the extensive bogs that it once contained. In 1865, the state authorized the building of a dam on the east branch of the Oswegatchie that doubled the lake's surface area and killed thousands of trees, the stumps of which still remain in some areas. In 1902, the Rich Brothers Lumber Company purchased on the southwestern shore of Cranberry Lake and constructed a lumber mill. Housing for the millworkers was built in part from lumber salvaged from the company's abandoned Pennsylvania lumber operation. There were up to 1,500 workers at the Rich Bros. mill and associated industries. A logging railroad was constructed connecting Wanakena to the Carthage & Adirondack Railroad at Benson Mines, starting operation in 1905. The railroad allowed tourists easy access to the area. In 1913, a second railroad called the Grasse River Railroad was built by the Emporium Lumber Company, connecting Cranberry Lake to the New York Central Railroad at Childwold Station near Conifer, New York. The Rich Bros. Lumber Co. donated in the vicinity of Cranberry Lake to the New York State Ranger School in 1912. A businessman, Charles Lathrop Pack, donated of what today is the Cranberry Lake Biological Station to the New York State College of Forestry in 1923. Six years later, in 1929, the International Paper Company donated to the Ranger School. By 1940, the state had purchased most of the remaining lands of the former lumber companies. References External links NYS DEC information about Cranberry Lake Campground SUNY-ESF Cranberry Lake Biological Station The Cranberry Lake 50 hiking trail information Fishing information Fishing information Lakes of New York (state) State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Protected areas of St. Lawrence County, New York New York State College of Forestry Adirondack Park Lakes of St. Lawrence County, New York