Great Camp Sagamore (Raquette Lake, N.Y.)
administrative history
Great Camp Sagamore has had four owners. William West Durant, developer, built it from 1895-1897 and lived in the Main Lodge from 1897-1901. His bankruptcy forced him to sell. The wealthiest young man in America, A.G. Vanderbilt, purchased it in 1901. Alfred G. Vanderbilt died on the Lusitania in 1915 and his widow Margaret Emerson came here for the next 39 years with her children and grandchildren. Please refer to the Vanderbilt history section for more of this story.
Margaret, for reasons unknown to the family, gave Sagamore to Syracuse University in 1954. SU used it for the next 20 years and then decided to divest itself of the by then, dilapidated white elephant in serious disrepair. SU logged the land, sold the furnishings, and sold all but 7.7 acres of the 1526-acre estate to the State of New York for the Forest Preserve.
The 7.7 acres with the bark-covered guest buildings were saved at the 11th hour by the Preservation League of NYS that asked the State Department of Environmental Conservation to put the property up to bid to not-for-profits who might fulfill their stipulation that the buyer should be a “compatible neighbor to the Forest Preserve.”
This educational not-for-profit, now called the Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks, won the bid. In 1983, through a referendum by the voters of the state, the workers’ complex consisting of red board-and-batten buildings was reunited on its 10 acres with the 7.7 acres already under its auspices. Together, the 27 buildings were once again a great camp and a huge historic preservation challenge. Our small not-for-profit has been playing “catch-up” ever since.
Incorporated under the Department of Education and preserved authentically, Sagamore was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2000. Trustees and staff are dedicated to the stewardship of Great Camp Sagamore and to its use for educational and interpretive experiences. Great Camp Sagamore is a place where broad and diverse audiences gather to use these unique buildings and natural setting to explore and understand our culture, environment, and relationship to both. This is our mission.
Preservation is accomplished through generous support of visitors and guests and through the elbow grease of loyal volunteers who attend work weekends three times a year.
It comes as a surprise to many that Great Camp Sagamore runs on revenue with no local, state, or federal operating support. Campaigns for historic preservation are specific and announced annually. We have been the recipient of the prestigious Save America’s Treasures award.
We have spent enormous effort to preserve Great Camp Sagamore. A full historic structures report, conservation plan, and conservation policy inform our decisions and prioritize our preservation projects to assure a bright future for this unique site. You are welcome to visit and stay!