The "Gilded Age" in America was a time of rapid economic growth, and those who achieved such wealth celebrated it like never before. It was during this era that the Adirondack Park became one of the favorite playgrounds for the rich and famous, and the origin of the American Vacation. In the second half of the 19th century, or "Gilded Age," the affluent population of New York City would "vacate" the hot and muggy city for the cooler weather at their luxurious camps in the Adirondacks and thus the "American Vacation" was born.

The Birth of the Great Camp Style Architecture

In 1877, land developer William West Durant, began constructing the first of his Great Camps on Long Point in Raquette Lake, NY. It was constructed as a place to host investors and was built using native elements such as log, stone, decorative branches and twigs. Rather than building one large camp, the Great Camp style established at Pine Knot was broken out into multiple buildings, each with its own purpose. The buildings were clustered together on a campus that was linked with covered walkways connecting many of its structures.

In 1895, Durant sold Camp Pine Knot and the 201 acre parcel that went with it to Collis P. Huntington, transcontinental railroad builder and financier. After Pine Knot, Durant moved on to build Camp Uncus and then Camp Sagamore.

Great Camp Sagamore

In 1895, after William W. Durant had already sold off Camp Uncus and Camp Pine Knot to clear his debt, he set out to build his third and largest complex of them all on Shedd Lake (later renamed Sagamore Lake), in Raquette Lake, NY.

Interesting tidbit: Sagamore stands for "wise, young chief" in the Algonquian language.

The Lower COmplex

Great Camp Sagamore is an expansive 27-building complex that builds off of the Great Camp Style Architecture Durant established at Camp Pine Knot. "It's an intrinsically American style of architecture that involves some European elements, like Sagamore's main lodge which is influenced by the chalet. But, the fact that they would construct it from materials like the wood and stone that were found right on the property using local craftsmen is unique," states Garet Livermore the Executive Director of Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks.

The Swiss-Chalet style main lodge Livermore refers to is the iconic 3-story guest quarters that sits at the tip of a peninsula on Sagamore Lake. It is beautifully constructed around a massive fireplace built from the granite stone found on premise. Interestingly, the fireplaces were built first and then the buildings were resurrected around them using full-length spruce trunks as the supporting beams. Durant wanted the camp to have a rustic feel and this was executed beautifully with elements like the half-log exterior facade and the knotty-wood and bark accented interior. It truly is one of the first architectural styles that looks like it belongs in nature, and it has become the model for National Park buildings throughout the United States.

As with Pine Knot, each building at Sagamore was built to serve a different function. From the kitchen and dining hall to the playhouse and adjacent outdoor bowling alley, each building has its own purpose and is laid out within its natural surrounding in a way that feels as though it is supposed to be there. But, while camps were built with the intention of looking rustic, the interior of the buildings were built to provide guests with all of the luxury and comforts they were accustomed to in their city lives.

The Upper Camp

Great Camps like Sagamore and Pine Knot were also intended to be self-sufficient. In order to maintain such an elaborate campus of guest buildings at Sagamore (the Lower Complex), Durant built the Workers' Camp (the Upper Complex) approximately a half-mile upland. The design of the Upper Complex was much more utilitarian than the extravagantly detailed Lower Complex, and housed everyone from carpenters and blacksmiths to guides, maids, and cooks.

The People

Durant completed Great Camp Sagamore in 1879. Then, just a few years later due to a lawsuit by his sister over his "mismanagement" of their family's estate, he was forced to sell. In 1901 Durant sold Camp Sagamore to Alfred G. Vanderbilt and it remained in the Vanderbilt family until 1954. The camp was the Vanderbilt's summer residence, a special place where they could escape the heat of the city and entertain family and esteemed guests such as Howard Hughes, Gary Cooper and Richard Rodgers. "Like an invitation to the White House, being asked to visit Sagamore was an opportunity not to be missed." - Great Camp Sagamore website.

In addition to spending summer at the camp, the Vanderbilts often