Ausable Club
Encyclopedia
__notoc__
The Ausable Club, in St. Huberts, New York, is the name of a club and the clubhouse of the Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR), which was formed in 1887 to save the lands around Beede's Hotel from lumbering. The Reserve once owned most of the Adirondack High Peaks. The club is also the home of the Adirondack Trail Improvement Society
, known as A.T.I.S, which developed and still maintains many of the trails to the high peaks. The clubhouse property, also known as St. Hubert's Inn, Beede House, or Beede Heights Hotel, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
Club members have included Harvard president James Conant
, clergyman Henry Sloane Coffin
, aeronautical engineer Jerome Hunsaker, painter Harold Weston
, and US Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson
, who blazed a trail up nearby Noonmark Mountain that is still in use.
The grounds of the club and the lands of the AMR are open to the public, and provide access to many of the High peaks trails: Basin Mountain
, Mount Skylight
, Mount Marcy
, Mount Haystack
, Mount Colvin
, Nippletop Mountain, Dial Mountain
, Lower Wolfjaw Mountain
, Upper Wolfjaw Mountain
, Armstrong Mountain, Gothics
, Sawteeth, Saddleback Mountain
, Noonmark Mountain
, Round Mountain
, and Rainbow and Beaver Meadow Falls.
hotels to cater to wealthy sportsmen eager to escape city life during the summer, a phenomenon that predated the Civil War
, but that was greatly accelerated by advances in transportation offered by steam ships and railroads. Beede's was notorious for its austere accommodations, but no less famous for its setting near Upper and Lower Ausable Lakes and the Ausable River, and for its views of Giant
and Noonmark Mountains, Sawteeth
and Mount Colvin. Guides were available to lead parties up the rocky ravine of the Ausable to lean-to
shelters on the lakes, and thence to the high peaks above.
When, in 1887, it became known that the woods around Beede's was going to be timbered by the lumber company which owned them, a prominent Philadelphia mining engineer, William G. Neilson, joined with several friends to purchase 25000 acres (101.2 km²), including the two lakes and nearby mountains, thus forming the AMR. Although the Reserve prohibited hunting and camping, the land remained open to the public for hiking. The AMR added to its holdings, reaching a peak of 40000 acres (16,187.4 ha) in 1910. However, in 1933 and again in 1978, land was sold to the state of New York as part of the Adirondack Park, so that present holdings amount to about 7000 acres (2,832.8 ha).
In 1890, the owners of the Reserve formed the Keene Heights Hotel Company, with a plan to purchase Beede's Hotel, but the building burned to the ground in March. Philadelphia architectural firm Wilson Brothers & Company
was hired to design St. Hubert's Inn, and four months later the new hotel was opened in the present structure. However, by 1904, the venture proved unprofitable, and was closed. The following year, the AMR's owners formed the Ausable Club, and purchased the hotel property as a clubhouse.
details, arranged in two long blocks joined at a 22.5 degree angle where a large 3-story octagonal porch provides sheltered access to the surrounding views. In addition, a porch runs the full length of the first floor. Protected by its status as a clubhouse, the building has suffered remarkably little change, inside or out, since it was built.
Adirondack Trail Improvement Society
The Adirondack Trail Improvement Society is a nonprofit organization based at the Ausable Club in St. Huberts, New York, founded in 1897 to ensure regular maintenance and consistent marking of the trails in the St. Huberts and Ausable Lakes area of the Adirondack High Peaks...
, known as A.T.I.S, which developed and still maintains many of the trails to the high peaks. The clubhouse property, also known as St. Hubert's Inn, Beede House, or Beede Heights Hotel, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Club members have included Harvard president James Conant
James Conant
James Conant may refer to:* James Bryant Conant , American chemist and educational administrator* James F. Conant , American philosopher...
, clergyman Henry Sloane Coffin
Henry Sloane Coffin
Henry Sloane Coffin was president of the Union Theological Seminary, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA, and one of the most famous ministers in the U.S...
, aeronautical engineer Jerome Hunsaker, painter Harold Weston
Harold Weston
Harold Weston was an influential American modernist painter whose work included impressionism, realism and abstraction, as well as a highly regarded political activist.-Early life:...
, and US Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson
Henry L. Stimson
Henry Lewis Stimson was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican Party politician and spokesman on foreign policy. He twice served as Secretary of War 1911–1913 under Republican William Howard Taft and 1940–1945, under Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the latter role he was a leading hawk...
, who blazed a trail up nearby Noonmark Mountain that is still in use.
The grounds of the club and the lands of the AMR are open to the public, and provide access to many of the High peaks trails: Basin Mountain
Basin Mountain (New York)
Basin is the ninth-highest peak of the High Peaks Region in the Adirondack Park in New York, USA. The peak was named by Verplanck Colvin for several basins formed between knobs on its slopes. It is located in the High Peaks Wilderness Area...
, Mount Skylight
Mount Skylight
Mount Skylight is a mountain in the Great Range of the Adirondack High Peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. It gets its name from its open, bare and relatively flat summit, unusual in the Adirondack High Peaks....
, Mount Marcy
Mount Marcy
Mount Marcy is the highest point in New York State, with an elevation of . It is a popular destination for hikers due to its stature and great views, and the peak can get very crowded in the summer months...
, Mount Haystack
Mount Haystack
Mount Haystack is a mountain in the Great Range of the Adirondack High Peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. It is the third highest peak in the state, after Algonquin Peak and Mount Marcy. It gets its name from the resemblance of its rounded, conical peak to a haystack...
, Mount Colvin
Mount Colvin
Mount Colvin is the 39th highest peak in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondack Mountains, in the state of New York, USA. Mount Colvin offers excellent views of a number of other Adirondack High Peaks, most notably the peaks that comprise the Great Range...
, Nippletop Mountain, Dial Mountain
Dial Mountain
Dial Mountain is a mountain located in Essex County, New York.The mountain is part of the Colvin Range.Dial Mountain is flanked to the southwest by Nippletop....
, Lower Wolfjaw Mountain
Lower Wolfjaw Mountain
Lower Wolfjaw Mountain is located in Essex County, New York. Landscape artist Alexander Helwig Wyant named Lower Wolfjaw, together with neighboring Upper Wolfjaw Mountain, about 1870 for their appearance in profile. The mountain is the northeasternmost of the Adirondack High Peaks in the Great...
, Upper Wolfjaw Mountain
Upper Wolfjaw Mountain
Upper Wolfjaw Mountain is a mountain located in Essex County, New York.Landscape artist Alexander Helwig Wyant named the mountain, in combination with neighboring Lower Wolfjaw Mountain, circa 1870 for their appearance in profile....
, Armstrong Mountain, Gothics
Gothics
Gothics is the tenth highest of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Park in New York, USA. Much of the mountain is covered in bare rock slides, which give the mountain its name due to their resemblance to Gothic architecture. The summit has near 360 degree views, which combined with its location in...
, Sawteeth, Saddleback Mountain
Saddleback Mountain (Keene, New York)
Saddleback Mountain is a mountain located in Essex County, New York.The mountain is part of the Great Range of the Adirondack Mountains.The long summit ridge has peaks at each end with a pronounced dip between, giving it the profile of a saddle....
, Noonmark Mountain
Noonmark Mountain
Noonmark Mountain is a mountain near St. Huberts in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks in New York, USA. The prominent peak provides 360-degree views, including the Great Range, the Dix Range, Giant Mountain, the Ausable River valley, and the village of Keene.There are two trails up the...
, Round Mountain
Round Mountain
-United States:Communities*Round Mountain, California*Round Mountain, Nevada*Round Mountain, TexasMountains*Round Mountain *Round Mountain * Round Mountain in Gallatin County, Montana* Round Mountain in Mineral County, Montana...
, and Rainbow and Beaver Meadow Falls.
History
The present clubhouse sits on the 600 acres (242.8 ha) site of Beede's Hotel, built in 1876. Beede's was one of the first of the AdirondackAdirondack
__notoc__Adirondack may refer to:*Adirondack Mountains, *Adirondack County, New York, a proposed county in New York...
hotels to cater to wealthy sportsmen eager to escape city life during the summer, a phenomenon that predated the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, but that was greatly accelerated by advances in transportation offered by steam ships and railroads. Beede's was notorious for its austere accommodations, but no less famous for its setting near Upper and Lower Ausable Lakes and the Ausable River, and for its views of Giant
Giant Mountain
Giant Mountain is the twelfth highest peak in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondack Park, in New York, USA. The peak is also known as "Giant of the Valley," due to its stature looking over Keene Valley and St. Huberts to the west...
and Noonmark Mountains, Sawteeth
Sawteeth (New York)
Sawteeth is a mountain located in Essex County, New York.The mountain is part of the Great Range of the Adirondack Mountains.The mountain's name comes from the serrated appearance of its summit ridge....
and Mount Colvin. Guides were available to lead parties up the rocky ravine of the Ausable to lean-to
Lean-to
A lean-to is a term used to describe a roof with a single slope. The term also applies to a variety of structures that are built using a lean-to roof....
shelters on the lakes, and thence to the high peaks above.
When, in 1887, it became known that the woods around Beede's was going to be timbered by the lumber company which owned them, a prominent Philadelphia mining engineer, William G. Neilson, joined with several friends to purchase 25000 acres (101.2 km²), including the two lakes and nearby mountains, thus forming the AMR. Although the Reserve prohibited hunting and camping, the land remained open to the public for hiking. The AMR added to its holdings, reaching a peak of 40000 acres (16,187.4 ha) in 1910. However, in 1933 and again in 1978, land was sold to the state of New York as part of the Adirondack Park, so that present holdings amount to about 7000 acres (2,832.8 ha).
In 1890, the owners of the Reserve formed the Keene Heights Hotel Company, with a plan to purchase Beede's Hotel, but the building burned to the ground in March. Philadelphia architectural firm Wilson Brothers & Company
Wilson Brothers & Company
A prominent Victorian-era architecture and engineering firm established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wilson Brothers & Company was especially noted for its structural expertise. The brothers designed or contributed engineering work to hundreds of bridges, railroad stations and industrial...
was hired to design St. Hubert's Inn, and four months later the new hotel was opened in the present structure. However, by 1904, the venture proved unprofitable, and was closed. The following year, the AMR's owners formed the Ausable Club, and purchased the hotel property as a clubhouse.
The clubhouse
The clubhouse is a -story clapboard building with sparing use of Queen AnneQueen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
details, arranged in two long blocks joined at a 22.5 degree angle where a large 3-story octagonal porch provides sheltered access to the surrounding views. In addition, a porch runs the full length of the first floor. Protected by its status as a clubhouse, the building has suffered remarkably little change, inside or out, since it was built.