Jews in the Adirondacks

A blog post by Collections Intern Kaleigh Ratliff. To read more posts from interns click HERE.

The MD/DC/VA area has always appealed to me as a place I would like to settle down, but the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York will always be my home. I was born and raised in the Adirondacks (ADKs) and most of my family was as well. In my bias opinion, it is the most beautiful place to live.

I spent this past week (my birthday week, YAY!) at a camp on Lake Champlain with my family. Out of curiosity, I began to research Jewish influence in the ADKs. I discovered an interesting family who shared my love of the ADKs and made it their home.

Louis Marshall, son of two German Jewish immigrants, was born in Syracuse, NY in 1856. As a child he attended Hebrew school. He became a lawyer who fought for the rights of minorities, a conservationist who was extremely passionate about protecting the Adirondacks, and a Jewish leader who served as the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and helped found the American Jewish Committee (AJC). Later in his life he taught himself yiddish.

Louis traveled to the ADKs during his young adult life and fell in love with the area. He found enjoyment in hiking and dreaming of having his own summer camp to visit. Unfortunately, several summer camps excluded Jews and other minorities from becoming members. Louis and his family, along with five other families, bought 500 acres of land on the Lower Saranac Lake and had their own camp built. It was called Knollwood.

To quickly digress, Albert Einstein visited Knollwood quite often. He was actually at Knoll on August 6, 1945, the bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima.

Louis’ children spent several summers enjoying Knollwood. His son Robert “Bob”, was deeply influenced by the ADKs and closely followed in his father’s footsteps. Bob became a conservationist and writer, and was the co-founder of The Wilderness Society. In 1925 he became the 3^rd ADK46er, meaning he hiked all 46 high peaks of the ADKs.

The Marshall family has left a lasting legacy, making the ADKs a tranquil and meaningful place for themselves and other Jews. I am always interested in making connections between my life and the past, and this was a great one!

Resources:

• http://www.adirondackexplorer.org/book_reviews/louis-marshall-and-the-rise-of-jewish-ethnicity-in-america
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Marshall_(wilderness_activist)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Marshall#Family_life_and_legacy
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knollwood_Club
• http://adk46er.org/pdf/46R-Roster-as-of-5-29-15.pdf