Knollwood Club is an Adirondack Great Camp on Shingle Bay, Lower Saranac Lake, near the village of

Saranac Lake, New York Saranac Lake is a village in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406, making it the largest community by population in the Adirondack Park. The village is named after Upper, Middle and Lower Saran ...

, USA. It was built in 1899–1900 by William L. Coulter, who had previously created a major addition to

Alfred G. Vanderbilt Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Sr. (October 20, 1877 – May 7, 1915) was a wealthy American businessman, and a member of the Vanderbilt family. A sportsman, he participated in and pioneered a number of related endeavors. He died in the sinking of ...

Sagamore Camp Great Camp Sagamore is one of several historic Great Camps located in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State. History Great Camp Sagamore was constructed by William West Durant on Sagamore Lake between 1895-1897. Prior to Sagamore, ...

. The "club" consisted of a boathouse, "casino", and six identical -story shingle cottages, which were distinguished by unique twig work facades. The camp was built for six friends: Elias Asiel (Asiel & Co.), George Blumenthal (Lazard Freres), Max Nathan, Abram M. Stein,

Daniel Guggenheim Daniel Guggenheim (July 9, 1856 – September 28, 1930) was an American mining magnate and philanthropist, and a son of Meyer and Barbara Guggenheim. By 1910 he directed the world's most important group of mining interests. He was forced out ...

(American Smelting and Refining), and

Louis Marshall Louis Marshall (December 14, 1856 – September 11, 1929) was an American corporate, constitutional and civil rights lawyer as well as a mediator and Jewish community leader who worked to secure religious, political, and cultural freedom for a ...

(noted constitutional lawyer and framer of the "Forever Wild" clause in the NYS constitution). The choice of Lower Saranac Lake as the site was determined in part by the growing anti-Semitism in America in that period. In 1877, Joseph Seligman was involved in the most publicized anti-Semitic incident in American history up to that point, being denied entry into the Grand Union Hotel in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...

, despite having been a regular guest previously.

William West Durant 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. Dura ...

owned much of the land bordering the Saranac Lakes, and was more than willing to sell to any and all buyers. As a result, many of the Great Camps and cottages on the Saranac Lakes were built by wealthy Jewish people. Bob Marshall, the wilderness activist, and brothers

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...

, the conservationist, James Marshall (author and co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council) and their sister Ruth Marshall Billikopf spent the summers of their youth there, and were greatly influenced by the surroundings.

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...

was a frequent summer visitor; he was at Knollwood on August 6, 1945, when he heard on the radio that the atom bomb had been dropped on

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui ...

, and it was at Knollwood that he gave his first interview after the event, on August 11.Taylor, Robert, ''America's Magic Mountain'', Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986.

References

Sources

* Kaiser, Harvey. ''Great Camps of the Adirondacks''. Boston: David R. Godine, 1982. .

External links

A History of Sekon and its Surroundings
Adirondack Great Camps Buildings and structures in Franklin County, New York Saranac Lake, New York {{FranklinCountyNY-geo-stub