Sagamore Camp

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Sagamore Lodge

Sagamore Camp, Long Lake, NY.jpg

Great Camp Sagamore, Raquette Lake, New York
Nearest city Raquette Lake, New York
Coordinates 43°45′55.65″N74°37′38.25″W / 43.7654583°N 74.6272917°W / 43.7654583; -74.6272917 Coordinates: 43°45′55.65″N74°37′38.25″W / 43.7654583°N 74.6272917°W / 43.7654583; -74.6272917
Built 1897
Architect William West Durant
Architectural style Other
NRHP reference # 76001221
Significant dates
Added to NRHP January 11, 1976 [1]
Designated NHL May 16, 2000 [2]

Great Camp Sagamore is one of several historic Great Camps located in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State.

Great Camps

The Great Camps of the Adirondack Mountains refers to the grandiose family compounds of cabins that were built in the latter half of the nineteenth century on lakes in the Adirondacks such as Spitfire Lake and Rainbow Lake. The camps were summer homes for the wealthy, where they could relax, host or attend parties, and enjoy the wilderness. In time, however, this was accomplished without leaving the comforts of civilization behind; some great camps even contained a bowling alley or movie theatre.

Adirondack Mountains Mountain range in northern New York state, USA

The Adirondack Mountains form a massif in northeastern New York, United States. Its boundaries correspond to the boundaries of Adirondack Park. The mountains form a roughly circular dome, about 160 miles (260 km) in diameter and about 1 mile (1,600 m) high. The current relief owes much to glaciation.

New York (state) State of the United States of America

New York is a state in the Northeastern United States. New York was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that formed the United States. With an estimated 19.54 million residents in 2018, it is the fourth most populous state. To distinguish the state from the city in the state with the same name, it is sometimes called New York State.

Contents

History

Great Camp Sagamore was constructed by William West Durant on Sagamore Lake between 1895-1897. [3] Prior to Sagamore, William Durant had constructed Camp Pine Knot (purchased by Collis P. Huntington and now the Huntington Memorial Outdoor Education Center [4] ) on nearby Raquette Lake and Camp Uncas (once owned by J. P. Morgan) on Lake Mohegan. All three camps are still in use today.

William West Durant American architect

William West Durant (1850–1934) was a designer and developer of camps in the Adirondack Great Camp style, including Camp Uncas, Camp Pine Knot and Great Camp Sagamore which are National Historic Landmarks. He was the son of Thomas C. Durant, the financier and railroad promoter who was behind the Crédit Mobilier scandal.

Sagamore Lake is located south of Raquette Lake, New York. Sagamore Lake was known as Shedd Lake before being renamed "Sagamore Lake" by Alfred G. Vanderbilt after he purchased Great Camp Sagamore in 1901. The outlet creek flows into South Inlet of Raquette Lake. Fish species present in the lake are brook trout, lake whitefish, lake trout, white sucker, black bullhead, yellow perch, and sunfish. There is access by trail from Sagamore Road on the northwest shore. Only non-motorized boats are allowed on the lake.

Camp Pine Knot

Camp Pine Knot, also known as Huntington Memorial Camp, on Raquette Lake in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State, was built by William West Durant. Begun in 1877, it was the first of the "Adirondack Great Camps" and epitomizes the "Great Camp" architectural style. Elements of that style include log and native stonework construction, decorative rustic items of branches and twigs, and layout as a compound of separated structures. It is located on the southwest tip of Long Point, a two mile long point extending into Raquette Lake, in the Town of Long Lake in Hamilton County, New York.

The camp is arranged in two complexes a half-mile apart, the Upper, or worker's complex, and the Lower, or guest complex. The guests would not have frequented the worker's complex, as the buildings at the Upper complex are much more utilitarian than those in the Guest complex, and without the embellishment of the buildings designed for entertaining. Sagamore served as a sylvan setting in which the richest families in America could relax, party, and get a feeling of returning to nature. All of this, however, was accomplished without leaving the comforts of civilization behind.

In 1901 Durant was forced to sell Sagamore because a lawsuit by his sister over his mismanagement of their mother's estate had pushed him to the edge of bankruptcy. [5] It was purchased by Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, who expanded and improved the property to include flush toilets, a sewer system and hot and cold running water. He later added a hydroelectric plant and an outdoor bowling alley with an ingenious system for retrieving the balls. Other amenities included a tennis court, a croquet lawn, a 100,000 gallon reservoir, and a working farm. Vanderbilt died in 1915, a victim of the Lusitania sinking, leaving Sagamore to his widow Margaret Emerson, an avid sportswoman who continued to occupy the camp seasonally for many years.

RMS <i>Lusitania</i> British ocean liner that a German submarine sank in World War I

RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner and briefly the world's largest passenger ship. The ship was sunk on 7 May 1915 by a German U-boat 11 mi (18 km) off the southern coast of Ireland. The sinking presaged the United States declaration of war on Germany in 1917.

Mrs. Emerson transferred the property to Syracuse University, which operated a conference center at the site until the State of New York offered to buy it. Acquisition by the State as part of the Forest Preserve would have required demolition of the historic buildings, because of the "Forever Wild" provision of the New York State Constitution. To avert this, the Preservation League of New York State arranged with the State to take title, transferring the property with deed restrictions to a not-for-profit institution that would provide suitable occupancy. Great Camp Sagamore has continued to function as an education institution dedicated to the preservation of the National Historic Landmark.

Syracuse University University located in Syracuse, New York, United States

Syracuse University is a private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. The institution's roots can be traced to the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded in 1831 by the Methodist Episcopal Church in Lima, New York. After several years of debate over relocating the college to Syracuse, the university was established in 1870, independent of the college. Since 1920, the university has identified itself as nonsectarian, although it maintains a relationship with The United Methodist Church.

The Preservation League of New York State is a nonprofit organization which works to preserve historic structures in New York. Established in 1974, Preserve NYS supports preservation efforts through information on best practices, professional resources, grants, and awards to outstanding preservation projects. Many projects in New York have benefited from the Preservation League's support, with 62 projects receiving grants between 2000 and 2004 alone.

A portion of Sagamore was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. A boundary increase for additional area was included in a multiple property submission for listing in 1986. [6] The camp was designated as a National Historic Landmark on 16 May 2000. [2] [7] [8] The historic camp is now run by Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks, Inc. and is open to the public by guided tour, as well as offering accommodations and educational programming May through October. [9]

National Historic Landmark formal designation assigned by the United States federal government to historic buildings and sites in the United States

A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Of over 90,000 places listed on the country's National Register of Historic Places, only some 2,500 are recognized as National Historic Landmarks.

See also

Related Research Articles

Raquette Lake lake in Hamilton County, New York, USA

Raquette Lake is the source of the Raquette River in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. It is near the community of Raquette Lake, New York. The lake has 99 miles (159 km) of shoreline with pines and mountains bordering the lake. It is located in the towns of Long Lake and Arietta, both in Hamilton County.

Fort Saint-Frédéric

Fort Saint-Frédéric was a French fort built on Lake Champlain to secure the region against British colonization and control the lake. It was located in modern New York State across the lake from modern Vermont at the town of Crown Point, New York. The fort, whose construction began in 1734, was never attacked, and was destroyed in 1759 before the advance of a large British army under General Jeffery Amherst.

National Register of Historic Places listings in New York Wikimedia list article

Buildings, sites, districts, and objects in New York listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

Crown Point State Historic Site

Crown Point State Historic Site is the site of a former military stronghold at the south end of the wider part of Lake Champlain. The location is in Essex County, New York, United States. The site is on a peninsula in the town of Crown Point, New York.

Camp Eagle Island

Camp Eagle Island, also known as Eagle Island Camp or simply EIC, was a resident summer camp located on Eagle Island in Upper Saranac Lake in New York’s Adirondack region. The camp property, including Eagle Island, two smaller islands, and a staging area on Gilpin Bay Road on the mainland, was purchased in November 6, 2015 by The Friends of Eagle Island, Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization whose mission has been to acquire the historic property to continue serving youth and otherwise maintain the site in the public benefit.

Santanoni Preserve

The Santanoni Preserve was once a private estate of approximately 13,000 acres (53 km²) in the Adirondack Mountains, and now is the property of the State of New York, at Newcomb, New York.

Camp Topridge

Camp Topridge is an Adirondack Great Camp bought in 1920 and substantially expanded and renovated in 1923 by Marjorie Merriweather Post, founder of General Foods and the daughter of C. W. Post. The "camp", near Keese Mill, in the U.S. state of New York, was considered by Post to be a "rustic retreat"; it consisted of 68 buildings, including a fully staffed main lodge and private guest cabins, each staffed with its own butler. It was one of the largest of the Adirondack great camps and possibly the most elaborately furnished.

Benjamin A. Muncil American master builder

Benjamin A. Muncil was an American master builder in the Adirondacks early in the 20th century. He was a major figure in the architectural development of the Adirondack Great Camps; among his many projects was Marjorie Merriweather Post's Camp Topridge, Northbrook Lodge, and White Pine Camp, a summer White House of US President Calvin Coolidge.

Camp Uncas

Camp Uncas, began in 1890, was the second Adirondack Great Camp built by William West Durant for his own use, after Camp Pine Knot, which he sold to industrialist Collis P. Huntington, due to financial difficulties. It was built on the shore of 110-acre (45 ha) Lake Mohegan, near Sagamore Camp. Uncas was completed in two years.

Knollwood Club

Knollwood Club is an Adirondack Great Camp on Shingle Bay, Lower Saranac Lake, near the village of Saranac Lake, New York, USA. It was built in 1899–1900 by William L. Coulter, who had previously created a major addition to Alfred G. Vanderbilt's Sagamore Camp. The "club" consisted of a boathouse, "casino", and six identical ​2 1⁄2-story shingle cottages, which were distinguished by unique twig work facades.

Camp Wild Air

Begun in 1882, Camp Wild Air was the first permanent camp on Upper Saint Regis Lake, in the town of Brighton, Franklin County in New York's Adirondacks. The camp was built by New York Herald Tribune publisher Whitelaw Reid on a 29-acre (12 ha) peninsula accessible only by water. It presently consists of 12 buildings, 10 of which were built before 1931.

Echo Camp

Echo Camp is an Adirondack Great Camp on the tip of Long Point adjacent to Camp Pine Knot on Raquette Lake. It was used as a private girls' camp from the mid-1940s to the mid-1980s. It was sold in 1986, and is now a privately owned summer residence.

Moss Ledge

Moss Ledge is an Adirondack Great Camp designed by William L. Coulter in 1898 for Isabel Ballantine of New York City. Ballantine was the daughter of Newark beer baron, John Holmes Ballantine.

Prospect Point Camp

Prospect Point Camp is an Adirondack Great Camp notable for its unusual chalets inspired by hunting lodges. William L. Coulter's design is a significant example of the Adirondack Rustic style. It is located on a bluff overlooking the northern reaches of Upper Saranac Lake, near Eagle Island Camp and Moss Ledge, two other Coulter designs. Its grand scale is typical of the opulent camps of the area in the great camp era. The camp was built for New York copper magnate and financier Adolph Lewisohn.

Pine Tree Point

Pine Tree Point was the Adirondack Great Camp on Upper St. Regis Lake of Frederick William Vanderbilt, a director of the New York Central Railroad for 61 years. Vanderbilt maintained residences in New York City at 450 Fifth Avenue, Hyde Park, Newport, and Bar Harbor ("Sonogee").

The Hedges

The Hedges is a historic home and Adirondack Great Camp located at Blue Mountain Lake in Hamilton County, New York. The property consists of 30 buildings and structures and many related site features. From about 1890 to 1920, it was the seasonal home of Hiram B. Duryea, and from this period nine buildings and structures remain. In 1920, it was purchased by Richard J. Collins and converted to an Adirondack resort. The Main Lodge complex was built in 1882; the main block is a two-story, wood-framed building with a mansard roof. The Stone Lodge was built 1900–03 and is a two-story gambrel-roofed building.

Lacawac

Lacawac is a historic estate located in Paupack Township and Salem Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1903, as a summer estate of Congressman William Connell (1827-1909). Six of the eight buildings remain. They are the main house, barn, spring house, pump house, Coachman's Cabin, and ice house. The buildings are in a Adirondack Great Camp style. The main house is a ​2 1⁄2-story frame dwelling with a cross gable roof. It features two-story porches and the interior is paneled in southern yellow pine.

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "Sagamore Lodge". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
  3. ↑ https://greatcampsagamore.org/what-we-do/
  4. ↑ Camp Huntington
  5. ↑ Kaiser, Henry K.: "Great Camps of the Adirondacks", p87-94. David R. Godine Publisher, 2003
  6. ↑ Gobrecht, Larry E. (July 1986). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Great Camps of the Adirondacks". National Park Service.
  7. ↑ "National Historic Landmark Nomination". National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  8. ↑ "National Register of Historic Landmark Nomination". National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  9. ↑ https://greatcampsagamore.org

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