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| 1881 Logo for Hathorn’s Forest Cottages |
Some of the Forest Cottages run by Chauncey Hathorn until 1891 |
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| 1937 Campsite | 1937 | 1940s |
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| 1950s | 1957 | 1960 View from campsite |
As early as 1840 visitors to Raquette Lake admired the silver and gold hues reflected from Silver Beach, Golden Beach and Sand Point (in 1850s known as Constable Point, then Antlers Point).
According to Alfred L. Donaldson in his 1921 A History of the Adirondacks, one of the earlier hostelries for the public was built on Golden Beach by Chauncey Hathorn, nephew of Senator Harry Hathorn.
Originally from Saratoga where he opened a tailoring establishment in 1853, Chauncey was the first legal resident of Blue Mountain Lake. He opened the Forest Cottages on Golden Beach and ran them until his death by drowning in 1891.
The first stop for the steamer leaving the Marion River Carry was Ed Bennett’s Under the Hemlocks hotel near the tip of Long Point, west of where St. William’s Church is today. Chauncey would meet his guests at Bennett’s dock with rowboats and take them south to Golden Beach.
As the popularity of a stay in the North Woods increased, Chauncey built additional cottages, provided guides for his visitors and hired a cook to prepare meals of fresh vegetables and any game or fish brought to table by his guests.
In 1931 Golden Beach State Park was constructed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps. Access is from Route 28 between Blue Mountain Lake and Raquette Lake. Campsites can be reserved by calling (315) 354-4230.
