Potsdam Raquette River Walk

Potsdam Raquette River Walk. Trinity Episcopal Church / Racket, Racquette, or Raquette?. . Trinity Episcopal Church . Built of Potsdam Sandstone in 1836 by the Clarkson family (cornerstone laid in 1835), this is the only local church still standing that was constructed using the slab-and-binder method. The rectory and all additions were built in the Gothic Revival architectural style. The sandstone office building on Maple Street was built in 1901 in the ashlar style of masonry. The parish house was added in 1955. Trinity Episcopal Church features windows designed by Lewis Comfort Tiffany of Tiffany Glass. Some are signed museum pieces. . Sandstone blocks:(above) Ashlar masonry: rough surfaces, various sizes, no long seams; (below)Slab-and-binder masonry: alternating courses of rough and smooth, depending on whether the sandstone grain is vertical or horizontal. . . Racket, Racquette, or Raquette? . Throughout the 19th century, the river was identified on most maps as the "Racket." The name might be derived from the French word for snowshoe (raquette) or translated from the Mohawk name for this river (noisy) that described the sound produced by its many rapids. . In 1902 and again in 1942, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names designated the river's name as "Raquette," to minimize its association with tennis, squash, and the numbers racket. . Some local residents like to out a "c" in the name. The Sisson family named their mill the Racquette River Paper Company. SUNY Potsdam's student newspaper is named "The Racquette." . (above)Stationery letterhead of Racquette River Paper Company shows unusual local spelling of river. Courtesy of the Potsdam Museum.