Raquette Lake is the

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of the

Raquette River The Raquette River, sometimes spelled Racquette, originates at Raquette Lake in the Adirondack Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. long, it is the third longest river entirely in the state of New York. The river is a popular destinatio ...

in the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the highest point in Ne ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. It is near the community of

Raquette Lake, New York Raquette Lake is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet in the town of Long Lake, New York, Long Lake in Hamilton County, New York, Hamilton County, New York (state), New York, United States. The community is on New York State Route 28 on the western side ...

. The

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

has of shoreline with pines and mountains bordering the lake. It is located in the towns of Long Lake and Arietta, both in Hamilton County. Raquette Lake is popular, especially in summer, due to the scenery, wildlife, boating and hiking. There are several children's summer camps, including Raquette Lake Boys Camp and Raquette Lake Girls Camp. In winter, substantial snowfall makes the area popular for snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. The lake is also part of the 740-mile

Northern Forest Canoe Trail The Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) is a marked canoeing trail in the northeastern United States and Canada, extending from Old Forge in the Adirondacks of New York to Fort Kent, Maine. Along the way, the trail also passes through the state ...

, which begins in Old Forge, NY and ends in Fort Kent, ME.

History

The origin of the name is uncertain. One account is that it was named for snowshoes (''raquette'' in French) left by a party of

Tories A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The T ...

led by

Sir John Johnson Brigadier-general (United Kingdom), Brigadier-General Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was an American-born military officer, politician and landowner who fought as a Loyalist (American Revolution), Loyalist dur ...

in 1776. Traveling by snowshoe, they were overtaken by a spring thaw when they reached the lake. They left the snowshoes ''en masse'' on the shore. Raquette Lake developed into one of the most prestigious summer getaways for the elite in the 19th century. In 1877,

William West Durant William West Durant (1850–1934) was a designer and developer of camps in the Adirondack Architecture, Adirondack Great Camp style, including Camp Uncas, Camp Pine Knot and Great Camp Sagamore which are National Historic Landmarks. He was t ...

started work on what would become the first of the "

Great Camps __NOTOC__ The Great Camps of the Adirondack Mountains are often grandiose family compounds of cabins that were built in the latter half of the nineteenth century on lakes in the Adirondacks. The camps were summer homes for the wealthy, sites ...

", Pine Knot. Other summer homes in the "great camp style" on Raquette Lake include North Point (the 1870 buildings replaced by Lucy Carnegie in 1903),

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 resid ...

(1883) and Bluff Point (1876). Raquette Lake served as a midpoint to other Gilded Age retreats such as the Great Camps Sagamore (1897; now a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

Camp Uncas Camp Uncas is an Adirondack Great Camp, the second built by William West Durant for his own use. It lies on the shore of Lake Mohegan, near Great Camp Sagamore, and was completed in two years. Previously Durant had built Camp Pine Knot, whi ...

(1890; became a National Historic Landmark in fall 2008), and Kamp Kill Kare (1896) on nearby lakes Sagamore, Mohegan, and Kora, respectively. Sagamore is open to the public for guided tours during non-winter months and also as an educational facility.

Bluff Point and William West Durant

Bluff Point is still a private camp and run much as it was over 100 years ago. It was built by Francis Stott of Stottville, New York, at the suggestion of Dr. Thomas C. Durant. Durant and Mrs. Stott's family had briefly been in business together as Durant, Lathrop & Co. in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, during the 1840s. When Bluff Point was sold to magazine publisher Robert Collier in 1905, most of the original structures were modified and expanded into the present score of buildings — the huge walk-in fireplace, the bowling alley, the bridge to the gazebo, etc.

Pine Knot and William West Durant

Pine Knot, Uncas and Sagamore were designed using natural materials native to the Adirondacks by

, the son of Thomas C. Durant. The senior Durant was most famous for the building the eastern half of the

Transcontinental Railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous rail transport, railroad trackage that crosses a continent, continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via the Ra ...

. The first of these "Great Camps" was Camp Pine Knot, started by Thomas and taken over by William in 1879. The construction continued through 1890. This artistic camp was used by W.W. Durant as a showcase, as he wined and dined railroad tycoons, selling them on the idea of his building a camp for each of them. In 1895, W.W. Durant sold the camp to

Collis P. Huntington Collis Potter Huntington (October 22, 1821 – August 13, 1900) was an American industrialist and railway magnate. He was one of the Big Four of western railroading (along with Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker) who invested ...

(builder of the western half of the

) in partial repayment of a debt. In 1949, Archer Huntington gave the camp to

SUNY Cortland The State University of New York at Cortland (SUNY Cortland, C-State, or Cortland State) is a public university in Cortland, New York. It was founded in 1868 and is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History The State Univ ...

, to be used for education and never to be turned over to the state. In 1938, the family provided the land for the Raquette Lake Chapel in the village for $1. William West Durant also provided the funding for two summer chapels on Raquette Lake, accessible only by water. The Church of the Good Shepherd (1880) and St. William's Catholic Church on Long Point (1890) were each designed by J. Cleaveland Cady of Cady, Berg & See, New York City.

Sources

*Donaldson, Alfred L., ''A History of the Adirondacks.'' New York: Century, 1921. . (reprint)

External links

* * *
St. Hubert's Isle - History of Raquette Lake
{{authority control Lakes of New York (state) Lakes of Hamilton County, New York Tourist attractions in Hamilton County, New York Adirondack Great Camps Northern Forest Canoe Trail

History

Bluff Point and William West Durant

Pine Knot and William West Durant

See also

Sources

External links