By CRISTINE MEIXNER

Express Editor

SPECULATOR - Azalea and The Good Ole’ Boys provided the entertainment when the Lake Pleasant Bicentennial Committee held its first event, kicking off a year of celebration.

Close to 100 townspeople came to Lake Pleasant Central School Jan. 7 to enjoy the music, watch a video history of the town created by Aaron Weaver and see a preview of upcoming events.

The first settlers were farmers who arrived around 1795, when the area was part of the Town of Mayfield. In 1805 the town was divided into two, when the Town of Wells was formed.

The Town of Lake Pleasant was formed in 1812, when Wells was split into two. About 300 people called the new town home.

In the 2010 Census the population is listed at 781.

The area is believed to have first been hunting and fishing grounds for Native Americans living in the Mohawk Valley.

Farmers found sheep did well here, but the short growing season and long, cold winters were not kind to most crops. However, small dairies sprung up, and the hardy settlers supplemented their income however they could, such as by making shingles.

Soon small sawmills converted timber to lumber, and loggers used the Sacandaga River to float logs to bigger mills.

Around the 1850s “sports” began coming to the area to hunt and fish, and guiding them became another source of income.

Growth escalated between the 1880s and the early 1900s. Large hotels were built to house the many people - often entire families - who fled hot, polluted cities for cool, clean Adirondack summers.

Vacationers found the area to their liking, and many built camps here. Eventually second homes replaced many of the seasonal camps.

As of 2010 the town had 1,512 housing units. However, only 361 or 24 percent are occupied year-round. The rest are second or vacation homes.

The Village of Speculator was incorporated in 1925. One of its first actions was to buy Dexter Slack’s small water system. It was expanded and a waterwheel and generating plant were installed at Christine Falls. Speculator had its own electricity by 1926.

In 1928 the village purchased what is now the village beach, and the ball field across the highway from it.

The next event in the Lake Pleasant Bicentennial Celebration will be “Verplanck Colvin in Lake Pleasant in 1870” with Fran Gramlich, Saturday, Jan. 21, starting at 7 p.m. at Lake Pleasant Central School. For more go to www.lakespec.-wordpress.com.