Steamboat Tuscarora

Steamboat Tuscarora Launched in June 1900, she served as a transport & excursion vessel for 29 yrs on Blue Mtn Lake NY and then for 64 yrs as a summer camp on the lakeshore. C.

In 1900 William West Durant—known for great camps and grand schemes— commissioned A. Brown, of Staten Island, to build a coal-fired passenger steamboat on the shore of Blue Mountain Lake. Beginning that June the Tuscarora traveled from Marion River Carry through Utowana, Eagle and Blue Mountain Lakes, delivering visitors to Gilded Age hotels and lakefront estates. For nearly three decades it opera

ted much like the other excursion boats on the Fulton Chain, the Saranacs and across the Adirondacks.. When better roads were available, those vessels—their useful lives over—were deliberately burned or scuttled. The Tuscarora escaped that fate and took on a new life in 1934, when it became the Graham family’s camp, with bedrooms, a lounge, a kitchen and bathrooms. As cozy as the cottage was, to all appearances it retained the essence of the Tuscarora. This 75-foot-long double-decker steamer is a rare relic of the heydays of Adirondack tourism and a glimpse of how a summer family repurposed a unique structure. Tuscarora is an important part of the history of Blue Mountain Lake, bridging the Victorian era and modern times.

Last of the ice on Blue
04/14/2026

Last of the ice on Blue

12/16/2025
Here she is late Thursday night under the Super moon.
12/07/2025

Here she is late Thursday night under the Super moon.

01/11/2025
01/10/2025

Remembering Elizabeth "Betsy" Folwell, whose poignant prose touched on nature, history, and community connections in the Adirondacks.

01/10/2025

Share your favorite memories or stories of Betsy

Photo by Nancie Battaglia

01/10/2025

AARCH joins our colleagues and friends in mourning the passing of Betsy Folwell on Sunday. Betsy’s invaluable contributions of her time, passion, and expertise to causes and projects throughout the Adirondacks were a pillar of our community for decades.

One learned something from Betsy in every interaction and we were so fortunate at AARCH to have worked with Betsy and her husband Tom Warrington over the years. From years of partnership to welcoming our 2020 tour group at their Blue Mountain Lake diner and working to preserve the Steamboat Tuscarora over the past year, Betsy’s curiosity and enjoyment of the Adirondacks made her a truly positive force in our region, one that will carry on through her legacy.

Last year, Betsy thoughtfully profiled the work of herself and others to preserve the Tuscarora Steamboat, https://aarch.org/a-preservation-partnership-to-revitalize-a-lake-landmark/ Betsy’s passion and support for this project will be greatly missed, but we look forward to continuing this work as we honor her memory and impact.

Photo below of Betsy introducing her longtime friend, Nancie Battaglia, at AARCH's 2023 Summer Celebration (photo by Stefanie Noble).

01/10/2025
10/15/2024

Thanks to our generous friends for a successful W.W. Durant fundraiser. The evening was lovely, the food delicious and the company wonderful. We are delighted you could cruise Raquette Lake with us in support of the Steamboat Tuscarora Preservation Project. Thanks to you, our benefit was more than $4400, which will be used for the next step in relocating, restoring and interpreting this historic watercraft.

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Blue Mountain Lake, NY
12812

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