I recently ran across a tiny booklet that was apparently a real estate prospectus for property described as Paradise Park. There is no title page, only a black and white photo of a white-tailed deer graces the front cover. On the inside of the back cover we find in large letters:
Sale Agents —
William B. May & Company
717 Fifth Avenue
New York City,
Telephone, Plaza 270
Other Brokers Protected
Each page in the booklet of twenty pages contains an excellent black
and white photograph of various scenes found on and around the property.
Surrounding the pictures are descriptions of the property in flowery
prose of that time (not unlike the sales pitches of some present-day
Realtors).
The booklet must have been quite expensive to produce. I soon discovered
that “Paradise Park” was the lands on and near Big Tupper Lake that were
owned by the Colonel William Barbour family. No date is given anywhere
in the booklet. However, in the introduction, reference is made to the
late Colonel Barbour. Since the Colonel died in 1917, the booklet is
no earlier than that date. Also, since we know that the state in 1918
purchased some of the property described as being for sale, we can assume
somewhat safely that the date for the booklet was that year. This gives
us a time frame for the interesting and historically significant descriptions
in the booklet. The state, which certainly acted with more dispatch that
we see today with its bureaucratic lawyers, purchased in April of that
year 190 acres of Colonel Barbour’s estate for $150,000. Excluded from
the sale were the various buildings and the farm (see booklet).
These became in 1922 the nucleus of what was known as the American Legion
Mountain Camp of the American Legion Department of the State of New York.
It included 18 buildings, a road right-of-way to the railroad at Horseshoe
Lake (today’s Route 421), and a few lots on that lake. The purchase price
was $85,000. The local chamber of commerce helped bring the Legion to
this area by sparking a fund-raising drive that contributed $10,000 to
the project.
This was a truly amazing contribution in those money-tight years. What
is even more amazing, however, is that later that same year, this community
then raised and additional $20,000 hard-earned dollars this time to buy
the 160-acre Hosley Farm and offered it to the government for $1 as an
inducement to locate a proposed new hospital for ailing veterans here.
An offer which was accepted on June 26, 1922 and became the Sunmount
we know today and which has meant so much to the growth and economic
stability of our Tip-Top Town.
For younger readers, let me put the amount of money raised by this community
into perspective. The average wage for laborers in 1921 was $4 per hour.
A carpenter earned $4.25 per hour. Thirty-thousand dollars was a very
large sum of money. Indeed, it would be close to $150,000 in today’s
dollars.
To continue the “Legion Camp” story, it may be worth mentioning that
at that time the only access to the “camp” was by boat from the village
or by a five-mile dirt road from the Horseshoe railroad station. Subsequently,
the State of New York, by a special act of the Legislature, built a two-mile
macadam road from the Tupper Long Lake highway to the camp, with a graceful
stone bridge arching above Bog River Falls.
Many people in this community have strong and lasting ties evoking warm,
happy thoughts of the property described in that handsome prospectus.
They have hiked, camped, fished, and yes, “partied” on what is today
state land, which has become a wonderful resource for the public. In
addition, with the establishment of the American Legion Mountain Camp,
hundreds of Tupper Lake youngsters of several generations worked there
as staff members. Here they learned to row a boat, to swim, to fall in
love, to bowl, to hike, and to meet new and interesting people at all
levels of the social strata.
Here many of them earned their first wages and developed proper work
ethics under the stern tutelage of administrators like Joe Burns and
other fair but demanding employers who followed him.
The booklet, then, provides those who care a look back to what this writer
feels is an encumbancy to convey some understanding of what early life
on our lake was like for grandchildren, relatives, and newcomers who
will stand in our shoes.
I hope you enjoy the passages quoted from that rare booklet that follow:
The Sporting Estate of the late Col. William Barbour, which has been
in the family for about sixty years, having been originally established
as a Sporting Club, and finally taken over by Col. Barbour at least 25
years ago, since which time it has been his personal hobby, and having
been carefully protected and preserved, is today unquestionably the finest
Fishing and Hunting Estate in the Mountains. It has an almost unique
possession of virgin forest, the only timber ever having been cut, being
softwood, excepting on a small portion of low-land purchased within the
last three years from the estate of Augustus A. Low, the object of this
purchase being to connect the estate itself directly with the New York
Central Railroad tracks, making available a private station at Horseshoe,
which gives easy access to the property.
Big Tupper Lake, being situated directly in the heart of the Mountains,
is preserved from the public by the fact that the entire upper portion
is owned by Mr. Edward H. Litchfield, and “PARADISE PARK.” The Hamlet
of Moody is on the lower end of the lake, eight miles distant, about
which there are several smaller camps. The effect of this is that the
Deer and other shooting is unsurpassed. Beaver abound and are more abundant
than they have been for fifty years. Excellent examples of their interesting
work in damming the brooks and streams may be seen about Bridge Brook
Pond — fifteen and twenty being frequently seen at that same time. Bear
are still more abundant here than in any other part of the Woods and
German Wild Boar introduced but a few years ago seem to be becoming numerous.
Fox, rabbit, hare, otter, and other small game are fairly abundant. There
are also a large number of partridge and other game such as one might
expect to find in so highly preserved an estate. The fishing is more
than excellent. In the lake itself are bass and pike, while in the deeper
waters lake trout and white fish are abundant, the latter affording wonderful
sport. On the property are numerous trout streams and two lakes: one,
Bridge Brook, a natural trout pond, has been stocked not only with additional
brook trout but with steel head trout as well. Horseshoe Pond is famous
throughout the Adirondacks for the size of the brook trout taken there,
frequently running from three to four and a half pounds. The trout streams
include Bear Pond Brook, which is an affluent of the Little Tupper Lake
Stream, and was purchased separately from the rest of the property for
protection. From all the lakes are also trout streams which provide excellent
sport for spring fishing.
One of the most remarkable features is the fact that the Railroad connection
from New York and Boston permits one to breakfast at the camp after one
night’s traveling from either point and yet the estate is so isolated
that after leaving the railroad the entire trip to camp is through the
preserve. Arriving there and looking out over the great expanse of lake
not a house is to be seen.
Big Tupper Lake is 1,590 feet above sea level, other portions of the
preserve, however, are much higher. The scenic views are absolutely unsurpassed
and from the main camp Mount Morris, one of the higher peaks in the entire
mountains, looms up across the lake and, covered as it is with hardwood
forest, is a magnificent sight in September and October.
Outside of a road built from Foxhall Pond to Black Pond and also one
from Horseshoe to the camp, the entire estate has been saved from the
spoliation of roads, etc., the trails being the only means of communication
throughout the wilderness.
The site for the main camp was chosen sixty years ago on account of the
peculiar conformation of the shore at this point giving direct views
not only down the lake but also to the Bog River Falls, one of the greatest
torrents in the Woods. The stand of virgin pines surrounding the buildings
is unique and only possible because of the sandy soil at this particular
point and the long care which as been taken of it. It is perhaps interesting
to note that these pines are reproducing themselves and smaller trees
are ready to replace the old ones should they die out.
The buildings are attractive on account of their simplicity, being of
the same construction and character throughout the entire preserve, all
covered with Florida hand-hewn cypress shingles which wear to a charming
silver gray tint. They consist of three main camps and the farm buildings.
The principal camp is on Paradise Point and has a series of detached
and semi-detached buildings. there are more or less 20 in all — a large
main dining-room with big open fireplace, the walls covered with trophies
taken from the preserve. Attached to the dining-room are adequate servants’
quarters, etc., all being so thoroughly well arranged and so complete
that no difficulty has ever beenexperienced in keeping City servants.
A covered veranda connects the dining-room with the living-room which
is probably 30x60 and from which open window in all directions. In this
room there is another of the great fireplaces built by the guides, of
rocks blasted nearby, which is a feature of almost every room in the
entire camp. There are connected with this room masters’ bedrooms and
baths, also two guests’ room above and two detached guests’ houses with
baths. In addition to these, are guides’ houses, guides’ dining-room,
kitchen, etc., and two large icehouses.
At the foot of the dining-room steps is the celebrated Coleman Spring
which has been mentioned in every book dealing with the Adirondacks since
the discovery of the lake and which is the most famous spring in the
woods. It flows steadily year round without varying in temperature and
runs as a small stream through the front lawn to the lake. This stream
has been widened at three points to make attractive trout ponds, each
being about 20 x 20. These were made expressly to keep alive the trout
which are only slightly hooked during the summer’s fishing and here at
any time fresh fish can be had at a moment’s notice to welcome the unexpected
guest. The fish are constantly jumping and playing during the warm weather,
thus affording infinite pleasure.