For one week in September, join an exclusive tour though
private and public camps of the Adirondacks, led by experts
in the field of architectural history and preservation and local historians

ADIRONDACK PARK - It’s 1874. Union Pacific railroad magnate Thomas Durant implores his son William West Durant, an architect who is traveling in Europe to return home. Thomas Durant, having recently acquired a very large expanse of property in Upstate New York, needs his son’s expertise to help him develop his new acquisition into a tourist destination.

As the largest private landowner in the Adirondacks at the time, the elder Durant was in the unique position of having the capital and the available resources to turn raw wilderness into a tourist destination for the likes of President Calvin Coolidge, the Vanderbilts and countless other cognoscenti at the turn of the century. For 75 years, William West Durant helped transform the feature-less cabins common to the area into stylized, luxurious adaptations of the Swiss Chalets he had seen while traveling in Europe.

Durant’s hallmark style incorporated materials from the surrounding wilderness into his architectural designs He was inspired by the forest and used woodland motifs in his design, from twigs, to natural tree bark, his enduring influence can be seen in countless great and small camps throughout the Adirondacks.

Durant’s early style changed with the times as other architects and developers moved to the Adirondacks. Soon, the promise of a luxurious woodland retreat was attracting the likes of Calvin Coolidge who would escape the summer heat of Washington politics in favor of his great camp on Osgood Pond.

White Pine Camp, or what Coolidge called his “Summer White House,” followed traditional Durant style with one main lodge and several out-buildings. Durant’s logic held that if one building caught fire, the entire complex need not burn to the ground. Durant’s architectural style, as well as the camps, has endured the test of time.

Journey back to a luxurious and pristine time in the Adirondack Wilderness when America’s movers and shakers escaped the corporate and political world in favor of “roughing it” in the Adirondack woods.

For one week in September, join expert tour guides as they take you into rarely seen private camps. See Durant’s vision at Camp Sagamore and Camp Uncas, representing the turning point in Durant’s career when he began to construct enormous compounds set in complete isolation.

In Big Moose Lake, visitors will tour Big Moose Chapel and Manse, The Waldheim, Covewood Lodge and Brown Gables. From there, the group will see two more of Durant’s camps, Pine Knot and St. Williams on Long Point, before cruising Raquette Lake on the W.W. Durant.

The historic Beth Joseph Synagogue and Hemlock Ledge will be seen in Tupper Lake and, on Osgood Pond, former President Calvin Coolidge’s Summer White House, White Pine Camp. Next, the group will tour Great camps designed by William L. Coulter, the Adirondacks’ first resident architect to establish a practice, and, finally, Joseph Tilden Alling’s The Uplands and the historic Ausable Club in St. Huberts.

Time has changed a lot of things, but these historic Adirondack Great Camps set amid the pristine wilderness of the Adirondack Mountains, have changed very little. Join the Adirondack Architectural Heritage tour September 5 to 11 and experience history.

About the Adirondack Region

The Adirondack Park, named for the Adirondack Mountains that lie within its boundaries, offers some of the best opportunities in the United States for outdoor recreation in a superb natural setting. The wilderness lands of the Adirondack Park are an outdoor-lover’s paradise and vacation packages offer a wonderful opportunity for visitors to sample all that there is to see and do in the region.

The Adirondack Regional Tourism Council can provide information about planning a vacation in the Adirondack region. Call 800-487-6867 or log onto VisitAdirondacks.com for package listings, events, activities, restaurants, lodging and maps.

About AARCH
Adirondack Architectural Heritage Adirondack Architectural Heritage is the nonprofit historic preservation organization for New York State’s Adirondack Park. AARCH was formed in 1990 with a mission to promote better public understanding, appreciation and stewardship of the Adirondack’s unique and diverse architectural heritage. For more information, contact the Adirondack Architectural Heritage at (518) 834-9328, email info@aarch.org or log onto AARCH.org.

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