—Part Three —
In order to acquire land before prices rose higher, James Galvin’s group purchased the 6,000-plus acre Munn tract, a rectangle that included the head of Fourth Lake, Fifth, Sixth, two thirds of Seventh Lake and a portion of Limekiln Lake’s shores.
The buyers then formed the Fulton Chain Club, a clone of the Adirondack League Club, and attempted to establish a preserve with similar rules.
However, this plan failed to attract members and agent James Galvin and his surveyors subdivided the lakes’ shorelines into camp lots to sell for camps.
Though several books covering recreational visits were written about the Adirondacks from the 1840s to the 1860s, not until Adirondack Murray’s narrative extolling the wonders of the region was published in 1869 did visitors of all classes come in great numbers to the region.
Initially, guides were overwhelmed by this volume as were the small number of dwellings available for temporary housing.
Dr. Webb’s railroad finished in 1892, then a connecting line from Thendara (called Fulton Chain) to the steamers at Old Forge dock completed in 1896 and a third line opening in 1900 connecting Clearwater (now Carter Station) to Raquette Lake via Eagle Bay created the access necessary for visitors to consider buying property for camps and in some cases opening hotels.
Guideboats were replaced by steamers in 1883 (the Hunter), the Fulton in 1887 and by others in the 1890s.
Steamers were replaced by the 1900 opening of the Raquette Lake Railroad.
Dr. Webb’s railroad access encouraged the towns and counties to build “highways”:
The Sucker Brook Bay road to Eagle Bay which opened in Spring 1896; William West Durant built the Mohegan Road from J.P. Morgan’s Camp Uncas past Eighth Lake and Cascade Lakes to Big Moose Station, finished in December, 1896; and the Town of Webb finished their road from Old Forge to Eagle Bay by June 1899.
The transportation options now made it feasible for travelers to have camps of their own and stay for longer periods, though still mostly during the summer months.
I have mentioned some of the early camps on Seventh Lake which until the late 1890s were reachable only by foot, wagon and/or boat.
As early as 1887 and as late as 1903, the New York, Boston and Rochester members of the Manhattan Club continued annual trips to Seventh Lake.
It was the 1903 trip that may have been Fred Hess’s final guiding job before leaving Inlet permanently to reside in Maine.
The 1903 Manhattan Club had an all-star group of guides to serve them: camp builder Artemus M. Church, Fred Hess, Everett Van Arnam, Raymond Norton and Eri Delmarsh.
Hess and Church had guided the1887 party.
Raymond was the son of the original owner of the Seventh Lake House, Duane Norton.
Eri later built Delmarsh Inn on Limekiln Lake.
According to Grady, the membership was limited to eight men and was located on the “upper north shore” probably on State land.1