In 1920, Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post Cereal Corporation,  purchased a narrow sand and gravel ridge, an esker, on Upper St. Regis Lake. Throughout the 20s she built a rustic retreat in the Great Camp style with 68 buildings, including two boathouses on the lake; separate cabins for kitchens, bedrooms and baths, and living rooms; and two buildings for cooks, maids, caretakers, and guides.

For years the camp was accessible only by boat or float plane. Transporting supplies and people the 2.5 miles across the lake from the nearest road was challenging, necessitating the use of boats of varying speed and power, sometimes human. A funicular, a cable railway, provided access to the top of the ridge from the water. » Continue Reading.