A group of local residents, boat lovers, and historic preservationists envisions preserving the steamer and placing her at a site where visitors can appreciate her story.
Get InvolvedTUSCARORA is the last surviving example of a critical part of opening the Adirondacks to middle-class tourism. In the late 1800s, steamboats took people from railroad station to hotel, and from stagecoach to camp. Steamboat cruises to enjoy the spectacular scenery became integral parts of an Adirondack vacation. But in the twentieth century, good roads and cars to drive over them made travel by water travel no longer essential. Most Adirondack steamboats were burned, deliberately sunk, or left to rot on the shore.
TUSCARORA survived, not as a steamboat, but as a quirky private camp. Three generations of the Graham family enjoyed parties on the after deck watching the sun set over Blue Mountain Lake, toasting marshmallows over the woodstove whose smoke went up the original smokestack, and went to sleep in shipshape bunks added by Robert Graham, listening to the lap of the water on the shore.
TUSCARORA is beginning a third incarnation now that she’s outlived her usefulness as a camp. On the outside an excursion steamboat, on the inside a mid-century lakeside camp, she has stories to tell of 125 years of Adirondack history. The Steamboat TUSCARORA Preservation Project will move the boat to the hamlet of Blue Mountain Lake so she can tell those stories to all.
The TUSCARORA is at a crossroads: she can’t remain in her current location.
The hull has deteriorated so that floating is impossible. Moving is a challenge, but worth the effort to save a rare relic. In her new home, a structure will protect the boat and provide space for exhibit panels, photos, and other interpretation. A new site has been purchased—a lot on Route 30 next to Blue Mountain Lake’s old schoolhouse. The space is highly visible to motorists and will be accessible to all.
JOIN OUR MISSION
This important project is supported by grants from the 1772 Foundation and Generous Acts, funding critical work to plan the TUSCARORA’s relocation.
With help and advice from Adirondack Architectural Heritage, we have established The Steamboat TUSCARORA Preservation Project as an independent 501(c)3 organization. The Historic American Engineering Record, part of the National Park Service, has documented the boat, affirming its historical significance.
Tuscarora History
Help us preserve the TUSCARORA and share this Adirondack legacy.
