underwood, September 1920 |
| 14 | 23 | Up and Down the Boquet River near Underwood, September 1920 / [different view] |
| 15 | 24 | Dinner by the Boquet River, September 1920 / [man and two women at picnic table; car] |
| 15 | -- | 1713-1920 Glen-Sanders Mansion / [missing] |
| 16 | 25 | Unidentified / [woman fishing] |
| 17 | 26 | Long Flats, Wells, June 1920 / [men and women at picnic table; automobile and tent in background] |
| 17 | 27 | State Fireplace, Wells, 1920 / [women working at a table next to a stone fireplace; tents in background] |
| 18 | 28 | Camp in the Old Road – Wells, 1920 / [women working at table; man working behind them; two cars and a tent off to the right] |
| 18 | 29 | New Road to Speculator, End of Construction, 1920 / [river in foreground; bridge in background] |
| 19 | -- | Riverside Avenue 1903 / missing] |
| 19 | 30 | View of Sacandaga River from Mountain Top, 1920 |
| 19 | 31 | What Fire Can Do. North of Wells, 1920 / [stand of dead trees] |
| 20 | 32 | West Hill, Wells, New York, August, 1919 |
| 20 | 33 | Camp along the Sacandaga. August, 1919. From inside of tent looking toward river / [tent flap on left; table on right] |
| 21 | 34 | Long Flats on the Sacandaga, August 1919. View of camp / [man and woman sitting on a log between a table and a tent] |
| 21 | 35 | Schroon Lake, Labor Day, 1919 |
| 22 | 36 | The Island up Schroon Lake, 1919 |
| 22 | 37 | Down Schroon from the Wooded Point, 1919 |
| 23 | 38 | Unidentified / [Schroon Lake?] |
| 23 | 39 | Good Bait for a Good Catch / [man in boat with fish] |
| 24 | 40 | East Branch Sacandaga River, 1919 |
| 24 | 41 | The Meeting of the Ways. View showing the union of the East and West branches of Sacandaga River |
| 25 | 42 | The Schroon, 1919 / [man and woman in foreground] |
| 25 | 43 | Camp on the Road to Adirondack-Schroon, 1919 / [man and two women sitting on front bumper of a automobile parked near a tent |
| 26 | 44 | Outlet of Schroon / [man and woman in rowboat] |
| 26 | 45 | Coesa Spring, Saratoga 1920 / [people standing at spring house; automobile parked near building] |
| 27 | 46 | Coesa Creek. Coesa Spring House and pond III 4 Saratoga Springs / [building at left; bridge crossing water] |
| 27 | 47 | Kinderhook Creek, May 31, 1920, near Brainard Station |
| 28 | 48 | Camp on West Bank of Schroon Lake, 1920 / [automobile and tent on left; work table on right] |
| 28 | 49 | The Bank Schroon Lake, 1920 / [man standing on bank of lake] |
| 28 | 50 | The Bank Schroon Lake, 1920 / [different view of man on bank of lake; may be fishing] |
| 29 | 51 | Supper at the Old Lime Kiln, July 1920 / [man and woman in foreground; automobile in background] |
| 29 | 52 | “Horicon” from the Glens Falls Road / [Lake George] |
| 30 | 53 | Unidentified / [man at table] |
| 30 | 54 | Fishing in Schroon Lake / [man standing in boat and fishing at edge of lake] |
| 31 | 55 | The Falls of the Hudson, Glens Falls, 1920 / [good view of dam] |
| 31 | 56 | View from Schuylerville Monument, 1920 |
| 32 | 57 | South-west Corner [of] Schuylerville Monument, Showing B[enedict] Arnold's Vacant Niche |
| 32 | 58 | Caroga Creek, Palatine Church, N.Y. / [shows wooden dam] |
| 33 | 59 | Caroga Creek on Its Way to the Mohawk, 1920 |
| 33 | 60 | Hylle Hurst / [house; automobile in foreground] |
| 34 | 61 | ’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 |
| 35 | 62 | Old Lime Kiln near Warrensburg, 1920 / [portion of kiln] |
| 35 | 63 | Up Lake George. The Steamer in Sight, 1920 / [steamer barely visible – taken from railway station] |
| 36 | 64 | The Woods That Surround Fort William Henry and Horicon – Cooper, 1920 / [Lake George – railroad visible but no fort] |
| 36 | 65 | King 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] |
| 37 | 66 | Supper near Clifton Park, 1920 / [two men and two women sitting on the ground in front of an automobile] |
| 37 | 67 | Trout Lake, Memorial Day 1921 |
| 38 | 68 | First Trip in the Essex [automobile], 6-30-21 / [men and women in and near two automobiles; good view of automobiles] |
| 38 | 69 | Lake George from Bolton Hill, 1921 |
| 39 | 70 | A Holiday at Trout Lake / [men and women sitting on ground in foreground] |
| 39 | 71 | Dinner is Served, 6/30/21 / [different view of same people in #70] |
| 40 | 72 | Admiring 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] |
| 40 | 73 | Unidentified / [woman with camera in foreground; man wading in water] |
| 40 | 74 | Hills Sloping Down to the Mohawk – Gloversville – Caroga Lake Road |
| 41 | 75 | Where Green Lake joins Canada L[ake], 1921 |
| 41 | 76 | Upper Caroga Creek, 1921 / [bridge] |
| 42 | 77 | The Trail to Vanderwhacker Mt. Observatory Begins / [automobile parked at trail head] |
| 42 | 78 | Where the Boreas Winds Twixt the Rows of Blue-back Spruce |
| 43 | 79 | Long Lake Camp, from the Rock Slope on the Hill / [automobile and tent are dwarfed by landscape] |
| 43 | 80 | Tenting on Long Lake’s Shore, August 23-26, 1921 / [two tents, automobile, picnic table] |
| 44 | 81 | Where Waters Reflect Like A Mirror - Long Lake ’21 |
| 44 | 82 | North from the Little Hill to the Wilderness beyond Long Lake |
| 45 | 83 | Up Long Lake Toward Deerland |
| 45 | 84 | A 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] |
| 46 | 85 | The Plunge of the Raquette River - Buttermilk Falls ’21 |
| 47 | 86 | The Warrensburg Camp - August 22, 1921 / [automobile, tent, stone fireplace, work table] |
| 47 | 87 | Falls of the Raquette Where the Canoeist Portages – Buttermilk Falls – ’21 |
| 48 | 88 | Buttermilk Falls in Midsummer near Head of Long Lake |
| 48 | 89 | Harris Lake - Near the Hudson’s Headwaters – Newcomb / [photo taken from road; automobile partially visible on left] |
| 49 | 90 | The Adirondack Giants Lift Their Heads O'er Jeweled Lakes – Newcomb |
| 49 | 91 | Moxham Mountain’s Rock - Scarred Face Minerva |
| 50 | 92 | Lunch on the Homeward Road near Weaver Town, August 26, 1921 / [automobile parked at side of road; another auto rounding the bend] |
| 50 | 93 | Top O’ The World (Peaks to the Northwards 1921) |
| 51 | 94 | Down The Hudson at Riverside, 1921 |
| 52 | 95 | Dr. Nott's Carriage Features in the 1921 Alumni Day Exercises / [line of parked cars in background near building; pedestrians] |
| 52 | 96 | The “Old Grads” Parade on the Old Campus 1921 / [mass of people in front of Nott Memorial, Union College] |
| 53 | 97 | Alpha Gamma Phi 1921 / front of building - Union College] |
| 53 | 98 | ’21 Falls in Line with the Alumni / [Union graduation; graduates in caps and gowns] |
| 54 | 99 | Alpha Gamma Phi Just before the 1922 Banquet / [graduates, in caps and gowns, sitting on steps; part of bicycle can be seen at left] |
| 54 | 100 | ’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] |
| 55 | 101 | Alpha Gamma Phi Classes 1920, ’21, ’22, ’23, ’24 and ’25 Represented / [men sitting on steps] |
| 55 | 102 | E.J. Berg Scholarship Cup |
| 55 | 103 | Campus in Commencement Dress (Day Light View of Lantern) / [automobiles motoring along roadway on campus] |
| 56 | 104 | Wishing Well - In the Garden / [woman standing next to well] |
| 56 | 105 | Jackson's Garden from “The Balcony,” Union College |
| 57 | -- | Glenotia Park / [missing] |
| 57 | -- | Missing |
| 58 | 106 | On the Mohawk Above Visschers, Memorial Day 1922 |
| 58 | 107 | On the Mohawk Above Visschers, Memorial Day 1922 / [men and women sitting on the ground picnicking; picnic baskets on the right] |
| 59 | 108 | Bunny and Minnehaha / [little boy dressed nautical shorts and shirt holding doll] |
| 59 | 109 | Cliffs Below the Aquaduct [sic] |
| 60 | 110 | Grand View - Cohoes / [houses and church; looking east?] |
| 60 | 111 | A Letter “S,” from Amsterdam Road, Big Bend in the Mohawk |
| 61 | 112 | Split Rock Falls on the Bouquet '22 |
| 61 | 113 | Split Rock Falls on the Bouquet '22 / [different view] |
| 62 | 114 | The Road To “The Cobble” and “The Branch” Which Roared, 1922 / [bridge over water] |
| 62 | 115 | Camp on “The Branch” near Elizabethtown, 1922 / [picnic bench, automobile, tent] |
| 63 | 116 | High Falls of the Upper Ausable, Wilmington Notch |
| 63 | 117 | Lower Ausable, in Keene Valley |
| 64 | 118 | High Falls Gorge, Wilmington Notch |
| 64 | 119 | A Valley Guarded by Giants (Keene Valley) / [farm and roadside ad for Kelly Springfield Tires] |
| 65 | 120 | Whiteface Mountain Carries a Storm on His Back |
| 65 | 121 | Wilmington Notch |
| 66 | 122 | The Upper Ausable |
| 66 | 123 | Whiteface in the Background |
| 67 | 124 | Lake George from Bolton’s Landing, 1922 |
| 67 | 125 | Lake George from Bolton’s Landing, 1922 / [different view] |
| 68 | 126 | Black and Tongue Mountains, 1922. Lake George N. from Bolton Landing |
| 68 | 127 | At Warrensburg Camp Ground, August 1922 / [men and women sitting and standing near car] |
| 69 | 128 | Camp Arondack, Fourth Lake / [wooden structure] |
| 69 | 129 | Across the Lake - Fourth Lake |
| 70 | -- | One August Afternoon / [missing] |
| 70 | -- | Missing |
| 71 | 130 | Potash Mountain |
| 71 | 131 | South over Fourth Lake - Fourth Lake Near Luzerne |
| 72 | 132 | And Then We Went Out in the Boat / [man and women in bathing suits] |
| 72 | 133 | From off the Porch, Fourth Lake |
| 73 | 134 | M.V.V., 1922 / [woman sitting on a blanket] |
| 73 | 135 | Dinner - August 30, 1922 / [Camp Arondack, Fourth Lake; three women sitting on porch] |
| 74 | 136 | Seen Thru the Morning Fog |
| 74 | 137 | Ruins of Old Fort George / [pile of stones with sign in front of pile] |
| 75 | 138 | A Different View of the Potash Kettle - Road to Stony Center |
| 75 | 139 | Niagara Brook Disappears - Natural Bridge |
| 76 | 140 | Cave of Darkness - Natural Bridge |
| 76 | 141 | The Silver Veil of Fog, from the Porch of “A Lodge in Some Vast Wilderness” |
| 77 | 142 | At Fourth Lake, Fall 1922 / [boy on gate] |
| 77 | 143 | October 1, 1922 / [boy with oar] |
| 78 | 144 | Bunny, September 1922 / [small boy] |
| 78 | 145 | Ancestral Mansion, 1922 / [house with automobile in driveway] |
| 79 | 146 | Over a Century Old, Alpha Gamma Phi's New Home / [front façade of building] |
| 79 | 147 | Lower Campus in Fall Dress, 1922 / [Nott Memorial and two other buildings, Union College] |
| 80 | 148 | Horstman’s Creek, Winter and Spring / [winter scene] |
| 80 | 149 | Horstman’s Creek, Winter and Spring / [spring scene – no water] |
| 81 | 150 | 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. in Midwinter - 1923 / [houses on street] |
| 81 | 151 | The Rotterdam Hills from Sacandaga Road |
| 82 | 152 | [Alpha Gamma Phi members - individuals identified – same image as #101] |
| 82 | 153 | Unidentified / [Union College campus – street, fence, buildings, automobile] |
| 83 | 154 | Unidentified / [façade of building on Union College campus] |
| 83 | 155 | Up the Mohawk in Early Spring - Bridge Approach 1923 |
| 84 | 156 | May, 1923 - near Mariaville / [three men sitting on running board of an automobile] |
| 84 | 157 | Unidentified / [looking down on a valley] |
| 85 | 158 | Unidentified / [three men sitting on a hill looking at scenery] |
| 85 | 159 | Reflections in Thirteenth Lake (Ben Straight's Landing) / [two rowboats at edge of water] |
| 86 | 160 | Standing on a Beaver House in Peaked Mountain Pond / [man standing on beaver dam] |
| 86 | 161 | Beaver Dam in the Creek along the Peaked Mountain Trail |
| 87 | 162 | Looking Down from the Heights. The Pond is Dammed by Beavers. |
| 87 | 163 | Peak of Peak Mountain Height – 13th Lake in Right Background / [man stands silhouetted against background] |
| 87 | -- | Along the Old Wells - Speculator Road / [missing] |
| 88 | 164 | A Long Way Down to Peaked Mountain Pond from the Mountain |
| 88 | -- | Near the South End of Indian Lake / [missing] |
| 89 | 165 | Ten Minute’s Walk from Thirteenth Lake / [waterfall] |
| 89 | 166 | Conservation Comm. Camp at Schroon River / [four tents in background] |
| 89 | 167 | Chapel Pond Road, for Scenery Wild, Varied, and Wonderful / [two men standing on road next to a parked automobile] |
| 90 | 168 | From the Chapel Pond Road Leading to Keene Valley |
| 90 | 169 | Spruce Hill and the Mountains West of Keene Valley / [electricity or telephone pole standing next to a road] |
| 90 | 170 | Same subject as photo #169 [farm]; real photo postcard |
| 91 | 171 | Dinner in Wilmington Notch, August 19, 1923 / [three men sitting at a picnic bench] |
| 91 | 172 | Briggs Burying Ground near Ballston Spa / [grave stones] |
| 92 | 173 | Unidentified / [man standing in front of trellis in garden] |
| 92 | 174 | Almost within Sight of Clifton Park / [two men and two women having a picnic] |
| 93 | 175 | Hamilton College - Labor Day – 1923 / [buildings mostly hidden by trees] |
| 93 | 176 | Taken in Watkins Glen [N.Y.] - September 4, 1923 / [standing portrait of woman] |
| 94 | 177 | Watkins Glen [N.Y.] |
| 94 | 178 | American Falls from “Maid of the Mist” Niagara - 1923 |
| 95 | 179 | Part of the Horseshoe [Falls] |
| 95 | 180 | Just Getting the Spray / [on the “Maid of the Mist”] |
| 96 | -- | Two pictures missing |
| 97 | 181 | Unidentified / [view of river]; real photo postcard |
| 97 | -- | Missing |
| 98 | -- | Missing |
| 98 | 182 | Where the Memorial Chapel Is to Stand, Spring 1924 / [Union College?] |
| 99 | 183 | L. Leverenz, E.W. Colt, E. Powell, A.P. Buettcher, L. Garrison / [standing next to or sitting on running board of automobile] |
| 99 | 184 | Alpha Gamma Phi 1924 / [interior of room with Alpha Gamma Phi banner on wall] |
| 100 | 185 | E.W.C. / [E.W. Colt – standing portrait on sidewalk in front of building] |
| 100 | 186 | Where I have worked: Physical Chem. Lab / [interior view of lab] |
| 101 | 187 | E.W. Colt, Dr. C.B. Hurd, A.A. Vernon, E.C. Strube, May 1924 / [standing outside building] |
| 101 | 188 | Baptist 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] |
Last Updated:
May 20, 2021