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Centennial Site
Santanoni Preserve
For more information:
Newcomb Town Hall
(518) 582-3211Camp Santanoni was one of the earliest examples of the "Great Camps," which were constructed in the Adirondacks from the late 19th century until World War I. Today, about 35 of these estates remain.
Santanoni's first owner, Robert C. Pruyn, a prominent Albany banker and businessman, built the Santanoni compound from 1892 to 1893 on about 12,500 acres of land in the town of Newcomb, just south of the Adirondack High Peaks.
The compound comprised three main building groups: the Gate Lodge Complex, located at the edge of the hamlet of Newcomb; the Farm Complex, a mile farther into the estate; and the Main Camp at Santanoni, 4.7 miles from the Gate Lodge Complex, with an excellent view toward the Adirondack High Peaks. Santanoni is a magnificent example of rustic Adirondack architecture, perhaps one of the finest of the Adirondack Great Camps.
As a child, Theodore Roosevelt spent many vacations in the Adirondacks. As an adult, as a guest of the Pruyn's, he was one of many distinguished visitors who regularly visited the camp.
In 1953, Pruyn's heirs sold Camp Santanoni to the Melvin family, who, in the early 1970s, sold the entire Santanoni Preserve to the Adirondack Conservancy Committee of The Nature Conservancy. The conservancy then resold the property to New York State for incorporation into the State Forest Preserve.
Today, the camp is open year round to the public. Many activities are held on the grounds for children, young adults and families, including fairs, concerts and contests. In the summer, visitors can walk or bike 4.7 miles into the camp or get there by wagon ride. In the winter, cross-country skiers will find a beautiful, flat 10-mile round-trip ski.
Currently, the camp is being restored to its early 20th century appearance.
It was while staying at the Tahawus Club, located in Newcomb, and hunting on Mount Marcy, that Roosevelt learned that President McKinley was near death.
Roosevelt became president of the United States on Sept. 13, 1901, in Newcomb, while en route from Tahawus to the North Creek train station. A memorial plaque, on Route 28N – now the Roosevelt Marcy Highway – marks the site of this event.
Each year, in September, the town of Newcomb commemorates this famous trip from the steep slopes of Mount Marcy, through the mining community of Tahawus, across the headwaters of the Hudson River and over the Boreas River, on down to North Creek.
Newcomb's "Teddy Roosevelt Weekend" features events such as an Adirondack craft fair, guide boat and canoe races, wild animal displays, stage coach rides, a children's fishing contest, a Teddy Roosevelt look-alike contest, pony rides, llama cart rides, music, and a slide show on Camp Santanoni.
For more information on the "Teddy Roosevelt Weekend," call (518) 582-2061.