Annals of the Beaver River

The old-timers at Beaver River Station remember Dave and Mabel Conkey as something of a legend. They arrived about 1907 to establish a sportsman’s camp on the point that sticks out into the outlet of Big Burnt Lake on the north side of the Beaver River. They ran a camp at that location until they were evicted in 1916 [see my post of 06/05/21], then relocated into the settlement of Beaver River where they continued to host and guide visiting sportsmen into the early 1950s. Later in life, the Conkeys lived at Beaches Bridge just outside Lowville in the winter months, returning to Beaver River with warmer weather. In their fifty or so years at Beaver River they saw the community change from a way-station in the wilderness to the boom town of the 1920s then morph into the private camp community it is today. Few others have ever lived there so long. David Lysander Conkey was born on Nov. 8, 1870 in Petrie’s Corners, Town of Watson, Lewis Co., NY. His parents were Emma Graves and John Lysand...