124 Lake Street
Address: 255 Lake Street
Old Address: 124 Lake Street
Other names: Henry Davis House
Year built: 1892
Other information: Henry Davis (c. 1856-1920) was a guide operating out of the Saranac Lake area from 1885-1920.
"In 1892 the Davises had a house built on Lake Street, a mile closer to town [than their rented cabin on Lower Saranac Lake]. It occupied a half acre of land purchased previously and commanded a view of Saddleback (MacKenzie) Mountain to the east. The place cost a little less than $1,000, which had been carefully saved out of guiding fees of $3 or $4 a day. It consisted of a large kitchen, a roomy pantry, a modest living room, one downstairs bedroom and four upstairs bedrooms. At the rear was a horse barn and a dug well, lined with stone to a point 30 inches above ground level. The well produced the sweetest of spring water in abundant quantities during all seasons. Under the house (still standing at 124 Lake Street) was a stone foundation enclosing a dirt-floored cellar, where perishable foods could be stored safely in tight metal containers. The house was comfortable but it stood in the open on a mound of sandy loam. 'It was hot in the summer,' [Henry Davis's daughter] Mrs. [Jane] Arnold said, 'and Mother always missed the shade of the cabin and the cool breezes off the lake.'"
From Adirondack Life September/October 1982, page 20.
