View source for Raquette Lake

{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox body of water
 | name = Raquette Lake
 | image = Raquette Lake in Long Lake and Arietta, both in Hamilton County, New York.JPG
 | caption = Looking north at Strawberry Island on Raquette Lake from the southwestern corner
 | image_bathymetry =
 | caption_bathymetry =
 | pushpin_map = New York Adirondack Park#USA
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within New York
 | location = [[Adirondack Mountains]], [[Hamilton County, New York|Hamilton County]], [[New York (state)|New York]],<br>[[United States]]
 | coords =  {{Coord|43|50|N|74|39|W|type:waterbody_region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
 | type = [[Lake]]
 | inflow = [[Marion River]], [[Browns Tract Inlet]], [[Death Brook]], [[Boulder Brook]], [[Sucker Brook (Raquette Lake)|Sucker Brook]], [[South Inlet]]
 | outflow = [[Raquette River]]
 | catchment =
 | basin_countries = United States
 | length =
 | width =
 | area = {{convert|4925|acre|km2}}
 | depth = {{convert|44|ft|m}}
 | max-depth = {{convert|95|ft|m}}
 | volume =
 | residence_time =
 | shore = {{convert|99|mi|km}}
 | elevation = {{convert|1762|ft|m}}
 | islands = [[Harding Island]]<br>[[Big Island (Raquette Lake)|Big Island]]<br>[[Inman Island]]<br>[[Osprey Island (Raquette Lake)|Osprey Island]]<br>[[Hen and Chicken Islands (Raquette Lake)|Hen and Chicken Islands]]<br>[[Beecher Island (Raquette Lake)|Beecher Island]]<br>[[St. Hubert Island]]<br>Strawberry Island<br>[[Needle Island (Raquette Lake)|Needle Island]]
 | cities =
}}
[[File:Annual report (1901) (14563593820).jpg|thumb|Map of Raquette Lake and vicinity.]]
[[File:Raquette Lake Hotel - 1889 - Stoddard.jpg|thumb|Raquette Lake Hotel by [[Seneca Ray Stoddard]] (1889)]]
[[Image:Under the hemlocks - Raquette Lake - 1888 - Stoddard.jpg|thumb|Small steamers brought guests from Blue Mountain Lake via the Eckford Chain of Lakes and the [[Marion River Carry]]. <br />"Under the hemlocks" - Raquette Lake, 1888, S R Stoddard]]

'''Raquette Lake''' is a [[lake]] in the [[Adirondack Mountains]] of [[New York (state)|New York]] [[U.S. state|State]].  The [[Source (river or stream)|source]] of the [[Raquette River]], it is near the community of [[Raquette Lake, New York]]. The lake has {{convert|99|mi|km|adj=on}} shoreline, bordered with pines and mountains. It is located in the towns of [[Long Lake, New York|Long Lake]] and [[Arietta, New York|Arietta]], both in [[Hamilton County, New York|Hamilton County]].

Raquette Lake is popular, especially in summer, due to the scenery, wildlife, boating and hiking. There are several children's summer camps, including [[Raquette Lake Camps|Raquette Lake Boys Camp and Raquette Lake Girls Camp]]. In winter, substantial snowfall makes the area popular for snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. The lake is also part of the 740-mile [[Northern Forest Canoe Trail]], which begins in [[Old Forge, New York|Old Forge, NY]] and ends in [[Fort Kent, Maine|Fort Kent, ME]].

==History==
The origin of the name is uncertain. One account is that it was named for snowshoes (''raquette'' in French) left by a party of [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Tories]] led by [[Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet|Sir John Johnson]] in 1776. Traveling by snowshoe, they were overtaken by a spring thaw when they reached the lake. They left the snowshoes ''en masse'' on the shore.

Raquette Lake developed into one of the most prestigious summer getaways for the elite in the 19th century.  In 1877, [[William West Durant]] started work on what would become the first of the "[[Great Camps]]", [[Camp Pine Knot|Pine Knot]].  Other summer homes in the "great camp style" on Raquette Lake include North Point (the 1870 buildings replaced by Lucy Carnegie in 1903), [[Echo Camp]] (1883) and Bluff Point (1876).

Raquette Lake served as a midpoint to other Gilded Age retreats such as the Great Camps [[Sagamore Camp|Sagamore]] (1897; now a [[National Historic Landmark]]), [[Camp Uncas]] (1890; became a National Historic Landmark in fall 2008), and [[Kamp Kill Kare]] (1896) on nearby lakes Sagamore, Mohegan, and Kora, respectively. Sagamore is open to the public for guided tours during non-winter months and also as an educational facility.

==Bluff Point and William West Durant==
Bluff Point is still a private camp and run much as it was over 100 years ago. It was built by Francis Stott of [[Stottville, New York]], at the suggestion of Dr. [[Thomas C. Durant]].  Durant and Mrs. Stott's family had briefly been in business together as Durant, Lathrop & Co. in [[Albany, New York]], during the 1840s. When Bluff Point was sold to magazine publisher [[Robert J. Collier|Robert Collier]] in 1905, most of the original structures were modified and expanded into the present score of buildings — the huge walk-in fireplace, the bowling alley, the bridge to the gazebo, etc.

==Pine Knot and William West Durant==
{{unsourced section|date=July 2020}}
Pine Knot, Uncas and Sagamore were designed using natural materials native to the Adirondacks by [[William West Durant]], the son of [[Thomas C. Durant]]. The senior Durant was most famous for the building the eastern half of the [[Transcontinental Railroad]]. The first of these "Great Camps" was Camp Pine Knot, started by Thomas and taken over by William in 1879.  The construction continued through 1890. This artistic camp was used by W.W. Durant as a showcase, as he wined and dined railroad tycoons, selling them on the idea of his building a camp for each of them.

In 1895, W.W. Durant sold the camp to [[Collis P. Huntington]] (builder of the western half of the [[First transcontinental railroad|Transcontinental Railroad]]) in partial repayment of a debt. In 1949, [[Archer Milton Huntington|Archer Huntington]] gave the camp to [[SUNY Cortland]], to be used for education and never to be turned over to the state. In 1938, the family provided the land for the Raquette Lake Chapel in the village for $1.

William West Durant also provided the funding for two summer chapels on Raquette Lake, accessible only by water. The [[Church of the Good Shepherd (Raquette Lake, New York)|Church of the Good Shepherd]] (1880) and [[St. William's Catholic Church (Long Lake, New York)|St. William's Catholic Church on Long Point]] (1890) were each designed by [[J. Cleaveland Cady]] of [[Cady, Berg & See]], New York City.

==See also==
*[[Joe Bryere]]

==Sources==
*Donaldson, Alfred L., ''A History of the Adirondacks.''  New York: Century, 1921.  {{OCLC|1383265}}. (reprint)

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Official website |http://raquettelake.org }}
*{{cite web|url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/07/27/117980310.pdf |title=''New York Times'' "Personal Notes from Raquette Lake; Every Camp Along the Shore Now Has Tenants for the Season." July 27, 1902. }}
*{{gnis|962196}}
*[http://www.sthubertsisle.com St. Hubert's Isle - History of Raquette Lake]

{{Raquette River}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Lakes of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Lakes of Hamilton County, New York]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Hamilton County, New York]]
[[Category:Adirondack Great Camps]]
[[Category:Northern Forest Canoe Trail]]