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2010 Tours
Tour Registration Information: Advance registration is required for all events unless otherwise noted. Attendance is limited and events are filled on a first-come-first-served basis. Our tours are very popular and they fill up quickly, so register as soon as possible. If a tour does fill, we highly recommend placing your name on our wait list, as periodically we do get cancellations; once we receive notice of a cancellation, we begin calling those on the wait list in the order in which they were received. Please call (518) 834-9328 for availability.

Camp Santanoni was built for Robert and Anna Pruyn of Albany beginning in 1892. The estate eventually included 12,900 acres and nearly four dozen buildings. Led by AARCH staff and former AARCH board member John Friauf, the tour will include stops at the Gate Lodge, Santanoni's 200-acre farm, and the Main Camp on Newcomb Lake. We'll also see the Main Camp complex and will learn first hand about all of the conservation planning and restoration work underway.

The tour and discussion will feature the completed restoration of the Main Camp's boathouse, which was funded through a $92,000 New York State Environmental Protection Fund grant. The boathouse was the most deteriorated of all of Santanoni's buildings. Restoration was completed in 2007 by master carpenter Michael Frenette and crew.

The round-trip cross-country ski trip is 9.8 miles on a gently sloping carriage road. The outing begins at 10 a.m.at the Santanoni Preserve parking area in the hamlet of Newcomb. We will return about 3 p.m. The fee is $20 for AARCH members and $30 for non-members. Reservations are required by calling AARCH at: (518) 834-9328.

The waters surrounding Valcour Island in Lake Champlain were the scene of the Battle of Valcour, an important naval battle during the Revolutionary War. Here, in October 1776, a small colonial fleet under the command of Benedict Arnold engaged the British fleet. During the 19th century, the island was briefly home to a fledgling "free-love" colony and, in 1874, a lighthouse was built on it. The island is now part of the Forest Preserve and the lighthouse is being restored by the Clinton County Historical Association. We will travel by boat to Valcour Island for a four-mile interpretive hike with AARCH Executive Director Steven Engelhart and naturalist David Thomas-Train. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $40 for AARCH and CCHA members and $50 for non-members.

Co-sponsored by Historic Saranac Lake, this tour will be led by Mary Hotaling, former executive director of HSL. View many of the buildings and sites that made Saranac Lake America's "Pioneer Health Resort." The village's late 19th-and early 20th century history is closely tied to the treatment for tuberculosis developed by Dr. Edward L. Trudeau. The tour will include the Trudeau Institute, where we will see Little Red, the first cure cottage; the former Trudeau Sanatorium, Saranac Laboratory, Union Depot, the Cure Cottage Museum, and the Bela Bartok Cottage. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. Be prepared for uphill walking. The fee is $35 for AARCH and HSL members and $45 for non-members. Tour attendees will also receive a copy of Cure Cottages, by Philip L. Gallos.

In the 1890s a group of friends and investors established the Piseco Company and Irondequoit Club Inn on over 11,000 acres of forest and lakeshore. The inn, an 1850s addition to the residence of Gene Adams, was erected in 1892. Club cottages were added nearby and some members chose to build their own residences along the lake's eastern shore. In addition to the club's buildings, many other independent camps were built. We will visit three of them built in the early part of the 20th century including: the Minich-Barnes camp (c. 1920), Hodge Podge Lodge (1926), and the Irish Camp (c. 1915). Led by members of the Piseco Historical Society, the tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $40 for AARCH, Adirondack Museum, and PHS members and $50 for non-members.

Take a walk along one of the region's best known main streets with author and columnist Lee Manchester. This tour offers an inside look at some of the village's best preserved examples of commercial architecture including the Lake Placid Library (1896), the Palace Theater (1926), the Olympic Center (1932), as well as several churches. Participants will receive a copy of Main Street, Lake Placid, a book that explores the changing face of Main Street co-authored by Lee. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. The fee is $35 for AARCH and Essex County Historical Society members and $45 for non-members.

Look at more than a century of mining in the Town of Newcomb with New York State Archeologist Dave Staley, and NYSDEC Historic Preservation Officer Chuck Vandrei, courtesy of the Open Space Institute. We will see the 1854 McIntyre Furnace, the remains of the village of Adirondac, the Adirondack Iron and Steel Company operations, and the 20th-century mining operation at Tahawus. The McIntyre Furnace is an important early industrial site that has been documented by the Historic American Engineering Record. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. The fee is $30 for AARCH, Adirondack Museum, and Essex County Historical Society members and $40 for non-members.

Santanoni was built for Robert and Anna Pruyn of Albany beginning in 1892. The estate eventually included 12,900 acres and nearly four-dozen buildings. Led by AARCH staff, the tour will include stops at the Gate Lodge, Santanoni's 200-acre farm, and the Main Camp on Newcomb Lake where we'll see the ongoing restoration of the Main Camp complex and learn first hand about the conservation planning and restoration work. The round-trip walk is 9.8 miles on a gently sloping carriage road. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $20 for AARCH and Essex County Historical Society members and $30 for non-members. A limited number of seats are available on a horse-drawn wagon for an additional $20 fee.

Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington were passionate about the arts, nature, and animals, and were no strangers to altruism. Their philanthropy created or supported numerous parks, libraries, and museums. Their largest regional contribution came between 1932 and 1939 when they donated 15,000 acres surrounding their W.W. Durant-designed, Arbutus Lake estate in Newcomb, to Syracuse University to create the Huntington Wildlife Preserve. The property was turned over to what is now the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and is the site of its Adirondack Ecological Center. We will tour the camp, and learn about Durant's original design, the Huntingtons, and the use by the college of the preserve for ecological research. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. The fee is $35 for AARCH and Essex County Historical Society members and $45 for non-members.

The Clinton Correctional Facility at Dannemora, originally built in 1845, is the third oldest and the largest prison in New York State. This unique opportunity will take us inside this maximum-security prison where we will visit a cellblock modeled on the "Auburn System," the Church of the Good Thief built entirely by inmates, the North Yard, workshops, and the former Dannemora State Hospital. The history of the prison is fascinating and its architecture most dramatic. The tour begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. The fee is $35 for AARCH and Clinton County Historical Association members and $45 for non-members.

Running approximately 24 miles along the border of New York and Vermont, the Slate Valley has been a source of slate since 1848, and is the only place in the world where such a wide variety of colors can be found. Over the past 160 years, this industry, which relied heavily on immigrant labor, has seen success, downturn, and finally a resurgence that continues to the present. On this tour we will explore the history of slate quarrying at the Slate Valley Museum, tour the town of Granville looking at examples of the way slate is used, and visit one of the nearly thirty quarries in operation today. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. The fee is $35 for AARCH members and $45 for non-members.

This tour will look at the distinctive rustic architecture on Big Moose Lake, including the work of Henry Covey, his son Earl, and the Martin family. The tour will include visits to the Big Moose Chapel and Manse, The Waldheim, Covewood Lodge, Brown Gables, and two camps on Crag Point. What makes many of these buildings unusual is their vertical half-log construction. The tour, led by AARCH's Steven Engelhart, begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $40 for AARCH members and $50 for non-members.

Visit the remarkably intact resort community originally developed in the late 19th century by Fred and Mary Chase. We will visit many buildings and sites including The Inn at Loon Lake, the 1895 Loon Lake Golf Course, Clubhouse, and Caddy House, as well as several private camps, cottages, and boathouses. This is a wonderful opportunity to see one of the region's most special places. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The tour fee is $40 for AARCH members and $50 for non-members. TOUR FILLED

As a gateway community to the Adirondack region, the city of Malone prospered during the late 19th century. People came to the area for the affordable land and made their fortunes growing hops and harvesting lumber. Steady wealth, in addition to access to the railroad, led to the construction of dozens of buildings representing the Victorian era of architecture. Wonderful examples of elaborately adorned and painted Queen Anne and Italianate homes line the streets, many meticulously maintained. The day will begin with a visit to the Franklin County Historical & Museum Society, followed by a walking tour of an historic neighborhood including several interiors. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $30 for AARCH and FCHMS members and $40 for non-members. TOUR FILLED

New Russia's first settlers were not from Russia. They were Revolutionary War veterans from Vermont who came to the Champlain valley to farm. By 1825 farming had given way to iron mining, which was succeeded at the end of the century by the tourism industry. Led by local historian, Maggie Bartley, we'll explore remnants from these various stages and learn how they have shaped the identity of New Russia, located near Elizabethtown; and where the name actually came from. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $30 for AARCH and Essex County Historical Society members and $40 for non-members.

Mt. McGregor is the home to Grant's Cottage and Mt. McGregor Correctional Facility. The latter is a compound of buildings that sprawls along the mountaintop and was constructed in 1912 as a tuberculosis hospital by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company to care for its afflicted employees. By the 1940s it had become a veteran's camp, and then a center for people with developmental disabilities. After a period of vacancy, the site reopened in 1976 as a medium security prison. Just over the fence is the cottage where Ulysses S. Grant spent his final months completing his memoirs before succumbing to throat cancer in 1885. The tour will be led by Wilton Town historian, Jeannine Woutersz, and will include a visit to the Wilton Heritage Museum. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $40 for AARCH and Wilton Heritage Society members and $50 for non-members.

The village of Wanakena was established in 1902 by the Rich Lumber Company. Having purchased 16,000 acres on the southwest side of Cranberry Lake, the company dismantled its company housing and other facilities in Granere, Pennsylvania, moved them via railroad, and reassembled them in Wanakena. When Rich left Wanakena for Vermont in 1912, rather than dismantling the worker's houses, they were sold to residents and tourists as summer camps. Bill Gleason will lead us on a walking tour to look at some of the original company houses. We will enjoy a barbecue lunch at the Pinecone Restaurant's lakeside pavilion and then carpool to the New York Ranger School, which has offered a forestry program since 1912 and was built on land donated by the lumber company. The day will conclude with a visit to Knollwood, designed and built by Dr. Frederick R. Calkins in 1915. A complex of three summer camp buildings and a pedestrian suspension bridge, Knollwood is located at the Inlet on the Oswegatchie River. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $45 for AARCH members and $55 for non-members. Lunch is included.

In 1920, Lyon and Horace de Camp, and Fred Reusswig, incorporators of Ga-Wan- Ka, purchased 17,000 acres of timberland with the intention of developing Thendara and the lands around Old Forge into a resort. The tract designated for development included First and Second Lakes of the Fulton Chain, Rondaxe and West Mountain Lake, Lotus and Nameless Lakes, Deer Land and Okara Lakes and twenty-two miles of frontage on the Moose River.

New York architect H. Van Buren Magonigle (1867-1935) was hired to design the buildings. Influenced by Japanese architecture-he designed the American Embassy in Tokyo- his recommendation for Okara was Japanese-style cottages and buildings with the characteristic irimoya roof and bright yellow and red trim.

Only camps designed by Magonigle or those with his approval were permitted in Ga-Wan-Ka. A few models were built, and sold quickly; additional cottages were then added to the site. After the deaths of Lyon and then Horace in 1954, the de Camp holdings were sold at auction. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $35 for AARCH and Adirondack Museum members and $45 for non-members.

This boat and walking tour will include visits to Camp Pine Knot, St. William's on Long Point, and portions of The Antlers, a former hotel. William West Durant built Pine Knot beginning in the late 1870s and it was here that he first developed the features and details we now associate with Adirondack rustic architecture. Saratoga Springs architect R. Newton Brezee, a friend of Durant's, designed The Antlers in 1886. It originally operated as a hotel and cottage resort. Durant was also responsible for building Catholic St. William's in 1890 to provide services for his employees. The tour begins at 10 a.m., includes a one-mile walk along a wooded trail, and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $45 for AARCH members and $55 for non-members.

Travel by foot and boat with Mary Hotaling, who will lead one of our most popular tours of two turn-of-the-century Great Camps on Upper Saranac Lake, both designed by William L. Coulter (1865- 1907) and his firm. The tour will include Prospect Point, Eagle Island, and a slide lecture by Mary Hotaling. This is a rare opportunity to see some of the best rustic architecture in the region. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $45 for AARCH members and $55 for non-members.

During the early 20th century, Speculator, and the surrounding town of Lake Pleasant, grew as a year round tourist destination. This tour will look at that growth by visiting five properties around Lake Pleasant that represent the culture of second homes from this period. They vary in style, history, and use and include Bearhurst, which was featured in Ann Stillman O'Leary's Adirondack Style; Northwoods Lodge (c. 1939), which has remained in the same family since its construction; as well as three other unique camps. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $30 and is open only to AARCH sponsors, benefactors, and patrons. TOUR FILLED

Tour one of the oldest and largest paper mills in the Adirondacks, recently re-opened as Newton Falls Fine Paper Company, and the community that it created. The day will include a tour of the mill where you will see all phases of production and learn the history of the mill. This will be followed by a walking tour of Newton Falls, led by a former resident, exploring this largely intact company town. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. The fee is $35 for AARCH members and $45 for non-members.

During the late 19th century Orrin Clark, along with sons Solomon and Lewis, operated a successful quarry on Ligonier Point in Willsboro, providing "bluestone" for a number of regional buildings, as well as the Champlain Canal and the Brooklyn Bridge. In addition to the quarry the Clarks ran a dairy farm and a shipbuilding business. This tour will visit the quarry remains; the Clarks' homestead, Old Elm; Scragwood, the quarry master's house, and the surrounding grounds. These buildings have remained nearly untouched since the Clarks' occupancy, providing a rare view of life at the turn of the century. You will also be able to explore the family's history through extensive documents meticulously organized in a private collection. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $35 for AARCH and Essex County Historical Society members and $45 for non-members.

This bus tour will explore more than a dozen bridges that cross the Ausable River. Bridge historian Richard Sanders Allen has said "There are few watercourses in America, comparable in length to the Ausable, over which so many early bridge types remain." Among them are an 1843 stone arch bridge, the 1857 Jay Covered Bridge, an 1888 pedestrian suspension bridge, a variety of metal truss bridges, several stonefaced reinforced concrete bridges, and the 222-foot steel arch bridge that spans Ausable Chasm. All of these were placed on the National Register in 1999. AARCH's Steven Engelhart, author of Crossing the River: Historic Bridges of the Ausable River, will lead the tour. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $30 for AARCH and Essex County Historical Society members and $40 for non-members.

Rockwell Kent is widely known as an extraordinary American artist as well as a social activist. Less well known is that Kent was trained as an architect and, while living at his home at Asgaard farm near AuSable Forks, designed and remodeled several buildings in the area. This tour will visit the farm and four other building and remodeling projects: the Brewster and Untermeyer houses in Elizabethtown, and the Cowdin House and a barbershop in AuSable Forks. The tour will be led by Anne Mackinnon, author of "A Home to Live and Breathe: The Adirondack Architecture of Rockwell Kent," which appeared in Adirondack Life. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The tour fee is $35 for AARCH and Essex County Historical Society members and $45 for non-members.

Wealthy Ticonderoga patron, Horace Moses, made his fortune in the paper business but never forgot his roots, making several substantial contributions to his home town. His philanthropy funded the construction of several buildings such as the Community Building, the Hancock House, and the Moses -Ludington Hospital. Popular during the early 20th century, and a favorite of Moses was the Neoclassical style. The monumental proportions of this style made it a common choice for civic structures nationwide, but rare in the Adirondacks. This outing will look at Moses' impact on Ticonderoga and will discuss the elements of Neoclassical architecture. The tour, led by AARCH Executive Director, Steven Engelhart, and Ticonderoga Town Historian, Bill Dolback, begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $30 for AARCH, Essex County Historical Society and Ticonderoga Historical Society members and $40 for non-members.

Farming has been important to the Champlain Valley for more than two centuries. On this southern Clinton County tour, we will explore a series of homesteads and farms from the early 19th century to the present day, which will collectively show how farming has changed over time. We'll begin the day at the newly opened Babbie Rural & Farm Learning Museum, then visit the Keese Homestead (circa 1795) built by Quaker settlers in a community called The Union. Other stops include Forrence Orchards, one of the largest McIntosh orchards in the state; Remillard Dairy Farm, family owned for three generations; and finally Clover Mead Farm, where we'll see how organic cheese is made and sample their exceptional line of farm-fresh products. Led by AARCH's Steven Engelhart, the tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $35 for AARCH and Clinton County Historical Association members and $45 for non-members.

Rooted in the progressive movement of the late 19th and early 20th century, children's summer camps reached their peak of development in the 1920s and 30s. Whether promoting equal opportunity for girls, experiential learning opportunities in an outdoor setting, or serving as recreational boarding schools, these camps were often a child's first introduction to the world of nature and outdoor recreation. This walking and boat tour will explore the architecture and history of three sites that exhibit the evolution of camps over the past century: Pyramid Life, Southwoods, and Word of Life.

The tour will be led by Hallie Bond, curator of the Adirondack Museum's 2003 exhibit, "A Paradise for Boys and Girls: Children's Camps in the Adirondacks," and co-author of the book of the same title. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $40 for AARCH and Essex County Historical Society members and $50 for non-members. Lunch is included.

In the early 20th century yearly flooding of the Sacandaga and Hudson Rivers caused extreme damage to the communities located in the Sacandaga Valley, which then included a significant amusement park, a rail line, and a number of cottages. In an attempt to manage the rivers, the valley was evacuated and the Conklingville Dam was built in 1930, filling the valley with billions of gallons of water creating the Great Sacandaga Lake.

Local resident and AARCH board member Willem Monster will tell the story of Sacandaga Park and the resort community that once was, and how the valley came to be hidden beneath the Great Sacandaga Lake. We will travel from the former Fulton, Johnstown & Gloversville train station to the Conklingville Dam, exploring the use of dams to regulate water flow and the effect on the surrounding environs. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $35 for AARCH members and $45 for non-members.

The Clinton Correctional Facility at Dannemora, originally built in 1845, is the third oldest and the largest prison in New York State. This unique opportunity will take us inside this maximum-security prison where we will visit a cellblock modeled on the "Auburn System," the Church of the Good Thief built entirely by inmates, the North Yard, workshops, and the former Dannemora State Hospital. The history of the prison is fascinating and its architecture most dramatic. The tour begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. The fee is $35 for AARCH and Clinton County Historical Association members and $45 for non-members.

This outing will feature walking tours of two Hudson River villages: North Creek, with its distinctive Main Street and restored historic railroad depot (www.northcreekdepotmuseum.com), where Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was informed of President McKinley's death in 1901; and the hamlet of Riparius, including the Epworth Institute, a 19th century summer religious colony. Best of all, we'll travel between these two villages on the Upper Hudson River Railroad train! The tour will be led by members of the Johnsburg Historical Society and AARCH staff. The tour begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. The fee is $40 for AARCH and JHS members and $50 for non-members.

Santanoni was built for Robert and Anna Pruyn of Albany beginning in 1892. The estate eventually included 12,900 acres and nearly four-dozen buildings. Led by AARCH staff, the tour will include stops at the Gate Lodge, Santanoni's 200-acre farm, and the Main Camp on Newcomb Lake where we'll see the ongoing restoration of the Main Camp complex and learn first hand about the conservation planning and restoration work. The round-trip walk is 9.8 miles on a gently sloping carriage road. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $20 for AARCH and Essex County Historical Society members and $30 for non-members. A limited number of seats are available on a horse-drawn wagon for an additional $20 fee.

Born in AuSable Forks in 1913, Arto Monaco began drawing at an early age. He attended Pratt Institute in New York City, and later, worked for MGM studios in Hollywood. During World War II, he designed and constructed "Annadorf," a faux German village in the hills north of Los Angeles where American soldiers experienced, prior to going to war, the cultural ambience and the dangers of a German town. After the war, he created Santa's Workshop on the slopes of Whiteface Mountain not far from his studio in Upper Jay. This pioneering theme park opened in 1947.

During the early 1950s, Arto built the Land of Makebelieve in Upper Jay. Everything was scaled for children who were encouraged to explore the park as their parents relaxed nearby. Join us on this behind-the-scenes tour of Santa's Workshop and the Land of Makebelieve, starting with a slide presentation by Bob Reiss, son of Santa's Workshop founder Julian Reiss. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The fee is $40 for AARCH and Essex County Historical Society members and $50 for non-members. Lunch is included.

The Atlas-F ICBM silo was designated by the US Airforce in 1960 as Boquett 556-5, or Lewis Missile Base, as part of the Plattsburgh Ballistic program, which consisted of twelve missile sites located in Northeastern New York and Northwestern Vermont. These sites were located more or less on the perimeter of a circle with Plattsburgh Air Force Base as the center. The topography of the site varied from flat pasture or meadowland of the Lake Champlain vicinity to the mountainous rough, boulder strewn and forested lands of the Adirondack Mountains. All silos were built from a template design, and regardless of where any one silo was located, the layout, specification, building process and time frame always remained the same.

After remaining vacant for a number of years, the silo was purchased in 1998 and is now in private ownership. Extensive renovations have been made to turn the silo into a second home. There will be three tours beginning at: 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2 p.m. The fee is $20 for AARCH and Essex County Historical Society members and $30 for non-members.

In 1920, Marjorie Merriweather Post purchased what was then known as Camp Kanosa, from Alvin Lothrop, who had purchased the camp in 1897. Mrs. Post began extensive renovations to the camp, concentrating on the Main Lodge and the boathouse. At this time, she was married to E.F. Hutton and the camp's name was changed to Camp Hutridge. Mrs. Post continued to purchase additional property to add to the camp, including one acre in 1924, 85 acres in 1938, and the final 118 acres in 1957. In the early 20s, several additional cabins were added to the camp. Building continued throughout the 1920s under the guidance of local builder Ben Muncil and many Brighton residents. In the mid to late 1930s, the Russian Dacha was built by Mrs. Post as an office for her then current husband, Joseph Davies, who was the ambassador to Russia at that time. The camp's name was changed to Camp Topridge.

Join us for this rare opportunity to tour this private camp. The tour begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. The fee is $50 for AARCH members and $60 for non-members. TOUR FILLED

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