Hague Hotels

First proprietor: John McClanathan. 

Later proprietors: Thomas and Amelia Bolton 

The McClanathan family began coming to Hague in the 1830s. As a Boston businessman, John Jr. recognized Hague as a growing resort area. 

In 1880, Charlotte Burgess, John Jr.’s sister, gave John several lots of property on the lakeside as well as above the hillside. 

We’re not exactly sure when John Jr. built the hotel. Some sources day that in 1880, John Jr. built the building as a boarding house and a summer home for his family. The house accommodated 35 people. However, in Stoddard’s 1879 guide, the hotel is already listed as McClanathan’s, a summer boarding house, so there is some debate about the opening year.

John soon enlarged the building to accommodate more guests. 

In 1885, in the D&H Tourist Handbook, the rooms were $7 to $10 a week and $1.50 per day. In 1890, the rooms were $8 - $10 per week and still $1.50 per day. 

In the D&H Tourist Handbook around 1890, the Hillside Hotel was listed as a house on “high ground in one of the most beautiful locations on this famous watering place. The fishing is good and plenty of good boats are kept constantly on hand for the accommodation of guests. The house has been enlarged, refurnished, and renovated and has accommodations for 75 guests.”

The Ticonderoga Sentinel ran an article (date unknown) announcing the arrival of Miss Susie Grimes, a niece of John McClanathan. She was also a tutor for John's daughter Edith. This is how the Grimes family eventually got land on top of the hill above the Hillside Hotel.

In The Lake George Mirror in May 1901, the Hillside Hotel was acclaimed to have “a very successful summer season due to its pleasant landlord and excellent accommodations.” 

In 1903, in “All About It” by Captain William P. Gates, there was an article about the Hillside Hotel as just being enlarged and furnished with the latest improved necessities. It could accommodate 90 guests. That grounds were handsome and well kept. A mountain stream came tumbling down the hillside near the hotel. Fishing, hunting, boating, and bathing were a few of the varied amusements. The table and its supplies were also listed as first class.

We have pictures of the laundry room and the dining room (date unknown) The laundry was located by the hotel and was not finished off inside--just the studs covered by the exterior clapboards. The flat irons were heated on top of the stove. The fire made a hot job even hotter. But the women kept their sleeves rolled down and their waist buttoned up and even added another layer--an apron. Wash day kept five employees busy. This was before Turkish towels; the linen hand towels were ironed. In most cases they were used once and thrown on the floor for the chambermaid to pick up. The dining room tables were covered with one or sometimes two linen cloths and many were changed daily or for each meal and they were large. Linen was difficult to iron until it was old.

The Hillside Hotel was one of the “places to be” on the social network in the summer. The hotel hosted the regatta hops for a few years. 

John and Martha McClanathan were active locally. John was the supervisor of Hague in 1868, 1870-1872, 1874, 1876, 1879, and 1882-1884. Martha was active in the Baptist Church. Their daughter Edith helped run the hotel. Edith married Richard Carpenter in 1928. John passed in November 1922 and Martha in 1925.

Edith and Richard had no children. Edith owned a little tearoom in Hague in the former Burgess store. Their vegetable garden was well patronized by the summer cottage people, according to Bernard and Francis Clifton's notes. 

According to the Ticonderoga Sentinel, John sold the property to Thomas and Amelia Bolton from Warrensburg in 1922; the Boltons had been managing the place. However, according to the Warren County records, Edith signed over the hillside hotel to Tom and Amelia in the spring of 1920 for $9000. 

In the Delaware and Hudson book A Summer Paradise 1927, the Hillside Hotel lists Thomas Bolton as a proprietor. The advertisement says it is on “the lake shore high ground. Comfortable, cleanly, homelike: sanitary plumbing; hot and cold water bath. Electric lights. Unexcelled table, abundantly supplied with fresh eggs, milk, and vegetables from the hotel farm and pure water from a mountain spring at 135 feet elevation. There is a quiet, shady lawn, tennis, baseball, dancing, music by the hotel orchestra, boating, bathing, fishing and innumerable walks and rides amid magnificent lake and mountain scenery. Garage, automobile, and launches for rent. Stores, post office, and churches nearby; five daily meals; free bus to and from steamboat landing. Accommodates 80. Open June 15 to September 15.”

The 1923 booklet Souvenir of the Blessings of the Cornerstone features an advertisement for the Hillside Hotel saying it’s “well worth considering. Nowhere on Earth can there be found in more delightfully beautiful spot than Hague-on-Lake-George. Here, nestled away on the shores of Lake George yet accessible by steamers and good macadam roads from all points, you will find a charmingly located hotel, “the Hillside.” We have preserved nature’s surroundings intact, yet the hotel is noted for its excellent table and personal service. We assure you a very pleasant reception and invite you to spend your vacation with us.”

Thomas and Amelia improved and updated the hotel. In 1929, Thomas renovated the Hillside Hotel by adding electric electricity and running water. In July 1930, Thomas moved the bungalows from the hill across the road to near the lake to accommodate more people. 

The hotel burned down on September 4, 1930 at 9:30 am. A fire started in the chimney leading to the kitchen. At the time of the fire, the hotel was closed down and only a few employees were on the premises. It was estimated that there was over $15,000 worth of damage. Furniture on the first floor was saved but the second and third floors were totally destroyed.

After the fire, the Boltons moved back to Warrensburg.

The hotel property is now subdivided and privately owned by several owners. 

There is still a flight of stone stairs up the hill in the back of the property as well as sets of stairs down to 9N. On the lakeside next to the brook, guests could play tennis and go swimming; this land later held the By Water Café and Cobb’s Cabins and is now owned by the Lake George Land Conservancy.

--Researched by Chris Ianson, 2010