LOCALadk Magazine

60 Spring 2020 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk Daniel Donovan By the 1850s, summer sporting tourism was starting to be- come more commonplace in many parts of the Adirondacks. As the number of visitors increased, a network of open camps developed along well-traveled wilderness routes. An unoccupied lean-to could be claimed by anyone. Experienced guides knew the locations of their own and other established open camps and planned trips accordingly. If a party of tourists planned to use a camp for an extend- ed period, guides would travel to the location ahead of time and build a sturdier lean-to. In these open camps the sides of the lean-to would sometimes be enclosed with logs or bark slabs. For example, because the Hudson River School painter Jer vis McEntee planned to stay at Smith's Lake (now called Lake Lila) for more than a week in the summer of 1851, his guide, Asa Puffer, went there in the spring and built an open camp that consisted of two lean-tos facing each other with one side enclosed by logs, a fire ring, and a chimney appar- ently made of saplings. A prime example of a long-lasting open camp was found on Constable Point along the south shore of Raquette Lake. The owners of this beautiful peninsula were the fourth American generation of the wealthy Constable family, direct descen- dants of William Constable, the financier of the Macomb Purchase (1798) and one-time owner of nearly all the Ad- irondacks. The five Constable siblings, William, John, James, Stevenson, and Anna, had a great love of camping in the cen- tral Adirondacks, and especially at Raquette Lake. The men of the family made nearly annual camping trips to the area beginning in 1833. The whole Constable family took a month-long trip to Ra- quette Lake in 1850, bringing along friends for a total of 13 campers: 7 women and 6 men. To accommodate this group, John and Stevenson Constable, along with their guide Wil- liam Higby, took a wagon of supplies along the Carthage & Lake Champlain Road to Raquette Lake two weeks before the main party. This gave them time to clear a campsite and construct two lean-tos, one for the men and one for the wom- en, separated by a decent distance for privacy. Stout boards were obtained from Long Lake to construct tables and seats. The lean-tos at Constable Point were maintained by the family for more than 30 years until they sold the property in 1884. We know that many parties used the open camp on Constable Point during this time. W. W. Murray, who was passing by with a friend and their wives in 1866, reported seeing 18 people camping on Constable Point. Indeed, when Murray published his popular book Adventures in the Wilder- ness in 1869, he recommended that tourists use the lean-tos there. We have a fairly good idea of what the open camp at Con- stable Point looked like because two accomplished artists camped there and painted the scene. Both paintings, one by Arthur F. Tait (1862) and one by Charles Themanen (1865), show a three-sided bark lean-to facing a fire pit. As the number of wilderness travelers steadily increased after 1870, guides began to construct more elaborate open camps consisting of several structures, including lean-tos, bark shanties, tents, and dining shelters. Smith's Lake was a highly favored destination. It soon hosted a number of these semi-permanent camps, including the Syracuse Camp, the

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