It's known mostly for its snow, snowstorms, and snow sports, but it's not just one hometown. It's actually made up of 64 towns and villages. In this week's segment of Your Hometown, our Katie Gibas takes us to the Tug Hill Region and tells us how it got its name and what made it such a popular tourist destination.

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Native Americans originally referred to the region as the Lesser Wilderness with the Adirondacks being the Greater Wilderness. For the people who moved there it was simply called the "Highlands," "Hill" or "Ridge." The name "Tug Hill" didn't become the accepted name until 1900.

"Some of the first settlers and explorers on Tug Hill that came up the Eastern slope actually had to drag their horses up to the top of the Tug Hill here, so thus it became 'Tug.' They were tugging their horses up the hill," said Jan Bogdanowicz, Tug Hill Commissioner.

The first people in the area were the Native Americans who came because of the good hunting and fishing. Next were the European immigrants who came for the timber.

"They were a lot of the workers on the canals, and as the canal work finished, they were offered opportunities or had some money. They bought some cheap land and started to settle in here," said John Bartow, Tug Hill Commission Executive Director.

"Our cities had a healthy appetite for that timber for building and we had a strong forest here of Red Spruce, and it drew a lot of the immigrants on the hill specifically to log those trees," said Bogdanowicz.

After the logging, came the farming. Most people just farmed to provide for their families and sold the excess milk to creameries, which began the area's cheese industry.

For several decades the Tug Hill region was booming, but once the loggers cut down the trees, the industry began leaving the area and so did many of its residents. But for the last 75 years or so, the population has remained relatively steady at about 100,000 residents and one key ingredient to preserving the Tug Hill's rural charm has been the creation of the Tug Hill Commission.

The Tug Hill Commission was created in 1972 by the State Legislature to study the challenges and needs of the area and to protect the uniqueness of the region. Even though it was only meant to be a temporary organization, the Commission continues today and has played a large role in shaping the history of the Tug Hill.

"What it's done is helped give a regional identity to the region and helped these rural communities share in their experiences and share in the opportunities that they have, and I think the commission has been helpful in keeping that unique character," said Bartow.

"They do provide the community a lot of services here that we could not afford or probably we wouldn't go out and get if we had to," said Bogdanowicz.

The biggest success of the commission has been preserving the area's tranquility while at the same time bolstering the economy through the promotion of recreational activities.

"The traditional values of hunting, fishing and recreation have always been here, and people have always valued it. I think the motorized recreation certainly grew from the 70s, 80s, and 90s," said Bartow.

Another crucial economic element of the area is renewable energy. The Maple Ridge Wind Farm on the Tug Hill is the largest wind farm on this side of the Mississippi River.

"It's something that's becoming an academic tool. It's something that's an economic tool and a tourism attraction as well," said Bartow.

"The windmill program has been able to save those family farms. They may have sold their cattle, but they can keep the land and those farmers are able to retire and stay on their land, and I think that's extremely important," said Bogdanowicz.

The role of renewable energy will be a strong in shaping the future of the Tug Hill. And the biggest challenge they face now, is building a four-season economy to sustain the area economically while at the same time preserving the rural peace and tranquility it's residents have come to know and love.