Lyon Mountain NY

An almost empty town lies at the base of Lyon Mountain. What remains of the old mining town is a gas station and a boarded up mill that lies beside the closed mine shaft. Home today to just 282 people, passerbyers would never guess that less than 100 years ago Lyon Mountain was a vibrant mining town filled with a diverse group of people.

Lyon Mountain’s mine was one of the deepest in North America, and its iron ore some of the purest. Chateaugay Ore and Iron Company was one of the biggest employers in Clinton County during World War II. But the hamlet bears little resemblance these days to the densely populated and vibrant place it once was after the mine closed.