A tale of romance from Heart Lake

Adirondak Loj history has its fair share of drama

Story and photos by Tom French

Anyone with designs on the High Peaks has probably passed through Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) property, whether it’s in Johns Brook Valley, the new Cascade Welcome Center at the former x-country ski area, or the High Peaks Information Center at Heart Lake where close to 100,000 people enter the wilderness every year making it one of largest gateways into the wild reaches of the Park.

Although ADK was founded in 1922 and moved to Heart Lake in 1932, the history begins with the “best love story of the Adirondacks” when Henry Van Hoevenberg visited the area in 1877. While climbing Mount Marcy, he met Josephine Schofield.

“Between gazing at the view and each other, they fell in love,” according to ADK Outreach Manager Maggie Newell. “Seeing a glittering pond in the distance, then called Clear Pond, they decided that is where they wanted to make their home together.”

Or not. “By some accounts, Josephine was forbidden to marry Henry and was so devastated that she threw herself off Niagara Falls. By other accounts, she wasn’t that interested in marrying and died within a few years, likely from tuberculosis, but Henry took his heartbreak and channeled it into building the original Adirondack Lodge,” said Newell. 

Van Hoevenberg purchased the property surrounding Clear Pond for a $1 an acre and built his lodge from 600 old-growth spruce trees. It may have been the largest log-cabin structure in the country at the time. “Perhaps the world,” according to Newell, who is not shy about channeling Van Hoevenberg’s penchant for exaggeration. 

At $4 a night ($16 for the week), the Lodge boasted hot and cold water for up to 60 guests along with tennis and croquet courts and annunciators that allowed guests to communicate with the front desk. A highlight was a 70-foot tower with a telescope “so powerful you could see the nail heads on the Algonquin fire tower.” 

“Part of the experience was to hear Henry’s stories” such as The Devil-Fungus, The Forsaken Village, and The Phantom Clock. ADK still passes those stores along as part of its Evening Campfire Series at Heart Lake. Newell’s favorite, The Legend of Indian Pass, tells how Henry climbed Wallface with no ropes one night while on a walk. “He gets to a cave at the top and sees two glowing ghostly eyes. He falls back off the cliff only to be caught by a spruce tree and gently lowered to the ground.”

Van Hoevenberg built over 50 miles of trails around Heart Lake with scenic features and designed so hikers wouldn’t need a guide. He also changed the name of the property’s sole peak, The Bear, to Mount Jo in memory of Josephine. Contrary to popular belief, Van Hoevenberg didn’t rename the lake. It was renamed by the Lake Placid Club because people kept confusing it with Lake Clear in Saranac Lake. 

Van Hoevenberg’s attire was distinctive. Believing that traditional wool was not durable enough, he wore custom-made leather suits in various colors complete with leather vests and bow tie. A pair of his breeches and hat are part of the Adirondack Experience collection. 

Financial difficulties led Van Hoevenberg to sell the lodge, though he continued to manage it. The Lake Placid Club acquired it in 1900. Under the direction of Melville Dewey, one of the founders of the Lake Placid Club and proponent of phonetic spellings, the name was changed to Adirondak Loj. Even the menus were printed phonetically. It burned to the ground in a forest fire in 1903. 

Convinced to leave, at gunpoint according to some, Van Hoevenberg tossed valuables such as silverware into a canoe and pushed it into Heart Lake before fleeing through Indian Pass. When he returned three days later, the lake level had dropped a foot from the heat of the fire, and the stone fireplace was all that remained of Van Hoevenberg’s Lodge. It wasn’t rebuilt until 1927, nine years after Van Hoevenberg’ death.

Adirondak Loj today

The current structure is one of architect William Distin’s earliest works (Distin also designed Debar Pond Lodge, Camp Wonundra (The Point), and several churches including St. John’s in the Wilderness in Paul Smiths), but the new Loj was not as lucrative as hoped, so the Lake Placid Club began leasing it to ADK in 1932. ADK purchased it outright in 1957. They hired Distin to design an addition that would expand the kitchen and repurpose the front porch.

In addition to accommodating 36 people in the Loj, the Heart Lake property has three classic cabins, six canvas platform tents, and a recently expanded campground with 43 sites, some with wheelchair accessibility. ADK hopes to expand accessibility further including with an ADA-compliant trail around the lake.

ADK maintains approximately 10 miles of trails on their Heart Lake property. The campus includes housing for staff, their professional trail crew, and summit stewards. In 2018, ADK built their Education Yurt Village. Close to 500 fourth graders from several area schools visit every year to participate in snowshoeing, hiking Mt Jo, and environmental education. ADK also provides a number of high school programs in the summer including week-long backpacking trips and a volunteer trail-building program.

The High Peaks Information Center, built in 1972, was remodeled in 2017 to enhance the space for educating hikers and providing the 10 Essentials. The porch was expanded to create a place for people to “gather their stuff before hitting the trails.”

In 2018, the Hungry Hiker concession stand was built with a year-round washhouse in the back. 

Trail work on the property

Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) recently co-sponsored a snowshoe tour of “the finest square mile,” the land around Heart Lake and Mt. Joe, led by Newell and Outdoor Skills Coordinator Daria Stacy. After lunch, the AARCH tour split into two groups – one that would hike 2-plus miles to Marcy Dam and the other walk along the 1-mile Heart Lake Loop. Both trips included information on ADK’s trail construction techniques. A section of the Van Hoevenberg Trail to Marcy Dam was rerouted in 2017. Newell described “brushing in” (hiding) the old route, and “grubbing out” the new trail. She explained the partnership with the DEC and the process of choosing projects.

“We do a lot of work in the alpine zone and there’s different volunteer groups that do lean-to rescues and other projects. The DEC project list is huge and vast.”

While walking around Heart Lake, Stacy discussed the technical finesse of “placing rocks perfectly” along with the “psychology” of trail building. 

“Sometimes you’ll see ‘gargoyle rocks’ protruding on the sides of the trails. They’re big, ugly, sharp, and placed intentionally to make people not want to walk in that direction.”

ADK adheres to Wilderness rules when maintaining their trails, even though it is private property. “We could use motorized tools, but we try to follow the rules of the wilderness.”

Newell explained the history of Marcy Dam which was rebuilt in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) (along with the 2-mile Truck Trail).  According to the DEC, the dam was part of a recreational development project. Prior to the CCC, the impoundment has history as a log flush dam from the 1800s with the J&J Rogers Company. The dam was rebuilt in the 1970s. Prior to the dam’s destruction from Hurricane Irene in 2011, the pond was stocked with fish by the DEC. 

Since the Irene washout, the dam has been dismantled further and debris removed, though the abutments on both sides are largely intact and the smell of creosote in the timbers is very noticeable. The DEC plans to remove the wooden “floor” next to “allow for the naturalization of the streambed and create aquatic connectivity. An updated work plan is being developed to guide subsequent phases.”

One of four DEC interior outposts (in addition to Lake Colden, Raquette River, and Johns Brook) is located at Marcy Dam. ADK utilizes the building for a caretaker in the summer to educate campers, provide campsite (privy) maintenance, and emergency services if necessary. The outpost has solar power, flush toilets, and a shower.

As we returned to the parking lot from Marcy Dam, Newell pointed out one of the “few remaining pay phones in the world,” highlighting her knack at imitating Van Hoevenberg. Unfortunately, the phone only accepts older quarters due to changes in coin compositions.  

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