The Highland Lodge
The Highland Lodge is located at the east end of Fourth Lake with 220' of shoreline. The house sits about 200 feet from the water with many old trees to provide privacy and protection from the wind. Built around 1895 by Dwight B. Sperry, it was purchased by Angeline Bailey, a 65 year old widow with an interesting history of her own. Dwight Sperry used the money from this sale to finance the building of the Eagle Bay Hotel in 1896. Sperry was a contemporary of W.W. Durant who built many of the Great Camps in the Adirondacks. Durant began building the Great Camp Sagamore at Raquette Lake in 1896.
With no roads or trains to Eagle Bay or
Inlet, Angeline traveled from Utica by train to Thendara, by
buck board to Old Forge, and then took the ferry through the
Fulton Chain from First Lake to the far eastern end of Fourth
Lake. The home site was next to the Hess Camp, built around
1896 by Fred Hess, founder of Inlet. It later became the Wood
Hotel when it was purchased by Philo Wood. He eventually
purchased the Highland Lodge in 1920.
The Wood Hotel was completely restored from
July 2003 to June 2004. It reopened as The Woods Inn
with the Laughing Loon Tavern on the lower
level and the dining room overlooking the lake. It has 22
beautifully restored rooms, all with full baths.
The Adirondack chairs and the rockers
provide a nice shady place for conversation or quiet reading
of a favorite book.
During the restoration, the goal was to
retain as much of the antique style of the house as possible,
while unobtrusively including all of the features that make a
vacation comfortable.
Wainscot interior
The entire interior of the house is
finished in antique wainscoting, a style of the turn of the
century, with more formal cherry wainscoting in the Parlor.
The patterns on the walls were carried onto the ceilings in
the Parlor and Dining Room with borders and recessed areas
converging on the ceiling fixtures in the middle of each
room.
Four Bedrooms upstairs
There are four bedrooms upstairs. The one
closest to the shore has twin beds. The others each have a
double bed. All bedrooms have a dresser, chair, period
pictures, stenciled borders on the floor, and an overhead fan
for cooling. There is also a full tiled bath which has an
antique claw foot bath tub with shower.
Master Bedroom
The Master Bedroom is on the first floor.
It has a cathedral ceiling with a fan for cooling. It was
originally a crudely finished room off of the kitchen,
probably for Angeline Bailey's maid, who traveled with her in
the summer to maintain the household. When it was restored,
it was finished with the same wainscoting and finish as the
rest of the house. It has a small closet and a separate
entrance into the main bathroom. There's a french door which
opens onto the rear porch.
Parlor
The Parlor is finished in cherry wainscot
paneling and opens onto the wrap-around porch facing the
lake. The french doors replace the original single outside
door to provide a better view down to the shore. It has a
cabinet which conceals the TV and VCR. The lights are
controlled by dimmers to set the mood for each use.
Dining Room
The large Dining Room has a fireplace and
a bay extension to give it a separate view of the lake
shore. The table seats 10 and the built-in china cabinet
holds full china service settings that are more formal than
the normal kitchen china. The lower section of the cabinet
holds various board games and puzzles which provide great
entertainment for evenings or rainy days.
Sitting Room
The Sitting Room has another fireplace and
an antique square grand piano. It's a special cozy space
that feels separate from the main rooms of the lodge. The
book case has many volumes for quiet reading in front of the
fire.
Kitchen
The kitchen has been completely modernized while preserving the Victorian style. The original pass-through window from the dining room was preserved. This allowed the maid to clear the table without having to open the door into the kitchen. The renovation was done with tiled walls, wainscot paneling, "tin" ceiling, and an inlaid wood floor.
It is equipped with a gas stove/oven,
microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher, two coffee makers, a
coffee grinder, blender, toaster, hand mixer, waffle iron,
and a full complement of pots, pans, utensils, glassware, and
dishes.
Sun Room
The old porch off the kitchen has been enclosed as a Sun Room. The view makes an ideal spot for breakfast on the enameled top table. It catches the sun from the south, and the windows provide a nice breeze on a warm day.
Bifold doors open into a small laundry
area with the washer, dryer, and built-in ironing board.
Lake Front
The westward view is ideal for watching
the sun set over the mountains. There is over 200 feet of
lake frontage with two beach areas. The beach to the left and
around a point from the main beach has a lovely view and
great privacy. The dock is located at the main beach
immediately in front of the lodge. There's a fire pit and
plenty of chairs for evening fires.
