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Chapter 4: Dr. Sanford's Leadership
On June 30, 1890 a decision of major consequence to the Assembly
Point of the 20th century was made. Papers of that date witness to the
incorporation of the Lake George Assembly as a stock corporation with
all the legal rights and duties of a "Person."
In the process of reaching the decision, the owners of Forty Acres
had had to weigh the pros and cons of finding a buyer other than Dr.
Sanford for the whole plot with the risk to Lake George of a developer
less concerned than Dr. Sanford about maintaining the natural beauty of
the point. The alternative was to win Dr. Sanford over to the idea of
selling shore lots for summer homes, supporting his three goals of
Religion, Reason and Recreation. [See illustrative title page of Dr.
Sanford's 1889 brochure in Appendix].
Records, correspondence and minutes of the Corporation are missing
from its founding in 1890 to the period before 1914 when the leadership
of the Point shifted from Dr. Sanford to T.S. Coolidge. Possibly they
were lost in a fire that destroyed Dr. Sanford's island home some years
after his death. Still, something is known of the records. At least
1,000 shares of stock (possibly more) at $10.00 a share were authorized.
The 40 acres owned by the Glens Falls businessmen were valued at
$8,000.00 and being assigned to the new corporation were exchanged for
200 shares each in the names of T.S. and Jonathan Coolidge, George Lee
and Warren Smith. Dr. Sanford, or his family corporation, known as
Sanford Sales of Long Island City, NY was also issued 200 shares in
recognition of his supervisory work in building the promenades,
Lectorium, caretaker's house as well as the four dachas (summer homes).
Because Dr. Sanford was in close contact with the Coolidges and
Warren Smith, he undoubtedly contributed in advance to their plans for
incorporation. He also would have shared the knowledge that such
incorporation permitted all five principals to become directors and that
it was the will of the four Glens Falls businessmen that he become
President.
Dr. Sanford's leadership was multi-faceted. First of all would
have been his understanding of the four-fold purpose of the Lake George
Assembly as he had formulated it during weeks of thought and then
published as an illustrated document in 1889 [see Chapter III].
Clues to his first purpose, Religion, lie in the illustration of an
open Bible on the first page of the document, along with his supporting
statement:
OUR CORNER STONE. -- The Bible is our corner stone; and, friend, if you
don't believe the general trend of its teachings, (we might as well be
frank with you) we don't think you will find congenial company here. We
do not say, do not come, for we know that Saul of Tarsus became Paul of
Damascus.
The first "R", Religion, was to be implemented by Sunday services
in the new Lectorium by eminent and popular clergymen.
The second "R", Reason, or "increased knowledge," is pictured by a
stack of books on music, art, science and literature to be scheduled in
the Lectorium on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons at 4 p.m.
Specifically, Dr. Sanford notes:
RUSTIC SOFAS, -- Twenty of the rustic sofas have been worked in among
the trees, and there cannot be found nicer, cozier or more picturesque
spots in which to chat, read, sew, write or even smoke.
The fourth goal is confirmed in Dr. Sanford's unique style:
TO FOUND A COLONY. -- It is expected to found a colony of such
people only, who, while summering amidst the beauties of nature, wish to
dwell where, through occasional lectures and religious services, coupled
with recreational idleness as well as sports, they may be built up
physically, mentally and spiritually.
Finally, in the 1889 document he reminds the reader what the Lake
George Assembly means:
THE ATTRACTIONS OF LAKE GEORGE. -- Why, if people only knew the
attractions of Lake George, not to say anything about our feeble efforts
to make the Lake George Assembly attractive, the Lake George Assembly
woods would be full of them.
The Lectorium had been the center of Dr. Sanford's vision for
Religion, Recreation and Reason as the previous chapter, as well as
excerpts from his 1889 document, have made us aware. But after eight
years of experimentation, the Lectorium Sunday services and weekday
lectures came to an end. Through lack of participation and because of
the expense for clergy and professional lecturers, the Lectorium was
closed in 1897 and never reopened. It was, however, well-built and
stood upright until hit by a tornado in 1923.
I recall that after the building had fallen on its side, the roof,
all askew and slanting to the ground, became a temptation for climbing.
My sister, Emily, and I and our friends could not resist and were
quickly admonished by my father not to slide or climb on the roof. We
promptly forgot the admonition and my father, Harold Adamson, then
President of the Lake George Assembly, had it removed. In addition to
such difficulties, no lots whatsoever were sold.
A bleak picture for Dr. Sanford? His four leadership goals had
been remarkable!
On May 31, 1890, the Federal Government accepted an application
from the Lake George Assembly and granted it the right to open a
Post-Office under the name of The Lake George Assembly Post Office with
Warren Smith designated as the first Post-master. (Ervien, p. 50)
The second innovation, a safe site for a new Big Dock led in the
1920’s to a friendly, family, summer community, replacing the Lectorium
as the center of the Lake George Assembly. Mr. Ervien describes these
1894-95 innovations picturesquely:
It is items such as this that help us to form a picture of life as
it was in those days.
About this time, the stockholders of the Lake George Assembly
reluctantly came to the conclusion that another dock must be built and
this time at the one and only logical location, at the far north end of
the Point. It seems most unlikely that this expensive decision would
have been made without the insistence of the Steamboat Company. The
dock built only five years earlier was in an exposed location. With a
strong southwest, west, or northwest wind, it was difficult to land the
large Lake steamers, which now measured just under 200 feet in length.
There was constant danger of their being blown ashore when attempting a
landing in a wind.
The new dock was completed in the spring of 1895. The post office
was moved to a new location that same season, close to the new dock,
where it was located in the early '20s as some of us can remember so
well. An item in The Mirror that summer reads: "The new pier on the
extreme end of Assembly Point is crowded with fishermen, fisher boys and
fisher girls nowadays. . . some of the bass taken there weighed four and
five pounds." (p. 61)
Dr. Sanford was satisfied with this radical change. He had become
Postmaster following the resignation in 1892 of Warren Smith and held
the office until 1915. He was enthusiastic about the construction of a
small, handsome Post Office for his personal use as well as a larger,
attached structure to serve as the community's store, a store to which
in time was added a wooden deck where my older sister, Nesta, and her
friends enjoyed evenings of dancing in the 1920's.
In spite of the demise of the Lectorium, and the necessity of
changing the site of the Assembly Point Center, Dr. Sanford looked
forward to the 20th century, as he continued as the President of the
Lake George Assembly until 1920, two years after the end of World War I.
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