It was the summer of 1935. The country was trying to pull itself out of the Great Depression and 84-year-old William H. Wilcox had just been appointed the “town crier” of Lake George.
The man spent most of his life around Lake George and in his new role, the octogenarian would dress in the garb of a traditional “town crier” of the colonial era. “Ye Towne Cryer,” as he soon became known, informed visitors and residents alike of local news.
William H. Wilcox was born on July 9, 1851, nearly 10 years before the first shots of the Civil War (1861–1865) boomed across the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
In his earlier life Wilcox was a storekeeper and later he spent many years traveling on Lake George and Lake Champlain steamboats explaining points of interest and telling lake stories to enthralled vacationists. Thus, Wilcox was perfect in his new job as the “town crier.”
William H. Wilcox got the appointment from the Lake George Chamber of Commerce. In an era well before Internet web sites and smart phones, the “town crier” performed an important function. Wilcox traveled the streets notifying people of scheduled events around historic Lake George.
According to the May 30, 1935 issue of The Warrensburg News, Lake George was “the only village in this part of the state to have such an attraction.”
Besides walking the streets and going into hotels ringing his hand bell to attract bystanders to hear his updates, the elderly man became a local hero, too.
In mid-June 1940, two workmen were excavating a sewer ditch at the village Post Office building when there was a cave in. A gasoline pipe unexpectedly broke and the men became trapped in a hole 14-feet deep as fuel covered them.
The 88-year-old town crier, who was resting nearby, sounded an alarm. Firefighters and police quickly responded with inhalers and the two workers were rescued.
In July 1941, William H. Wilcox, age 91, was given a festive birthday party at Fort William Henry Hotel. At the celebration it was announced that Wilcox was one of only four town criers in the USA. Wilcox attended his birthday bash in his town crier colonial uniform as 30 guests cheered the popular Lake Georgian.
In December 1943, “Ye Towne Cryer” passed away from pneumonia. His death was formally announced on page one of The Times Record of Troy, NY. The grand ambassador of Lake George had lived to 94 years of age.
In 1940, a regional newspaper described William H. Wilcox as “the most photographed man in Lake George.” His years as town crier helped establish the “Queen of American Lakes” as a major tourist destination with numerous historical and recreational sites and activities.
A version of this article first appeared on the Lake George Mirror, America’s oldest resort paper, covering Lake George and its surrounding environs. You can subscribe to the Mirror HERE.
Illustrations, from above: William H. Wilcox, “Ye Towne Cryer” of Lake George during the 1930s and early 1940s (courtesy Fred Thatcher, provided by the Lake George Mirror; and a photograph, reported to be from 1897, showing William “Billy” Clark, the town crier of Nantucket, Massachusetts, holding papers and blowing a horn to attract bystanders (Library of Congress).
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