History

1200s – 1848

Early History

This timeline was developed, written, and copyrighted by
Karl Beckwith Smith.

The majority Loon Lake history centers around the story of the Loon Lake House, but this story is interwoven with local, regional, and national history.

Native Americans of the Six Tribes – Haudenosaunee – Iroquois- occupied Adirondack land for millennia long before Europeans arrived to trap for beavers and other furs and trade tools and trinkets for land . The mostly French and English settlers also brought diseases and their own wars which decimated local populations. These tribes struggled to cope and to survive this onslaught and were relegated to reservations set up by the newcomers.

Meanwhile , increasing numbers of settlers arrived in the North Country to carve out the frontier. Literally . The cutting of trees became the main economic activity. First the wood was cut and used in making charcoal in kilns for the manufacture of iron at Lyon mountain. Then as demand for lumber grew for building,  sawmills flourished on every river and falls, including Loon Lake Outlet.

The Port Kent to Hopkinton Turnpike was created to link towns near the St Lawrence River and those near Lake Champlain for trade. This plank and corduroy toll road was finished in 1833. The road was responsible for the establishment of the first hotels and towns that grew up along that route. Merrillsville was one of these. Many of these early settlers ,including the Lamsons and Cates, arrived from across the Lake in Vermont.

Paul Smith also came from Vermont. In about 1848  he stayed  at  both Merrillsville and at the Lovering Tavern in Loon Lake.  He became a well known guide in the area and his family built a small hotel  called Hunters Home on the North Branch of the Saranac River, where the PK Turnpike crosses.  Paul Smith was a legendary Adirondack character:  guide, raconteur, hotelier, financier, railroad builder, and founder of a power generating companying.  After Hunters Home burned in 1858, Smith moved to the St. Regis area where he built a large and famous hotel complex which eventually became Paul Smiths College.  His parents and brother rebuilt and continued to run Hunters Home after the fire. 

1878 – 1886

Loon Lake Hotel

In 1878, the Chase family purchased 10 acres on a bluff overlooking the south end of Loon Lake, and perhaps another 200 acres were purchased from Willis Hodges.   The area had become renowned for its beauty and excellent hunting and fishing.

Mary Howe and Ferdinand Chase were the creators and developers of the Loon Lake Hotel.  From its first construction in the winter of 1878-79  Mary and Ferd owned and managed the hotel themselves.  The resort was their all consuming passion.  Ferd was a Civil War veteran and had worked for a railroad and boat company.  Mary was well educated and musical.  They met and married in Vermont in 1874.  For several years they helped run a hotel in Essex Junction VT, and when time permitted, went on hunting and fishing trips to the Loon Lake area. 

During the winter of 1878, Mary and Ferd Chase and all constructed a 31 room, 3 story log structure which was open for lodging hunters and fisherman by the spring of 1879.  Mary’s abilities as a cook,  hostess and business woman were immediately evident, and Ferd’s easy manner and knowledge of the area  made guests feel welcome.  The place was an overnight success.  Although the success almost overcame them at first, they were equal to the challenge.  Mary and Ferd were very industrious, ingenious and devoted to the development of their venture.  Every year the profits from the hotel were reinvested in the improvement and expansion of the operation.  

Four years after the opening of the first hotel building in 1883, they completed a new building , attached to the front of the original, which became known as the Old or Main House.  It contained 100 rooms and was four stories.  Large sitting and dining rooms and extensive porches overlooked the lake.  It remained the central hub of activity at Loon Lake until it burned in September 1956.  

Ten years later, in 1893, the Chases had erected an even larger building which was called Annex 1.  This and the addition of numerous individual cottages brought the capacity of the hotel to more than 500 guests.  Obviously, there was a corresponding expansion of all of the services and staff that went along with the care and handling of such a crowd, and especially so since “The Mrs” (as Mary Chase was known) insisted that everything be of the highest quality despite the hotel being located in remote wilderness.  The number of staff that was needed to provide these luxuries, services and amusements was almost equal to the number of guests.  And a  small village developed as a result of all the activity.

Many families came to Loon Lake and stayed for the summer season. They returned yearly. .Some guests would lease land from the Chases and build independent living quarters for their families to occupy.  These cottages  varied from substantial to elaborate, some were “Great Camps” but only a few were allowed to contain kitchen facilities, as The Mrs. insisted that all take their meals in, or from, the Hotel’s dining rooms.  At its zenith, Loon Lake House could accommodate 800 people.  Eventually the cottages or camps occupied  53 buildings around the lake. Most were spread out around the southern half of Loon Lake and the Golf Course.  When these families no longer wished to keep their camps, the Mrs. would purchase them and add them to the hotel’s assets. 

Many other structures were built.  Barns for cows, horses, blacksmith shop workshops, laundries, dormitories for the staff, and much more.  The Hotel property grew to more than 3,000 acres. An extensive infrastructure was developed that provided up-to-date amenities for the guests.  Two water systems provided filtered spring water. Several water towers supplied pressure.  An underground sewage system and tunnel was dug from the lakeshore under the mountain, to a drainage field almost a half mile away.  An acetylene gas plant  and later, an early electric system, provided lighting .Telegraph, telephones. There were. vegetable and flower gardens, a dairy with specifically registered Holstein-Freisen Cows.  

Every type of pastime, amusement, and sport was provided. Baseball, tennis, golf and trap shooting were popular sports. 

One of the very earliest golf courses in the Adirondacks opened in 1895 with 9 holes on the Scottish style of links.  The second, or front nine holes, were completed in 1922. ( The golf course ceased operation in 2004.)  It was a  PGA  mountain course with a splendid view of Whiteface Mountain from the 9th green.  

An Asian theme was designed to tie the landscape and shoreline together.

There was a 3/4 mile long sand walk that went from a pavilion at the South end of the Lake along the shoreline to  a rustic bridge to Charlotte Island. Along the way were numerous rustic and asian styled resting areas, Japanese bridges pagodas and lagoons. 

Walking paths and bridle trails were abundant and beautifully groomed 

Boat houses were built to accompany the shoreline camps which housed stylish covered launches that traveled back and forth from camp to hotel. Seaplanes flew in.

There was one  large Boathouse, part of the Hotel complex with 6 bays, filled with boats of all kinds, and staffed with the best local guides.  It contained bowling alleys, billiard tables and smoking rooms upstairs. 

There was also a general store and post office, and later, garages and apartments for chauffeurs.  It was indeed a complete village.  One could not call it self sufficient, however, since most of the hotel supplies had to be brought in from near and far away.  Also, the very large number of employees came from all over Franklin and Clinton Counties, especially from the Malone area. 

1920s – 1950s

Roaring 20s, Market Crash, Bankruptcy and Death of the Mrs.

After the Presidential period, the Loon Lake House continued to thrive and grow with new and improved buildings being added and upgraded constantly. After Ferd’s death in 1916, Mrs. Chase continued to add to her empire.  She had been running the hotel with several managers for some time.  Mrs. Chase was a colorful character:  iron willed, tireless, detail-oriented, a loyal employer, and philanthropist.  She helped put many local, young people through college.  She adored animals, sometimes loving them more than people.  She had a favorite parrot named Drexie which used to terrorize the staff.  The Mrs. wore black dresses , green sweaters and red wigs.  She deserves a biography.  

In 1916 she acquired a nearby camp built by William Ziegler, later known as the Seven Keys Lodge, which had reportedly cost $300,000 to build, and added it to the hotel property.  That year she also bought back Ferd’s interest in the hotel from a young man, C.P. Stevens, whom Ferd had made his beneficiary.  Following these expenses came a series of investments she made on the advice  of her much younger advisors…most of which unfortunately  did not work out well.   And so, when the the stock market crash came  in 1929  the Mrs. was caught land rich and cash poor.  The Hotel went into receivership and Mary had to relinquish control.  She was allowed to stay at the hotel, but she became ill and died two years later at age 88.  It was a sad day for Loon Lake 

There were other reasons for the decline of the hotel business.  Change in lifestyle, largely the result of the popularity of the automobile, contributed.  Which meant that people no longer came to spend the whole summer in one place. They moved around more frequently.  The hotel went through a series of managers.  It closed during World War II, and reopened under new management, the Andron Company,  with limited success. Many guests, entertainers, golf pros, and others still came up from New York City. And guests continued to come but numbers dwindled.

1990s – Today

Restoration and Preservation

The 1990’s saw a continuation of this trend and there has been construction of some new homes in the Hamlet since then. 

The Loon Lake Homeowner’s Association,  now the Loon Lake Community Association, started to come together about this time. This group is currently attempting to grapple with the present day problems of development, water quality, etc.  The LLCA is now the owner and regulator of the Swim Beach and Boat Launch areas. Kayaks and pontoon boats are now most common. 

Accommodations for guests has shifted to individual seasonal homes and  rentals 

All of the main important buildings that were part of the hotel are gone,  burned or demolished. Most of the original buildings, camps and cottages,  that are left have now been restored with varying degrees of respect given to the preservation of their original designs and materials.

Since 2000, public recreational opportunities in the surrounding forest have increased with the opening of easement areas, trails and public access points.

Currently, the prospect of development on the old hotel property hangs in the air as parcels of it are slowly being sold by Loon Gulf, their owner of the past 40 years or so. Time will tell how that will work out.

The physical health of Loon Lake is being monitored and is good. Loons are returning each summer. 

Residents still get water from the  spring on the North Branch of the Saranac River, near Hunters home….

For more details of Loon Lake History, refer to The Loon Lake Timeline, also by Karl Beckwith Smith. 

This is a work in progress, and any corrections or comments are welcome.

Karl Beckwith Smith III
Caddie House 
Loon Lake