Loon Lake Timeline

The Iroquois form a league of six tribes and defeat Adirondack tribes.  Fur trappers in pursuit of beaver and deer skils were the first Europeans to access this remote part of the Adirondacks. 

Sir John Johnson flees through the Adirondacks to Canada with British supporters during the Revolutionary war.

Old military tract formed after Revolutionary War.  New York State offered land as a reward for service in the war.  No land was taken by veterans.

Indian title to lands not yet extinguished

Alexander McComb purchases 4,000,000 acres for $ 0.08 per acre

Macomb lands divided and sold.  Peter Gerrit Smith buys 1 million acres, including Loon Lake.    His son,  Gerrit Smith, inherited the land from his father. Peter was a fur trader with his business partner, John Jacob Astor.

First settlement in Franklin County -Chateaugay

Potash and ship masts were made and shipped to Ft. Covington (on the St. Lawrence River)

Town of Malone established.

Some action during the War of 1812 took place in the northern part of Franklin County.

American Troops withdraw  from Ft. Covington.

Northwest Bay Road opened from Westport to Hopkinton.

Franklin Falls sawmills established.

Earliest European settlers arrive in Franklin using oxen carts for transportation from Vermont.

First settlement in the Town of Franklin, McLenathan Falls – became Franklin Falls in 1851.

Sugar Bush – sugar mapling started 

Alder Brook established by Irish Catholics

Merrillsville – Lamsons and Cates and others from Vermont begin to settle. This was the western most settlement in Franklin at the time.

Port Kent to Hopkinton Turnpike – was built – a plank and corduroy toll road which was used frequently by teamsters to transport goods and livestock from farms along the St Lawrence river to  Lake Champlain 

Inns and taverns (stagecoach stops) were set up every 7 miles along the route. 

Inn and Post office opened at Merrillsville

Many Sawmills were  started to cut lumber and charcoal kilns were built to supply  charcoal to Standish  and Lyon Mountain iron mines and blast furnaces.

Prentice “Print” Lovering and family build log structure for Tavern and Inn at Loon Lake.

Amasa Washburn, guide,  builds log cabin near Loon Lake.

Town of Franklin Incorporated; divided from Town of Belmont

Monroe Hall operated sawmill on Loon Lake Outlet.

Avery Thatcher builds sawmill three miles above Hunters Home on North Branch of Saranac River.

Leander Cadwell built sawmill on Mud Pond.

 Onchiota was a sawmill town too.

Town of Vermontville established. 

Goldsmith establishes sawmill and Town on North Branch of Saranac River.

Purchases 14,000 acres from Gerrit Smith: Lumber, speculation.

Sawmills, North Branch Hotel for hunting, fishing, boarding.  25 houses in town.

Willis Hodges acquires 240 acres on Loon Lake to establish “Blacksville” near Hodges Bay from Gerrit Smith.  Less than ten families (mostly freed and escaped slaves from Brooklyn NY ) attempt to settle there.

Blacksville disbanded after undersupplied and under funded settlers were unable to succeed. A few of Willis group did manage to put down roots in nearby places like Onchiota and Vermontville.

Hodges holds land until sold to Mary Howe’s father in 1876.

Prentice “Print” Lovering rents inn to Paul Smith at Loon Lake for three years

60 houses in Town of Franklin Falls burn and are quickly rebuilt.

Paul Smith family buys 200 acres on North Branch of Saranac River and builds Hunters Home, a boarding house for hunters and fisherman.

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Hunters Home burns and  is rebuilt and run by Paul Smith’s parents and his brother. 

  Paul Smith buys land and moves to St. Regis Lake to establish hotel complex.

Tait paints scenes of Loon Lake.

Ferdinand (Ferd) Chase serves in Civil War

W.H.H. Murray’s Book publishes “Adventures in the Wilderness”, sparking “Murray’s Rush” of tourists to the Adirondacks.

Ferd Chase and Mary Howe marry in Vermont.

George Beckwith (Plattsburgh) buys land from Phoebe Goldsmith.

The Chases purchase 10 acres of land on Loon Lake for hotel/boarding house for hunters and fishermen.  Construction begins in the autumn.

Loon Lake House opens in May.  Log structure with 31 rooms and three stories.

Beckwith Family sign in as guests.

Oscar Wilde, Irish poet and playwright, while on tour of America , registers as a guest.

Chase build  Main House with 100 rooms, 4 stories.  Old house becomes wing of hotel.

Seneca Ray Stoddard, early photographer artist and author, was bellhop at hotel.

Chateaugay Railway comes to Inman (Later Delaware and  Hudson Rail Road) from Plattsburgh to Loon Lake via Lyon Mountain and Standish, and then extended to Saranac Lake.

William Ziegler Camp Built (later known as Seven Keys).  Cost $300,000 to build.

Fargo Camp built, probably Knollcrest, Requa, Hukweem, Fairchild and others camps around Loon Lake were built about this time. 

St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railroad (Canada to Utica) comes to Inman Station. (later  New York Central Railroad)

In 24 hours, one mile of track was built for Railroad car of President and Mrs. Benjamin Harrison to access station.  Mrs. Harrison was brought to Chase’s Hotel to try to cure TB; She spent the summer in the Sunset Cottage – Presidents Cottage. The President fished and took carriage drives. 

Annex 1 was constructed. New building with four stories that increased capacity to accommodate 500 guests on the “American Plan” from May to December.

“Back 9” holes of golf course built on Scottish Plan.

Caddie House built for golf course . Many other improvements made.

Adirondack Park established. Loon Lake originally outside the Blue Line.

President William McKinley visits in first year of his term, stopping at the Inman Rail Road station.  

William Kollecker, photographer (Saranac Lake ) worked at hotel as a bellhop.

3/4 mile wewer system tunnel built under hilltop to bring waste from laundry to leach field  below golf course

Extensive Forest fires south and east of Loon Lake

Stonywald Sanitarium established on Lake Kushaqua (Round Pond)

Adirondack – Florida School established on Clear Pond by Rainbow Lake

Gold discovered on Loon Lake Mountain by Seymour Doty, mining operation abandoned after a few years.

Loon Lake Mountain logged.

Huge forest fire northwest of Loon Lake  comes close to destroying Inman and hotel.

Fire trains came to rescue. Steam locomotives started frequent forest fires. too.

Chases offered, and decline, $1 million purchase offer by Statler Hotel Chain.

Loon Lake Mountain logged.

Forest fire north of Loon Lake

Ferdinand (Ferd) Chase dies (b. 1840).  Leaves half of estate to Charles Stevens.  

Mary loses $200,000 and more in other deals; and  buys back Charles Steven’s shares.

New York State reforestation of area

“Electricifaction” of hotel 

Goldsmith post office closes- sawmill etc finished 

Boom time for Loon Lake Camp construction and improvements to hotel and grounds including the  Japanese Sandwalk to Charlotte Island and updating for automobiles.

“Front 9” golf holes open. Leo Collins starts work at golf course. Becomes a PGA accredited course.

Stock market crash.

Loon Lake House, now open 50 years, accommodates 800 guests, has 4,000 acres and a staff of 300 people.

Hotel goes bankrupt. Mary Chase forced to retire at 88.

Paul Smith’s Hotel burns in St. Regis Lake.  

Last big season for Loon Lake House.

Hotel in receivership. Charles Stevens and Feinberg named managers.

Mary Chase deceased (b. 1843) the Queen of the Adirondacks is widely mourned 

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Loon Lake House under management of Frank Howe, Mary Chase’s nephew.

Closed during World War II

Leo Collins stays on at Golf Course

Hotel reopens  and is run by Andron Resorts Inc. and is somewhat successful as a primaril Jewish resort for a few years .

Old Main House complex burns to the ground.  Flames and smoke seen for miles.

Auctions of separate properties and contents of Annex 

Several families from Montreal and Canada buy houses

Passenger train service ends.

Loon Lake Synagogue founded.

“Hotel” survives as low key and children’s camp but is transitioning into a private community.

Surviving hotel properties sold to Leisure Properties, including Jack and Irene Miller, Sussman, & Levinson

Laundry burns

Boat house burns

Hukweem Camp burns (maybe earlier)

Annex #1 torn down

Old Winter Annex demolished 

All train service ends at Inman Station

Tony D’Elia and partners purchase Seven Keys Lodge (f.k.a. Zeigler Lodge).

D’Elia makes progress on his plan for developing Loon Lake Estates. He applies to the new ADK Park Agency (APA), and is their 1st case of this kind of development that they consider. His elaborate plan for hundreds of vacation homes is approved but with insurmountable conditions and the project fails and goes bankrupt. Meanwhile D’Elia  was involved with many real estate sales around the lake and even built a few houses.

Bass Pond is developed

Foreclosure sale – bulk of properties went to Northeast General

Caddie House begins restoration.

DeSormo writes, “Heyday of the Adirondacks” – Chapter 4 on Loon Lake.

D’Elia writes, “Adirondack Rebellion” – diatribe against the Adirondack Park Agency.

Winter Olympics at Lake Placid

Robinwood cabin burns

E.L. Doctorow publishes, “Loon Lake”, a novel set in Loon Lake during the depression.

Loon Lake featured in article on front page of the NY Times weekend section.

Rutherford Cottage burns.

Blue Spruce Drive paved.

Loon Gulf purchases land and golf course.

Jay Field and Jacques Bacque buy hotel site and barns.

Loon Lake Homeowners Association established (now Loon Lake Community Association).

Smith Cottage Restoration as “Inn at Loon Lake”

New wells and sewer systems are being dug for the houses that were part of the hotel complex. Leo Collins retired from the Golf Course. 

Horsehead Point developed

AARCH Tours begin

1st major Twin Pines restoration 

Great ice storm

Pine Girt Cottage burns

1st Irish House restoration- Kemp et al

Golf Course closes.

New houses constructed in Hamlet with more to come . Many original cottages are worked on, Oak, Birch lanes, Norma drive build houses. Mensink road builds houses.

New and old cottages turned into rental properties.   

Beaches are donated to the LLCA.

Improvements made to Swim Beach and Boat Launch areas.

The Bloom cabin is restored.

The Loon Cafe opens