I live in Altona New York. It is a town with a large area but not a lot of people in it. It was settled as the loggers came through cutting timber. The first settler was Simeon Wood. He move here as a result of his wife's poor health. Being originally from Vermont, Simeon would come over here in search of people's cattle. When the doctor told his wife that she needed fresh air and clean water, Simeon knew where to take her. He had two wives and together he had 22 children. No doubt the Wood name in the town today is originally from Simeon's migration.
The town was once very big into tanneries and forges. The Great Chazy river runs through the town and provided a means of sending timber downstream to be used by the factories. None of these factories are still open and today Altona is primarily residential. There is a Correctional Facility in the town that was the town's central school, before they merged with Ellenburg and Lion Mountain and formed Northern Adirondack Central, giving me a 40 minute bus ride to school and back whereas before I could walk to the Altona school in fifteen minutes.
The river also was used by William Miner as a source of power. He constructed several dams on the river that today are no longer in use but are still standing.