Past Village Historians have written about the origin of the name "Saranac Lake":
In 1988, Janet Decker replied to a query with the following:
The village takes its name from the nearby lake of the same name.
The name was decided in 1862 when the Post Office was transferred to a hotel on Lower Saranac Lake.
In the beginning, what is now Saranac Lake village consisted of three separate settlements:
1819, Moody settlement, Town of North Elba, [Essex County] — present day River Street, Saranac Lake 1822, Miller settlement, Town of Harrietstown, [Franklin County] — present day Main Street, Saranac Lake 1852, Baker settlement, Town of St. Armand, [Essex County] — present day Pine Street, Saranac Lake
The first Post Office was at Baker's, . . . terminus of the stage coach line. That Post Office was officially named Saranac (not Saranac Lake), though it was known locally as Baker's, Col. Milote Baker being Postmaster from 1854-62. The next Post Office, under a Republican administration, was established at Martin's Hotel on Lower Saranac Lake in 1862, William F. Martin having been appointed Postmaster. This hotel was located at the extreme end of the present day Lake Street. The name of the Post Office was then changed from Saranac to Saranac Lake. In 1864 the Post Office was moved to Miller's, back in the center of the village, but the name, Saranac Lake, was retained. The Village of Saranac Lake was incorporated in 1892.
