Raquette Lake is the

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

of the

Raquette River The Raquette River ( moh, Ahná:wate), sometimes spelled Racquette, originates at Raquette Lake in the Adirondack Mountains in New York. long, it is the third longest river entirely in the state of New York. The river is a popular destination ...

in the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...

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

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. It is near the community of

Raquette Lake, New York Raquette Lake is a hamlet in the town of Long Lake in Hamilton County, New York, United States. The community is on New York State Route 28 on the western side of Raquette Lake Raquette Lake is the source of the Raquette River in the Adiro ...

. The

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

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 states ...

, which begins in

Old Forge, NY Old Forge is a hamlet (and census-designated place) on New York State Route 28 in the town of Webb in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 756 at the 2010 census. Old Forge was formerly a village but dissolved its incorp ...

and ends in

Fort Kent, ME Fort Kent is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States, situated at the confluence of the Fish River and the Saint John River, on the border with New Brunswick, Canada. The population was 4,067 in the 2020 census. Fort Kent is home to a ...

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 a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

led by

Sir John Johnson Brigadier General Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was an American-born military officer, magistrate, landowner and colonial official in the British Indian Department who fought as a Loyalist during the American ...

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 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. ...

started work on what would become the first of the "

Great Camps __NOTOC__ 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 camp ...

," 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 building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

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, wh ...

(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 Thomas Clark Durant (February 6, 1820 – October 5, 1885) was an American physician, businessman, and financier. He was vice-president of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1869 when it met with the Central Pacific railroad at Promontory Sum ...

. Durant and Mrs. Stott's family had briefly been in business together as Durant, Lathrop & Co. in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, 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

. The senior Durant was most famous for the building the eastern half of the

Transcontinental Railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

. 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 College at Cortland (SUNY Cortland or Cortland State College) is a public college in Cortland, New York. It was founded in 1868 and is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History The State Un ...

, 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 Josiah Cleaveland Cady (January 1837 – April 17, 1919) or J. Cleaveland Cady, was an American architect who is known for his Romanesque architecture, Romanesque and Rundbogenstil style designs. He was also a founder of the American Institute ...

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