Lake Placid Club (1895-1980)

Located on the shores of Mirror Lake, the Lake Placid Club dates to 1895 when Melvil Dewey and his wife bought five acres to develop a model community. Most famous for creating the Dewey Decimal system, the influential librarian was also instrumental in Lake Placid’s development into a resort area. The couple began their developmental efforts by purchasing a farmhouse for use as a seasonal home and a summer retreat for teachers and librarians. From this humble beginning, the Lake Placid Club gradually grew to encompass 9,600 acres and the resort even hosted the 1932 Winter Olympics. The Lake Placid Club continued operations until 1980 when it closed. The last of its buildings were demolished in 2002 and Lake Placid Lodges now occupies the site of the former club.

Although there is only one aspect of Melvil Dewey's life that is generally remembered--the development of the Dewey decimal system still used by many libraries, there are many other aspects of Dewey's life that were both significant and later controversial. A towering figure in the field of library science, Dewey served as New York's state librarian. In addition to his system for sorting books by topics at the young age of 25, he also advocated for a simplified system of spelling. Using the system he created, he often spelled his name (Melville Dewey) as Melvil Dui.

In 1895, Dewey and his wife leased a farmhouse along Mirror Lake in Lake Placid. The couple already owned property in the area and after first inviting selected guests who were often librarians and educators, the farmhouse became home to the Placid Park Club. The Deweys used the club as a summer retreat for themselves as well as other educators and librarians.

Eventually known as the Lake Placid Club, the club continued to thrive throughout the 1920s and 1930s, even as Dewey’s reputation suffered. Subordinates recounted incidents of tyrannical and petty treatment from Dewey, but there were graver transgressions as well. He was accused on several occasions of making unwanted sexual advances toward women, including several prominent librarians while at a meeting of the American Library Association. Dewey helped to establish the ALA in 1905, but in recent years, the organization has distanced itself from Dewey owing to his treatment of women and views towards some racial and ethnic groups. For example, his Lake Placid Club prohibited Jews, African Americans, and other minorities from joining. The ALA has in recent years removed Dewey’s name from one of the organization’s top awards.

Dewey’s views were not atypical at the time, and the club flourished and soon became fundamentally self-sufficient. The organization owned and operated several farms and a school and several properties and enterprises. By the 1920s, the club encompassed roughly 9,600 acres, a larger area than is currently occupied by the town of Lake Placid. It included more than 300 buildings, including its own theater and a staff of more than 1,000 people.

In the early years of the Lake Placid Club, Dewey ordered forty pairs of skis and began keeping some of the club’s buildings open during the winter, a practice that initially baffled locals. But Dewey’s plan, unlikely as it seemed in the early 1900s, worked, and the resort quickly became one of the leading winter sports destinations in the country. Speed-skating, in particular, became a major sport in Lake Placid, which held its first sanctioned speed-skating event in 1918.

By the late 1920s, Godfrey Dewey, Melvil’s son, was secretary of the Lake Placid Club. Godfrey Dewey was instrumental in bringing the 1932 Winter Olympics to Lake Placid. The club also served as the headquarters for the International Olympic Committee in 1980. The club closed in 1980 and the last of its buildings was demolished in 2002. The site is now home to the Lake Placid Lodges.

Peacock, Gary . An Infamous Librarian, the Lake Placid Club and the Making of a Winter Sports Hub, Adirondack Almanack. December 3rd 2020. Accessed May 25th 2022. https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2020/12/dewey-lake-placid.html.

Melvil Dewey and the Two Lake Placids, Lake Placid . Accessed May 25th 2022. https://www.lakeplacid.com/do/history/melvil-dewey.

Mann, Brian. Re-Evaluating Lake Placid Notable Melville Dewey's Legacy in the "Me Too" Era, North Country Public Radio . July 17th 2019. Accessed May 25th 2022. https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/39142/20190717/re-evaluating-lake-placid-notable-melville-dewey-s-legacy-in-the-me-too-era.