top of page

HISTORY

The Lake Clear church was built in 1898 and was first known as the Calvary Presbyterian Church. This church later became known as the Lake Clear Presbyterian Church. It was one of the Adirondack mission churches that, according to Frederick Seaver, was organized by Rev. Richard McCarthy during the time he was Superintendent of the Adirondack Mission of the Presbytery of Champlain.

​

The land on which it was built was donated by Joseph and Josephine Otis on Nov 22, 1895. Even before that time, Horatio Otis, father of Joseph, held meetings on the shore of Lake Clear in his log cabin and services were conducted there. The church was organized August 12, 1896, and in the beginning there were only twelve families. Rev. Richard G. McCarthy, the first pastor of the church, retired in 1897 because of his age.

​

The church was said to have been built by Ira H. Greene with the help of two brothers who were carpenters, Moses and Richard Roberts. Ira H. Greene was one of the eleven charter members and also served as elder.

 

The Lake Clear church hall was built in the early 1950s by church members working together, donating their time. The lumber came from logs donated by landowners in the Upper Saranac area for cleaning them up after Hurricane Hazel. The men had to do the work on Sunday, and Rev. Douglas W. Gray, pastor of the parish, conducted the three church services and later prayed with the men in the woods as well as helping with the work. The finished boards and flooring came from a boathouse on Upper Saranac that was torn down. This boathouse was donated to one of the church members, and it had to be hauled across the ice to a road on the other side of the lake to be transported to the Lake Clear Church property.

 

The first congregational meeting in the new hall was held on March 17, 1953. A Westminster Youth Fellowship group was formed with youth from all three churches participating. There were two advisors from each church, and they held their meetings at the new Lake Clear church hall.

bottom of page