When cars became
affordable for middle class families, the Adirondacks became a vacation
destination more popular than ever before (Terrie). These tourists weren’t
going for the natural beauty that preservationists loved; they were a new
generation of “Murray’s Fools”, searching for recreational adventure. The
Forest Commission’s main function shifted towards providing entertainment for
the tourists, so they developed highways within the park, with parking areas
near lakes and mountains (Terrie).
While many
families could now afford cars, the nightly cost of a hotel room was sometimes
too much for families. Many Americans turned to camping as a cheap place to
stay. They used to camp on the sides of roads, which isn’t legal now and
probably wasn’t then, but more often, they would camp at campsites along
highways that popped up as cars became more popular. The man who brought luxury
camping to the Adirondacks was Henry Aird, when he set up his campsite near Boquet
River (Gooley). Aird provided his guests with meals, activities, and every
camping item they would need, including beds, chairs, and tables. If travelers
couldn’t afford their own gear, they could drive into the Adirondacks and
experience the rustic, new, American hobby. Aird’s campsite was perfect for all
travelers because he provided amenities that resorts provide, but guests could
also bring their own camping gear and cook their own meals if they wanted more
of the camping experience (Gooley). While setting up tents and cooking dinner
is fun, I would have loved to drive up to Aird’s site, wolf down dinner from a
professional chef, and crawl into a hotel-quality bed, ready for the next day’s
activities.
Terrie, Philip G. Contested
Terrain: A New History of Nature and People in the Adirondacks. Blue
Mountain Lake, NY: Adirondack Museum, 1997. Print.
Gooley, Lawrence P.
"Airdmore: Pioneering 1920s Auto-Camping Experience." The
Adirondack Almanack. N.p., 01 July 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
I am curious how much this “luxury” camping cost at the time. It might have served as a transition for many families who, after multiple return visits to such locales, decided it would make more sense to but some land of their own and contribute to the summer home communities we are so familiar with today. Presumably that will be a future reading topic but I think that you may have come across the bridge between hotels/camping and summer homes.
ReplyDeleteWow Liam I hadn't even thought of that! I bet you're right. I know that in Terrie, he says that people started buying land because they wanted their own private place away from the other tourists, even if their land was surrounded by other families. But I hadn't factored in the financial aspect of renting tents vs. buying land or a house.
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting that camping now has not become a mark of social class, but of a style of vacation. It makes sense that it would have evolved from a means of making access to adventure more affordable, but echoing Rachel's thoughts I never thought about the origins of camping for sport.
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