Chateaugay Lake has a long and colorful history. The first inhabitants were people of the Algonquin tribe, followed by settlers from New England. In the early 20th century, hotels flourished throughout the Adirondacks, and Upper Chateaugay Lake, serviced by train from New York City, boasted several resorts. The first summer camps, most of them short-lived, appeared on the lake in this period. One of the most unusual was a progressive dance camp run by Alys Bentley, a friend of Isadora Duncan, and teacher at Carnegie Hall. Other unique camps included one run by Trigant Burrow, a psychoanalyst and student of Sigmund Freud’s, as well as the music camp, Mirimichi. A variety of artists, writers, and actors also summered on the lake during this era, including Ernest Thompson Seton, whose Woodcraft League helped shape the Tanager Lodge philosophy, Sherwood Anderson, and Evelyn Nesbit.

At Tanager Lodge we house our kitchen, dining porches, and infirmary in buildings from the former Indian Point House, a turn-of-the-century hotel. Comparing Indian Point today from photos of it a century ago, we are proud to have grown rather than shrunk the surrounding wilderness.