Where in the ADK? Aiden Lair Lodge
The final stop on Theodore Roosevelt’s famous midnight ride into the presidency
This week’s “Where in the ADK?” is a spot not far from North Creek on Route 28N. On this ground stands what’s left of the Aiden Lair Lodge, a once luxurious lodge in the Adirondacks and where historians believe Theodore Roosevelt unofficially became Commander in Chief when President William McKinley expired on September 14, 1901, at 2 am.
Here’s the backstory: On September 6, an anarchist shot President William McKinley in Buffalo, NY, Although McKinley was expected to recover, on September 13, he took a dramatic turn for the worse, and then Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt, was summoned to his bedside.
Roosevelt received word of McKinley’s dire state while hiking on Mt. Marcy. He wasted no time, reaching Tahawus Club by evening, preparing to depart for Buffalo. Notoriously impatient, TR refused to wait until morning; he departed in the middle of the night to reach the train in North Creek that would eventually take him to Buffalo as quickly as possible. It was on this arduous trek down through the mountains that Teddy made a stop at Aiden Lair Lodge near Minerva to change horses.
Upon arriving, Roosevelt quickly stretched his legs while a fresh horse and wagon were prepared. Those at Aiden Lair urged him to stay until dawn as it was pitch black and the roads near impassable.
The soon-to-be president would have none of it and was determined to press on and be with McKinley in his final hours. However, unbeknownst to Roosevelt, President McKinley had passed away at 2:15 am, around the time that Roosevelt was at Aiden Lair. He was already unofficially the 26th President of the United States.
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