York Lodge

York Lodge, originally named Bittersweet, is a lakeside summer estate near Cazenovia in Madison County, New York. The property centers on an L-shaped, two-and-one-half-story frame mansion that blends Jacobethan Revival, Georgian Revival and Shingle styles. A gazebo, a Jacobethan carriage house, a gardener's cottage, a garage and two tool sheds complete the group. Philadelphian Elizabeth Wharton McKean commissioned the house in 1904 from architect George Bispham Page, and it was not finished until 1911. It was one of the most extensive estates built along the lake's eastern shore, at a time when rail links made Cazenovia a resort for wealthy city families. Page's work here is his only known commission outside Pennsylvania. Albert J. Wright, a Buffalo businessman and benefactor of the town, later owned the estate until his death in 1940. The buildings remain largely intact, inside and out, which supports the listing for architecture and social history.