Here are eight books that are perfect for your next Loon Lake Adventure
Summer Reading List
Curious about what life was like at the Loon Lake House (and other Adirondack resorts)? Here are a few books that will give you insights into summer holidays in the North Country.
Last year I was visiting a neighbor on Loon Lake who referred to “The Book” on Loon Lake history. She was referring to Maitland C. DeSormo’s collection of stories, The Heydays of the Adirondacks, which contains a chapter detailing the Loon Lake Hotel operations, from his experience as an employee in the early 1900’s. Here are eight books on Adirondack history that give different perspectives on what is was like to live here, from the early indigenous peoples, to early hunters and guides, to black settlers, to the rise of opulent resorts, to the establishment of the Adirondack Park Agency, and recent development.
You can find all of these books at the Saranac Library. If they are out, they can order books from the multi-county library system. Most of them are still in print (I offered a link to Amazon if they are available there). Some of them may be found at the Village Mercantile in Saranac Lake as well.
My advice – start with Fran Yardley’s Finding True North, then move on to DeSormo’s books, and wrap up with Amy Godine’s Black Woods. Then, you can order Curt Stager’s The First Adirondackers to read over the holidays. Enjoy!
The Heydays of the Adirondacks
by Maitland C. DeSormo
Maitland DeSormo grew up in Malone during the summers of 1918 to 1930. He worked at the Loon Lake House as a caddy, bellhop, and other jobs. He knew Mrs. Chase personally, and as an employee during the apex of the hotel, he saw the workings of Loon Lake like few others.
He devotes one chapter of this well known book to his time at Loon Lake House. The rest of the book paints a vivid picture of the time, people, and places that made the Adirondacks the go-to vacation spot from 1880 – 1930s.
The book is out of print, but some local antique stores, eBay, and Abebooks.com have copies. Also, the Clinton Essex Franklin County Library System has 33 copies of the book.
Summer on the Saranacs
by Maitland C. DeSormo
With more than 250 vintage photographs, DeSormo’s second book on living in the Saranac region of the Adirondacks tells stories of sportsmen, lumbermen, land speculators, hotels, and health seekers in the 1800’s. Easy to read, Summers on the Saranacs will give you a better understanding of of what it was like to summer in Loon Lake and nearby resorts of the time.
Order on Amazon: Summer on the Saranacs
Adirondack Hotels and Inns
by Donald R. Williams
The Loon Lake House was one of many elite hotels in the Adirondacks from 1880 – 1920. Donald Williams’ short book features more than 200 images of Adirondack hotels and many stories of the rise of resorts in the Adirondacks.
Order on Amazon: Adirondack Hotels and Inns
The Adirondack Rebellion: A Political, Economic, and Social Expose of the Adirondack State Park 1880 – 1980
by Anthony N. D’Elia
In 1971, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller signed legislation creating the Adirondack Park Agency. Overnight, more than six million acres fell under new regulations that controlled the development of private land in the country’s largest state park. Tony D’Elia, a Loon Lake land and property owner with a plan for a thriving resort, fought the APA for years over their oversight of development here in Loon Lake. He wrote this book chronicling his battle with the APA, and sharing his vision for how to balance nature and human development in the park.
The book is out of print, but if you ask around the hamlet, I’m sure you’ll find someone to lend you their copy for the summer. You can also find copies on eBay.com and AbeBooks.com, as well as local antique stores.
Finding True North: A History of One Small Corner of The Adirondacks
by Fran Yardley
Jay and Fran Yardley moved to the Bartlett Carry Club in 1968, with the goal of restoring and opening the 1,000 acre camp with 37 historic buildings on it. The property had been in Jay’s family for generations, but fallen into disrepair in the 1950’s.
In this wonderfully woven story, Fran weaves two narratives: what it was like to move into a rustic caretakers cabin, heated only by wood in the mid-60s, and the story of Jay’s family and the origins of the Bartlett Carry Club, later known as the Saranac Club. Barlett Carry, like the Loon Lake House, started as a guest house for hunters, fishermen, and adventurers, located between Upper and Middle Saranac Lake.
If you are going to read one book this summer, let it be Finding True North.
Watch an interview of Fran here and here.
Order the book on Amazon here: Finding True North
Adirondack French Louie: Early Life in the North Woods
by Harvey Dunham
Written in 1953, Harvey Dunham pulls together stories about French Louie one of the first Adirondack woodsmen – a hermit, hunter, trapper, fisherman and guide in the Adirondacks. Louie was known to have many guideboats stashed throughout the north country, so he didn’t have to portage with the boat, just hike from one to the other. Maitland DeSormo said of this book is “eminently entitled to consideration as top-bracket upstate literature”.
Louie first came to the Adirondacks in 1868 and he died in 1915, leaving a legacy of adventure and exploration, which roughly covered the timeline of the Loon Lake Hotel.
You can retrace some of French Louie’s haunts and canoe trails in the West Canada Lakes Wilderness.
Order the book here: Adirondack French Louie
The Black Woods: Pursuing Racial Justice on the Adirondack Frontier
by Amy Godine
Amy Godine’s new book chronicles the history of Black pioneers in the Adirondacks, including the story of Blacksville, founded by Willis Hodges, who received the land as a gift from abolitionist Gerrit Smith in 1848. Smith gifted more than 120,000 acres to 3,000 landless Black New Yorkers, with the support of Frederick Douglass, John Brown, and other abolitionists.
Hodges Bay is named for Willis Hodges. A historical marker was placed there in 2023 to commemorate the community.
Order the book here: The Black Woods
The First Adirondackers: 12,000 Years of Indigenous Peoples in the Adirondack Uplands
by Curt Stager and David Kanietakeron Fadden
Paul Smith’s Curt Stager and David Fadden challenge the long-standing myth that the Adirondacks were largely uninhabited before the arrival of European colonizers. Focusing on more than thirty locations in the Park, the book gives a colorful description of the region’s indigenous people. Fadden provides lovely illustrations to bring these stories to life.
You’ll have to wait until next summer to read the book, as its publication date is November 18, 2025.
Pre-order the Book Here: The First Adirondackers
