The Sagamore Resort resides within the community of Bolton Landing—a hamlet located within the greater Town of Bolton. Bolton itself is a small bucolic town of just a few thousand people that rests on the shoreline of Lake George in New York’s famed Adirondacks. Bolton was originally founded at a time when Lake George sat at the frontier of New York’s expanding borders in the years immediately following the American Revolutionary War. Before the conflict, the area had long been occupied by the Mohawk of the Iroquois Confederacy. Further to the north were the French colonials of New France, whose bastion of power was situated across the St. Lawrence River in Québec City. In fact, some of the first Europeans to explore the region were French, as the great Samuel de Champlain investigated the region in 1609. Several decades later, a French-Canadian Jesuit missionary named Isaac Jogues returned to the area and gave the lake its first name—Lac du Saint-Sacrament. Once the Netherlands officially lost control over the lower regions of New York after the Second Anglo-Dutch War, British and French settlers began pushing further into the Adirondacks. This tensions finally reached a breaking point in the 1750s, when France and the United Kingdom fought for control over the region during the Seven Years’ War.

The conflict in the colonies became known as the “French and Indian War.” The war itself eventually arrived at the Lac du Saint-Sacrament in September of 1755, when an army of colonial British Americans and Mohawk Indians fought and defeated the French. Led by Sir William Johnson, the British army seized the entire area and renamed it “Lake George” after King George II. They even commemorated the fight as the “Battle of Lake George.” In the days following the battle, Johnson constructed his soldiers to erect Fort William Henry at the southern end of the lake. The fort itself was christened in honor for the king’s grandson, Prince William Henry. But the French did not abandon the region quietly, constructing a massive fortification called Fort Carillon at the opposite end of the lake. The French reinforced the citadel’s garrison and assigned a new commander, Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. In 1757, Montcalm besieged Fort William Henry and set it ablaze when the British finally surrendered. As the British retreated to Fort Edward further south along the Hudson River, Native Americans allied to France ambushed the column. The assault would forever be known as “The Massacre at Fort William Henry.”

France ultimately lost the Seven Years War, which gave nearly all its colonial possessions in Canada to the United Kingdom. Despite the removal of the French threat from North America, the British still saw fit to reinforce its less densely populated territories. Lake George itself served the strategically important role of protecting the main line of communication between the major settlements of Montréal and New York City. The British subsequently renovated the two forts at either end of Lake George, filling them with new garrisons. The importance of the lake became more apparent when the Thirteen Colonies rebelled against the British Crown in the 1770s. Among the first acts by American patriots was the capture the arsenal at Fort Carillon, which had recently been renamed as “Fort Ticonderoga.” In 1775, a motley crew of frontiersmen known as the “Green Mountain Boys” overwhelmed the citadel’s soldiers. Led by Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen, the American soldiers subsequently moved its munitions to the nascent Continental Army stationed outside of Boston. While the British briefly regained Fort Ticonderoga in 1777, the Americans successfully recaptured it a final time after the Battle of Saratoga a year later.

Once peace arrived in the newly formed United States, small towns like Bolton began appearing throughout the Adirondacks. Americans soon recognized the uniqueness of the area’s inherent beauty, especially Lake George. Future U.S. President Thomas Jefferson encapsulated this perception brilliantly in a letter he penned to his daughter, in which he stated: “Lake George is without comparison, the most beautiful water I ever saw.” Another U.S. President would find the area similarly enchanting more than a hundred years later—Theodore Roosevelt. Long an avid outdoor enthusiast, Roosevelt often traveled from his home in Long Island to visit Lake George. In fact, he was hiking nearby Mount Marcy when word reached him of President William B. McKinley’s death. By this point, many Americans had constructed spectacular summer homes all along Lake George, making it one of the most exclusive places to stay in the United States. Several well-known artists began establishing several art colonies, too, including Martin Johnson Heade, John F. Kensett, Frank Vincent DuMond, E. Charlton Fortune, and George O’Keefe. But Lake George had already been immortalized in other forms of art, the most notable of which was James Francis Cooper’s classic novel, The Last of the Mohicans. Originally published in 1826, it has undergone several reprints and was even turned into a movie.

The current iteration of The Sagamore Resort displays some of the finest Colonial Revival-style architecture in the Adirondacks. Colonial Revival architecture today is perhaps the most widely used building form in the entire United States. It reached its zenith at the height of the Gilded Age, where countless Americans turned to the aesthetic to celebrate what they feared was America’s disappearing past. The movement came about in the aftermath of the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, in which people from across the country traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to commemorate the American Revolution. Many of the exhibitors chose to display cultural representations of 18th-century America, encouraging millions of people across the country to preserve the nation’s history. Architects were among those inspired, who looked to revitalize the design principles of colonial English and Dutch homes. This gradually gave way to a larger embrace of Georgian and Federal-style architecture, which focused exclusively on the country’s formative years. As such, structures built in the style of Colonial Revival architecture featured such components as pilasters, brickwork, and modest, double-hung windows. Symmetrical designs defined Colonial Revival-style façades, anchored by a central, pedimented front door and simplistic portico. Gable roofs typically topped the buildings, although hipped and gambrel forms were used, as well. This building remained immensely popular for years until largely petering out in the late-20th century. Nevertheless, architects today still rely upon Colonial Revival architecture, using the form to construct all kinds of residential buildings and commercial complexes.

The earlier versions of the resort, though, were cast in an architectural style known as Queen Anne. A successor to Eastlake architecture, Queen Anne became a widely popular architectural style at the height of the Gilded Age. Named in honor of 18^th-century British monarch, Queen Anne, the architectural form started in England before migrating to the United States. Yet, its name is misleading, as it actually borrowed its design principles from buildings constructed during the Renaissance. While the appearance of Queen Anne-style buildings may differ considerably, they are all united by several common features. For instance, they are typically asymmetrical in nature, and are built with some combination of stone, brick, and wood. Those buildings also feature a large wrap-around porch, as well as a couple of polygonal towers. Those towers may also be accompanied by turrets along the corners of a building’s exterior façade. Queen Anne structures also have pitched, gabled roofs made with irregular shapes and patterns. Intricate wood carvings are a common sight throughout their layout, too, and are often designed in such a way to resemble different objects like an illusion. Clapboard paneling and half-timbering are a few other forms of woodworking that are regularly found somewhere within a Queen Anne-style structure.

46th Annual Conference of the National Governors Association (1954): The Sagamore Resort bears the distinction of hosting the 46th Annual Conference of the National Governors Association in July of 1954. Originally founded in 1908, the National Governors Association is a gathering of all the nation’s governors to discuss political matters related to the collective interests of the states. In essence, the National Governors Association functions as a public policy liaison between the states and the federal government, providing guidance to both the White House and Capitol Hill on everything from the allocation of tax funds to welfare reform. The organization typically creates its policy proposals through a series of meetings and networking seminars that are usually held at various conferences. Those events are presided over by a chair, which alternated every year between the Democratic and Republican parties. At the time of the 46th Annual Conference, New York’s Governor—Thomas Dewey—was the acting chairperson. Perhaps the most prestigious of those events historically speaking was the annual conference. The very first annual conference dealt with problems arising from natural resource allocations throughout the United States. Yet, over time, the agenda for the annual conferences has become quite diverse. While the state executives typically take the lead in guiding the conversations, the President of the United States may send members of their cabinet to introduce their own plans for the states. In 1946, that specific plan involved President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s intention to make good on the creation of a National Interstate Highway System.

The desire to construct something like the National Interstate Highway System had long persisted throughout the country, ever since automobiles appeared for mass use at the start of the 20th century. Federal efforts to actually develop a national highway grid first emerged with the passing of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921, although the furthest the law got toward creating a system of roads was a mere topographical map created by General John J. Pershing. U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt revived the plans for an interstate highway, often telling his advisors of the importance such an infrastructural project would have upon the country. He even approved of legislation from Congress called the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1944 that established a way in which the federal government could both subsidize and supervise the construction. But the project truly got underway during the first presidential administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower. One of the first tasks that Eisenhower undertook as president was pitching his $50 billion plan for the creation of a real interstate highway system. Among the ways he introduced the proposal was by instructing his Vice President, Richard Nixon, to present it before the 46th Annual Conference National Governors Association. (Eisenhower would have attended himself but changed his plans at the last minute to go the funeral of his sister-in-law). Nixon read Eisenhower’s prepared notes, but he encountered fierce resistance to the plan due to its large budget. Fortunately, that animosity melted away when the governors collectively realized that the program would provide jobs and stir commerce within their respective states. The initial discussions about the National Interstate Highway System eventually gave rise to the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, which allocated some $25 billion to develop more than 41,000 miles of interlocking highways. That law is one of the lasting legacies of Eisenhower’s presidency.

Gordon Persons, Governor of Alabama (1951 – 1955)

John Howard Pyle, Governor of Arizona (1951 – 1955)

Goodwin Jess “Goodie” Knight, Governor of California (1953 – 1959)

Daniel I.J. Thornton, Governor of Colorado (1951 – 1955)

John Davis Lodge, Governor of Connecticut (1951 – 1955)

James Caleb Boggs, Governor of Delaware (1953 – 1960) and U.S. Senator from Delaware (1961 – 1973)

Charley Eugene Johns, Governor of Florida (1953 – 1955)

Marvin Griffin, Governor of Georgia (1955 – 1959)

Leonard B. Jordan, Governor of Idaho (1951 – 1953) and U.S. Senator from Idaho (1962 – 1973)

William Stratton, Governor of Illinois (1953 – 1961)

George N. Craig, Governor of Indiana (1953 – 1957)

Leo Hoegh, Governor of Iowa (1955 – 1957)

Edward F. Arn, Governor of Kansas (1951 – 1955)

Lawrence Wetherby, Governor of Kentucky (1950 – 1955)

Robert F. Kennon, Governor of Louisiana (1952 – 1956)

Burton M. Cross, Governor of Maine (1953 – 1955)

Theodore McKeldin, Governor of Maryland (1951 – 1959)

Christian Herter, Governor of Massachusetts (1953 – 1957) and 53rd U.S. Secretary of State (1959 – 1961)

Gerhard Mennen "Soapy" Williams, Governor of Michigan (1949 – 1961)

Orville Freeman, Governor of Minnesota (1955 – 1961)

Hugh L. White, Governor of Mississippi (1936 – 1940; 1952 – 1956)

Phil M. Donnelly, Governor of Missouri (1945 – 1949; 1953 – 1957)

John Hugo Aronson, Governor of Montana (1953 – 1961)

Robert B. Crosby, Governor of Nebraska (1953 – 1955)

Charles H. Russell, Governor of Nevada (1951 – 1959)

Hugh Gregg, Governor of New Hampshire (1953 – 1955)

Robert B. Meyner, Governor of New Jersey (1954 – 1962)

Edwin Mechem, Governor of New Mexico (1951 – 1955; 1957 – 1959; 1961 – 1962) and U.S. Senator from New Mexico (1962 – 1964)

Thomas Dewey, Governor of New York (1943 – 1954)

William B. Umstead, U.S. Senator from North Carolina (1946 – 1948) and Governor of North Carolina (1953 – 1954)

Norman Brunsdale, Governor of North Dakota (1951 – 1957) and U.S. Senator from North Dakota (1959 – 1960)

Frank Lausche, Governor of Ohio (1945 – 1947; 1949 – 1957) and U.S. Senator from Ohio (1957 – 1969)

Johnston Murray, Governor of Oklahoma (1951 – 1955)

Paul L. Patterson, Governor of Oregon (1952 – 1956)

John S. Fine, Governor of Pennsylvania (1951 – 1955)

Dennis J. Roberts, Governor of Rhode Island (1951 – 1959)

James F. Byrnes, U.S. Secretary of State (1945 – 1947) and Governor of South Carolina (1951 – 1955)

Sigurd Anderson, Governor of South Dakota (1951 – 1955)

Frank Clement, Governor of Tennessee (1953 – 1959; 1963 – 1967)

Allan Shivers, Governor of Texas (1949 – 1957)

Joseph Bracken Lee, Governor of Utah (1949 – 1957)

Lee Earl Emerson, Governor of Vermont (1951 – 1955)

Thomas B. Stanley, Governor of Virginia (1954 – 1958)

Arthur B. Langlie, Governor of Washington (1941 – 1945; 1949 – 1957)

William C. Marland, Governor of West Virginia (1953 – 1957)

Walter J. Kohler Jr., Governor of Wisconsin (1953 – 1957)

Clifford Joy Rogers, Governor of Wyoming (1953 – 1955)

Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States (1969 – 1974)