This month we are traveling to the East Coast and visiting Lake Minnewaska in New York!
Minnewaska State Park Preserve is located in Ulster County and spans 22, 275 acres. The park overlooks the Catskill Mountains and is known for its hiking and biking trails, along with swimming, snowshoeing, and picnicking. Historically, the property was known for much more.
Quaker twin brothers Alfred and Albert Smiley bought 310 acres of land and a tavern inn in 1868 for both of their growing families, and as a source for their love of botany. As they continued to buy more land, Alfred began to build the Minnewaska Mountain House (also known as the Cliff House or Lake Mohonk Mountain House) in 1879. The house could accommodate 225 guests. His brother, Albert, built the Wildmere House across the lake and that house could accommodate 300 guests.
The brothers, being of Quaker origins, believed in a life of temperance, which meant no excessive drinking, dancing, and gambling on the property. Much of the activities surrounding the houses were outdoor and included hiking, boating, swimming, sports, horseback riding, and in the winter months, skiing.
The resort also hosted annual conference to improve the living standards of Native American populations. The meeting brought together Committees on Indian Affairs, educators, and Native American Leaders.
In 1955, Kenneth B. Phillips, Sr., general manager of the house, bought the property of the Smiley family and abandoned it in 1972 because of maintenance costs. It burned down shortly after in 1978. The Wildmere closed in 1979 after failed attempts to revive the land and burned in 1986. New York State bought property in 1987 and opened the Minnewaska State Park Preserve. The Mountain Houses were registered in 1986 in the National historic Landmarks Program. In 1993, the park was declared a preserve, which means it is now protected by law.
The houses had known notable guests John D. Rockerfeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester A. Arthur, and Bill Clinton.
Join us next time for the next travel destination!
Resources:
Lake Minnewaska. (Medical Trade Ephemera Collection) Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.
Lake Mohonk Mountain House. National Historic Landmark Program. 24 June, 1986.
Lewitt, Sam. History Timeline. Lake Minnewaska Mountain House. 2005.
New York State. Minnewaska State Park Preserve. Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Powers, Lilian D. Report of the Thirty-First Annual Annual Lake Mohonk Conference on the Indian and Other Dependent Peoples, Volume 30. Lake Mohonk Conference on the Indian and Other Dependent Peoples, 1913. Preface.
Schenkman, A.J. “Ulster County: Lake Minnewaska State Park.” The New York History Blog, 3 May, 2012.