Written By Robert C. Lawrence
Part of the "What's With Those Adirondack Mountain Names?" Series
[From the 2025 Fall Magazine]
View from Mount Marshall. Photo by John Curtis, courtesy of Peakbagger.com
While kayaking on beautiful Lake Durant near Blue Mountain Lake, NY, one June day, my wife Carol Ann asked, "Where does Blue Mountain get its name?" So we visited the nearby Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake to buy a place names book. But there was no such publication. So... I wrote What's With Those Adirondack Mountain Names?
"Then the Marshall Brothers - Bob and George - decided to climb the Adirondack peaks having an elevation of 4,000 feet or over, something no one had ever done. This was all because a boastful French guide in a loquacious moment had told of climbing those mountains in the Adirondacks more than 3500 feet high. It was enough to stir the imagination of any red-blooded American: Who after living in the midst of rocks and brooks and tall trees and high mountains could resist such a challenge? Surely not Bob and George! And so with their friend Herb Clark, who was a seasoned guide, they started out -a twentieth century version of The Three Musketeers, to seek real inspiration and adventure from mountain tops." Grace Hudowalski (First Woman Forty-Sixer), February 14, 1941.
Herb, George, and Bob climbed 46 high peaks in the Adirondacks, earning the title of the first three Forty-Sixers. In honor of their beloved friend, the Marshall Brothers named what they believed was a nameless peak, Herbert Peak.
A Centennial Edition of Robert Marshall’s The High Peaks of the Adirondacks was published by the Grace Hudowalski Charitable Trust in 2022. It is available at The History Museum, Elizabethtown, New York and on Amazon.com.
The Gates of the Arctic. Courtesy of the National Park Service. In 1929, while exploring Alaska's central Brooks Range, Robert Marshall named two peaks: Frigid Crags and Boreal Mountain, which are located along the north fork of the Koyukuk River. He referred to this area as the "Gates of the Arctic," a name that later became associated with a national park in Alaska. Marshall's experiences in northern Alaska had a profound impact on his views of wilderness, and his writings have inspired generations of wilderness activists.
Robert (Bob) Marshall (1901-1939) was born in New York City to Louis and Florence Marshall. His father, a wealthy constitutional lawyer and conservationist, was the son of German Jewish immigrants. Florence dedicated her life to family, educating young Jewish women, and supporting Jewish welfare organizations.
Bob's parents took him to the Adirondacks when he was very young. The Marshalls, along with five other Jewish families, purchased a large property on Lower Saranac Lake. They built an Adirondack Great Camp called Knollwood, where Bob and his brother, George, spent many summers learning to appreciate and love the outdoors.
With his love of nature, Bob sought a job that allowed him to work outdoors. Subsequently, he earned a degree from the College of Forestry at Syracuse University. He later earned advanced degrees in forestry from Harvard (Master's) and Johns Hopkins (PhD).
Bob Marshall worked for both the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the United States Forest Service. During his time with the Forest Service, he spent a considerable amount of time in Montana. In recognition of his contributions to the state, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, located in western Montana, is named in his honor. This area was among the first designated wilderness regions in the United States.
Though raised in one of the busiest cities in the world, Bob increasingly looked to nature, especially wilderness, for escape from the modern mechanized world. He was always attracted to the "blank spaces on maps," the places that were unexplored and unknown to the Western world. To Bob, Alaska provided the most significant opportunity for uncharted territory and, thus, the most unspoiled wilderness. Marshall Lake in the Brooks Range of Alaska, north of the Arctic Circle, bears his name.
The Three Musketeers (Left to Right:
Bob Marshall, Herb Clark, and George Marshall) from a family album. Courtesy of Adirondack Research Library of Union College, and Protect the Adirondacks! Inc.
Following the unexpected death of Bob Marshall at the age of 38, Grace Hudowalski, a member of The Forty-Sixers of Troy, consulted with Phil Terrie about petitioning the New York State Board on Geographic Names to change the name of Mount Clinton to Mount Marshall. The state board approved the name change; however, no one informed the National Board on Geographic Names of this decision. As a result, Mount Clinton continued to appear on the United States Geological Survey maps until the United States national board officially recognized it as Mount Marshall in 1972.
Mount Marshall and the Bob Marshall Wilderness near Cranberry Lake in the western Adirondacks honor him.
What's With Those Adirondack Mountain Names? (The Troy Book Makers) is available at the following retail locations: Market Block Books (Troy), The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza (Albany), Open Door Bookstore (Schenectady), Friar Tuck Newsroom (Rensselaer), Northshire Bookstore, Saratoga Outdoors (Saratoga), Adirondack Country Store (Northville), St. Andrews Ace Hardware (Queensbury) in many retail establishments in the Adirondack Park and on Amazon.com.
← People and Peaks is an annual event. Courtesy of the Grace Hudowalski Charitable Trust.