| Adirondack Architecture
Overview
The Rustic, Carpenter Gothic and Great Camps
| William West Durant, son of a railroad tycoon and the first Adirondack developer,
began what is considered the first "Great Camp" on the shores of Raquette Lake in
the late 1870's. Called Camp Pine Knot, it was a collection of rustic dwellings
resembling the Swiss chalets he had seen in Europe, but with primal, naturalistic
appeal that heralded in a whole new architectural style. Cottages were designed
specifically for sleeping, or dining and other functional uses. The Main Lodge
connected to these outer buildings by covered pathways ornamentally decorated with
bark, branches and twig rails and roofs. Roaring fires in native stone fireplaces
warmed guests on cool or damp days. Vertical bark half-log siding blended into the
lofty wooded surroundings. To Pine Knot, Durant invited the wealthy millionaires of the late 19th Century - who
welcomed the serenity and privacy or the pristine woodland lakes. Out of the crowded,
disease-ridden cities they came, the Vanderbilts, the Morgans, the Whitneys and
Huntingtons. They acquired huge tracts of land in the newly formed Park and hired
architects who could copy the Durant style and began entertaining lavishly. Entire
communities of local people found year-round employment as builders, guides,
caretakers, cooks, and housekeepers. Interiors carried out the rustic theme with twig
and peeled log furnishings, creating even today - a whole new cottage industry. Many
have survived and open to the public. I recommend the following sites and reading suggestions:
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Created by: Masterpiece Productions
Last updated: July 23, 1999
