The Marion River Carry is a portage site between two lake areas made fashionable and accessible with the help of early Great Camp developer William West Durant. The portage through the marshy river was shortened using a dam, and with the addition of a railroad, which made it possible for people to travel in high style by ferry and rail, from Raquette Lake to Blue Mountain Lake and beyond. The railway, which operated from 1900 to 1929, was less than 4,000 feet long, and was said to be the shortest standard-gauge railroad in the country. The locomotive and the short passenger cars are now on display at the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake, along with a kinetic diorama at the Marion River Carry pavilion. The carry site has been acquired by the Open Space Institute, to prevent the development of private homes at the site.
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