Upper St. Regis Lake
Encyclopedia
St. Regis River
The St. Regis River is an river in northern New York in the USA. It flows into the Saint Lawrence River at the hamlet of St Regis in the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. The Saint Regis River basin includes Upper and Lower St. Regis Lakes, and Saint Regis Pond in the Saint Regis Canoe Area.-External...
in the Adirondacks in northern New York State. Along with Lower St. Regis Lake
Lower St. Regis Lake
Lower St. Regis Lake is a part of the St. Regis River in the Adirondacks in northern New York State. At its northern edge is Paul Smith's College, former site of Paul Smith's Hotel. Along with Upper St...
and Spitfire Lake
Spitfire Lake
Spitfire Lake is a part of the St. Regis River in the Adirondacks in northern New York State. Along with Upper and Lower St. Regis Lake, it became famous in the late 19th century as a summer playground of America's power elite, drawn to the area by its scenic beauty and by the rustic charms of...
, it became famous in the late 19th century as a summer playground of America's power elite
Power elite
A power elite or The Grand Elite, in political and sociological theory, is a small group of people who control a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, and access to decision-making of global consequence. The term was coined by C...
, drawn to the area by its scenic beauty and by the rustic charms of Paul Smith's Hotel
Paul Smith's Hotel
Paul Smith's Hotel, formally known as the Saint Regis House, was founded in 1859 by Apollos Smith in the town of Brighton, Franklin County, New York in what would become the village of Paul Smiths; it was one of the first wilderness resorts in Adirondacks...
. It is the site of many grand old summer "cottages" and Great Camps
Great Camps
Great camps refer 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...
, including Marjorie Merriweather Post
Marjorie Merriweather Post
-External links:******...
's Topridge. Frederick W. Vanderbilt, Anson Phelps Stokes
Anson Phelps Stokes
For other men with the same name, see Anson Phelps Stokes Anson Phelps Stokes was a merchant, banker, publicist, philanthropist, and became a multimillionaire. Born in New York City, he was the son of James Boulter and Caroline Stokes; brother of William Earl Dodge Stokes and Olivia Eggleston...
and Whitelaw Reid
Whitelaw Reid
Whitelaw Reid was a U.S. politician and newspaper editor, as well as the author of a popular history of Ohio in the Civil War.-Early life:...
were among the summer residents. "The camps of many of these families began as tent colonies, with separate units for sleeping, dining, games, and so on, and evolved into permanent structures built with understated taste."
Apollos "Paul" Smith
Apollos Smith
Apollos Smith founded the Saint Regis House in the town of Brighton, known universally as Paul Smith's Hotel, one of the first wilderness resorts in Adirondacks...
started his hotel in 1859 as a primitive operation that appealed to sportsmen. Gradually, the hotel became something of a fad amongst the wealthy and powerful of New York. As camping became more of a family activity, Smith would allow families to set up camp for day use along the shores of the St. Regis Lakes, returning to the hotel for the night. Eventually, families would lease or buy land from Smith and build tent platforms, and finally clusters of cabins and cottages.
Even in the early stages, some of these camps became quite elaborate. In 1883, one of the first families, the Stokes, would arrive in a "special parlour horse car direct from 42nd street to Ausable for $100." The party consisted of ten family members and an equal number of servants, "three horses, two dogs, one carriage, five large boxes of tents, three cases of wine, two packages of stovepipe, two stoves, one bale of china, one iron pot, four washstands, one barrel of hardware, four bundles of poles, seventeen cots and seventeen mattresses, four canvas packages, one buckboard, [...], twenty-five trunks, thirteen small boxes, one boat, one hamper", all of which was then transferred to wagons for the 36 miles (57.9 km) ride to Paul Smiths, and thence by boat to their island campsite.
Upper Saint Regis Lake is part of the original Seven Carries
Seven Carries
.The Seven Carries is an historic canoe route from Paul Smith's Hotel to the Saranac Inn through what is now known as the Saint Regis Canoe Area in southern Franklin County, New York in the Adirondack Park...
canoe route from Paul Smith's Hotel
Paul Smith's Hotel
Paul Smith's Hotel, formally known as the Saint Regis House, was founded in 1859 by Apollos Smith in the town of Brighton, Franklin County, New York in what would become the village of Paul Smiths; it was one of the first wilderness resorts in Adirondacks...
to Saranac Inn
Saranac Inn
The Saranac Inn was a large, luxurious hotel located on a peninsula at the northern end of the Upper Saranac Lake in the town of Santa Clara in the Adirondacks in New York State, USA. It was frequented by US Presidents Grover Cleveland and Chester A. Arthur and New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes...
. It is also the original home of the Idem-class racing sailboats, originally built in 1900, the oldest class of actively racing one-design boats with original boats participating.
The lake is located in the towns of Harrietstown
Harrietstown, New York
Harrietstown is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 5,575 at the 2000 census, much of it concentrated in the village of Saranac Lake....
and Brighton
Brighton, Franklin County, New York
Brighton is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 1,682 at the 2000 census. It was named after Brighton, England by early surveyors in the region....
, both in Franklin County, New York
Franklin County, New York
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 51,599. It is named in honor of American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin...
.
Sources
- Donaldson, Alfred L., A History of the Adirondacks. New York: Century, 1921. ISBN 0-916346-26-8. (reprint)
- Jerome, Christine, Adirondack Passage: Cruise of Canoe Sairy Gamp, HarperCollins, 1994. ISBN 0-93527294-1.
- Hooker, Mildred Phelps Stokes, Camp Chronicles, Blue Mountain Lake, NY: Adirondack Museum, 1964. ISBN 0-910020-16-7.