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  Warrensburgh Heritage Trail

179 Hudson Street
Camp Echo Lake

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c.1926
Camp Echo Lake

179 Hudson Street
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William Bond was the first settler in the hamlet area of what is now Warrensburg.  Born in England in 1740, he was 44 years of age in 1784 when he paid 375 pounds to Jacob Watson, a merchant in New York City for lots number 1 and 54 in Hyde Township.  It is speculated that placed him near the shores of what is now Echo Lake but which became known as Bond's Pond.  Hyde Township was owned by Edward Jessup and thirty-nine other persons who acquired the Patent from George III, King of Great Britain, dated September 10, 1774. William Bond moved to Chestertown.  His will dated January 26, 1813 names his wife, Jane, and ten children, namely Elizabeth, Ann (married to Peleg Tripp), Sarah, Eliza, Margaret, William, James, Joseph, Isaac and Samuel.
 
Echo Lake Beach – In 1926 the Town signed a one year contract with Warrensburg Cemetery Association for access to a public bathing beach on Echo Lake.  In 1935 the Town purchased the beach area from the Cemetery Association for $3,000.  Over the years numerous improvements were made, including the construction of bath houses and docks.  In 1996 an Echo Lake Citizens' Advisory Committee chaired by Karen Padowicz was awarded a $20,000 grant from the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation to revitalize the beach and recreational areas.  Upon completion of the project a celebration commemorating the park was held and it was renamed The Morry Stein Park and Beach at Echo Lake, in memory of the former owner of Camp Echo Lake and community benefactor.  Stein was killed in a commuter plane crash in December 1994.
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Echo Lake Road Cabins. Main Village, Camp Echo Lake 125

Echo Lake Road Admin Building, Main Village 126

Echo Lake Road Infirmary & Winter Lodge, Main Village 126

Echo Lake Road Refurbished cabins, Senior Village 127

Echo Lake Road Staff Lodge, Alumni Village 127

Echo Lake Road Cabins, Alumni Village 128

Camp Echo Lake is divided into three areas- the “Main Village,” the “Senior  Village,” and the “Alumni Village.”   Building  resources found in all three sections. of the camp fulfill the National Register fifty-year  criterion, and are significant  reminders  of the importance recreation and seasonal  residency have played in the historic developm,ent of the hamlet.  All three sections or areas of the camp  also contain resources that have been constructed more recently.                                                                                           

Camp Echo Lake was founded in 1946 by Bill Medine, who purchased what presently constitutes  the Main  Village  from Moe Nude!!.
The older buildings on this site date from the 1920's and 1930's, when the property was run as a camp called, “The Echo Lake Tavern.” The original, eleven  bunks from this period (#1 ,3,5,7,H,I,TP, 27, 29, 291/2, 31) are contributing and exhibit shiplap  siding,  exposed
rafter  tails,  low-pitched  gable ‘roofs,  with front  gable  plan.   Bunks 1,3,5,7  have raised  entry  platforms  without overhangs  or  roofs. (Photos  la  and  lb)     A contributing and relatively  intact,  c.l925  2-112 story,  clapboard-sided, administration  building  originally functioned as a farmhouse before the inception of Echo Lake Tavern, It features a wrap-around,  1-story porch with exposed rafter tails, modern storm sash, knee-wall windows in the upper story, and standing seam metal roofing. (Photo lc)

Other contributing Main Village buildings are: a c.l920-.1930  1-story, arts-and-crafts  hall with low-pitched  gable roof and original multi-paned   sash  (Photo  1d);  an  early-twentieth  century  former  farmhouse   which  now  functions  as  an  infirmary  and  features vernacular,  wood frame  design  and construction  with 2-1/2 story,  gable front  plan,  clapboard  siding,  and 1-story  front  porch  with turned wood columns and spindles (Photo le);  thirty c.l920-1930 bunks (#2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 28, 30, 32, 34,
36, 9, 11, 15, 17, 19, 21, 33, 37, 35 ,23, 28, G) that feature  low-pitched  roofs with 3x4 bays, front entrances,  111 storm sash, some gabled entrance  porches, exposed rafter tails evident on the older bunks. (Photos  lh  and  li)  A large recreation  hall at the west end of the Main Village features wood clapboard siding and gambrel roof. (Photo lj)  An arts and recreation  hall (Photo  lk)  is located nearby and also exhibits a shed roof, clapboard siding and large banks of single pane sash

The  Main  Village  also includes  newer, non-contributing construction,  such  as the  Boy’s Lodge,  constructed  in 1975,  with cross­ gabled plan and cement block foundation (Photo 1g).  A recently constructed activities  building features shingled siding, cross-gabled plan with side, cross-gabled  ell, and gabled entrance  overhangs. (Photo 11) Also on  the site of the Main Village,  a modern  A-frame home with  vertical siding functions  as the director’s  residence.  (Photolm).   A non-contributing dining hall,  which dates from  the
1920's, has been substantially modified with roof and fenestration changes, as well as the addition of a rear wing. (Photo If)

In 1982, Camp Echo Lake  was expanded to include a large property to the south of Fish Hatchery Road,  previously  owned  by Bob Pasco and run as the Indian Head Family Resort.  Minor modifications were made to the buildings, which pre-date 1946, to adapt them for use as bunks and other camp-related  facilities. This area is. referred to as the Senior Village. Forty-three contributing, pre-1946 bunks feature side-gabled  plans with clapboard siding, multi-pane, casement  windows,  with either 1-story, shed-roofed  entry porches, (Photo ln)  or entry porches sheltered under the principal roof structure, all with exposed rafter tails. (Photos lo and lp)   An intact and significant  pre-1946 recreation  hall (Photo  lq)  features  low-pitched  gable roof,  with cornice  brackets,  clapboard  siding,  and  wrap­ around and enclosed, !-story  porch with exposed rafter tails. A contributing, pre-1946  lodge exhibits a 2-story, gabled roof plan with
1-story, shed-roofed  porch, multi-paned sash, exposed rafter tails and external brick chimney. {Photo lr)

The property designated the “Alumni Village” was purchased in 1977 from the Noble family, who ran it as a resort with horse stables. It features  many  intact  bunk and other buildings which  date from  the 1920's  and  1930's.    A contributing, staff  lodge  (Photo  Is) features a gabled plan with much original detailing in the form of 2/2 sash, clapboard siding, and !-story  entry porch.  Four  cabins are intact,  exhibiting  2/2 sash,  front-gabled  plan  with  low-pitched  roof,  and  exposed  rafter  tails.  (Photo  lt)   Two  more  recent  non­ contributing cabins  with low-pitched,  gable roofs, clapboard  siding and concrete  block foundations  are also  located at the Alumni Village (Photos 1u and 1v), as is a recent, concrete  block laundry facility (Photo 1w).   A modern, concrete block, non-contributing, shiplap-sided  maintenance  building is located across Fish Hatchery- Road from the Alumni  Village (Photo  lx),  while dock structures and small,  shiplap-sided  sheds with exposed rafter tails are in and adjacent  to Echo  Lake - the principal natural feature  of the Camp Echo Lake property. (Photo ly).

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