Gabriels, New York facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gabriels, New York
hamlet
Gabriels, New York Location in New York Adirondack Park
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Franklin
Town	Brighton
Elevation	1,699 ft (518 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	12939
Area code(s)	518

Gabriels is a small community called a hamlet. It is located in the town of Brighton in Franklin County, New York. You can find it inside the beautiful Adirondack Park, not far from Paul Smiths.

Discovering Gabriels

A Special Place in History

Gabriels grew up around a special hospital. This hospital helped people get better from a sickness called tuberculosis. It was known as the Gabriels Sanatorium. The sanatorium first opened in 1897. It was started by a group of Catholic nuns called the Sisters of Mercy.

The land for this special hospital was given by two important people. Their names were Paul Smith and W. Seward Webb. Later, a college bought the site. This college was Paul Smith's College.

How Gabriels Got Its Name

Both the sanatorium and the hamlet of Gabriels were named after a person. His name was Henry Gabriels. He was born in Belgium. Henry Gabriels was a religious leader. He served as a bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg.

Trains and Travelers

Gabriels became an important place for business. This was because it had a train station. The station was part of the New York Central line. This train line was called the Adirondack Division.

The train station mainly brought people on vacation. They would travel to the nearby resort at Paul Smiths. In 1961, the New York Central train line stopped using the section from Malone Junction to Gabriels.

Gabriels Today

Even today, Gabriels is still the main business center for the town of Brighton. It has a post office where you can send mail. There are also small local businesses. You can find a Catholic church in Gabriels. There are also many farms in the area.