Making History in Saranac Lake

Making History in Saranac Lake. Heavyweights and Intellectuals. Saranac Lake has been the “Gateway to the Wilderness” since the 1850s. With the arrival of the railroad came an eclectic assortment of travelers who made history in Saranac Lake. The early 1900s saw Saranac Lake become a fashionable destination resort, with two railroads and more than thirty taxi companies. Luminaries such as Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, Al Jolson and Somerset Maugham sought rejuvenation of body and spirit here. U.S. Presidents Harrison, McKinley, Coolidge and Theodore Roosevelt also visited , many arriving at and departing from the Union Depot. Norwegian anthropologist Carl Lumholtz and Hungarian composer Béla Bartók visited here. The Union Depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places., Finding Solace in the Wilderness , Mark Twain brought his family to Saranac Lake in the summer of 1901, seeking peace and quiet., Early Adventurers , William J. Stillman's preliminary drawing captures a group of eminent intellectuals from Cambridge, Massachusetts, including poet/philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, arriving for a month-long camping trip in August, 1857. On their way to the Philosophers Camp, on Follensby Pond near Tupper Lake, they stayed at Martin's Hotel on Lower Saranac Lake. ”At Martin's beach/We chose our boats; each man a boat and guide,” wrote Emerson in, The Adirondacs, his epic poem describing the trip., Seeking Open Space , Albert Einstein found sailing the Saranac Lakes in his small boat a perfect way to contemplate new ideas. Local stories abound of his boat toppling over in choppy waters one summer. Word of mouth has it that he was rescued by a nine-year old boy., Swan Song , Hungarian composer Béla Bartók fled Nazi persecution in 1943 for New York. Concerto for Orchestra was written on commission in Saranac Lake and became one of his most popular works, reviving a fading career., Affairs of State Resolved in Camp , President Calvin Coolidge spent summers in the Adirondacks at White Pine Camp , known as the summer White House , in Paul Smiths. He and his wife came in to Saranac Lake to attend church on Sundays., Gifts to Remember , Al Jolson once performed a three-hour solo at the Pontiac Theater. In 1952 he donated all his future song royalties to the Trudeau tubercular ward at Saranac Lake. , William Morris, founder of the William Morris Theatrical Agency, invited his theatrical clients to his private retreat, Camp Intermission on Lake Colby. The State bought it in 1961 and renamed it Camp Colby. This park near the Depot is named after him. A fund was established in memory of William Morris to provide for care and additions to the Adirondack Research Room at the Saranac Lake Free Library., (photo captions) , . The Chateaugay Railroad brought the first train to Saranac Lake late in 1887 , . Camp of the Adirondack Club, Follansbee Lake, 1857 , . Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) at Camp , . Albert Einstein , . Béla Bartók , . President Calvin Coolidge and wife step off the train , . Al Jolson (center) and William Morris (right) and entourage arrive at Union Depot, Design: D.E. Leifheit, Point of View, Paul Smiths , Funding: NYS Department of Transportation , Installation: Barrett Paving, Watertown, NY , Fabrication: Folia, Canada , Writers: Mary Hotaling, Susan Waters , Photo Credits: Trudeau Institute Archives, Saranac Lake, Historic Saranac Lake, Saranac Lake Free Library