This boat house is located on the grounds of Great Camp Sagamore, built by William West Durant. It is built on a peninsula on Sagamore Lake, and is located 4 miles down a dirt road from the entrance off the main road. The location is quite remote inside the Adirondack Park and is very sparsely developed.
William Durant was the son of Thomas Durant, the builder of the first half of the Trans Continental Railroad. Educated in Europe, he returned to the US to work alongside his father and was the main driver behind developing the Great Camps in the Adirondacks.
After William’s divorce in 1898, he started work on a new camp on Sagamore Lake, his biggest and boldest creation yet. He used some of the labor from the railroads and employed all the best area craftsmen to build the finest example of the Adirondack Style Camps. He used local materials and details and carried the rustic motif to the interior. He designed and created the details himself and used a local architect only to get the project approved.
The main lodge and 1506 acres were purchased in 1901 by Alfred Gwynn Vanderbilt who proceeded to expand it and include modern luxuries such as tennis courts, bowling lanes and entertainment quarters such as the Playhouse until his death aboard the Lusitania.
The 2 hour tour I took (It was the last tour of the season) was excellent. We heard all about the marvelous engineering accomplishments on the site, from running clean water and used water being removed mechanically off the site to the 1914 hydroelectric powerhouse that lit up the camp for 2 decades, following the older gasoline powered system installed initially in the basement.
Eventually new generations of Vanderbilts lost interest in the Adirondacks and the estate was donated to Syracuse University who used it until the 1970’s but could not afford its upkeep. The Camp was donated to NY State. A newly formed Preservation league rallied to save the Camp from destruction as the forever wild clause in the NY State constitution would have required for the buildings to be demolished and the land returned to its natural state.
In 1975, the Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks was formed. They have hosted thousands of visitors who have toured or stayed on their grounds. They continue the restoration and are responsible to fund and executive the maintenance of the Camp. Their mission is to be a pioneer in the preservation of historic buildings at Camp Sagamore and at other Great Adirondack Camps. You can make reservations to stay in their buildings and participate in classes or simply experience Nature.
It is a gem, preserved beautifully for future generations to appreciate the unspoiled wilderness. It is a National Historical Landmark. It is a place where the great Americans from the Gilded age and beyond came to seek respite from their busy lives in the big cities. Today, it is much more accessible and open to all, not just the likes of the Vanderbilts and guests such as Jerome Kern and Garry Cooper.
The boathouse seen here is untouched by modern technology. Today's canoes are aluminum, and fiberglass. Getting out alone on the water gliding quietly along its mirror-like surface is a beautiful way to be one with nature. Canoeing is one of the main activities in these parts of the Adirondacks during the short warmer months.
A fun thing to do while in the area is to take a boat tour on the WW Durant around the Lake to see many of the former camps still in existence today.
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