History of Camp. Part I

In 1912 a group of boys under the leadership of the Schenectady YMCA’s Boy’s Work Secretary Clarence E. “Pop” Drake made an exploratory trip on Lake George using a motor-powered war canoe named, “Chingachgook.”

Continued interest in the opportunity for Schenectady City boys to experience the outdoors led to establishment of a small encampment on Basin Bay across the lake from Pilot Knob in the summer of 1913.

For the 1914 season enrollment skyrocketed to over 100 necessitating a much larger campground, and the present Pilot Knob site was located by C.E. Drake and Mason W. Hall, Chairman of the Boy’s Work Committee of the Schenectady YMCA. The association did not have the resources to purchase the property from the Phelps Family and so in November 1915, Mr. Hall purchased the site for $5,000. From 1916 until 1922, Mr. Hall held title to this piece of land on the shore of Lake George and through his generosity and the contributions of others the indebtedness was greatly reduced.

Stay tuned for the next edition of, "History of Camp" coming out when I get around to it!