Whelan Camp

Whelan Camp is a lakeside retreat on a point of land on the west shore of Raquette Lake, in the Adirondack Park of Hamilton County, New York. Built between about 1915 and 1918 for New York City cigar store magnate George J. Whelan, it centers on a sprawling shingled main camp measuring 102 by 54 feet, with an enclosed verandah, sleeping porches and fieldstone chimneys. Five support buildings include servants' quarters, a power house, a workshop and a log lean-to. A curving fieldstone terrace wall frames the main camp on its wooded slope. Inside, Arts and Crafts furniture, granite and fieldstone fireplaces and a stage in the north wing survive. The property is considered important as a smaller, well-preserved example of early twentieth century Adirondack camp design, built when wealthy families arrived by private rail car and steamboat. Historic photographs show the setting changed little over the years, and the camp keeps its original character.