History to 1934

Kennebago was named by the Native Americans who were the lake's only regular visitors until the mid 1800's. Kennebago lies ten miles northwest of Rangeley. Approximately five miles long and one mile at its widest, the lake is more than one hundred feet deep in some places.

We don't know when the white settlers of the region first visited the area, but trappers, hunters, and fishermen knew their way around the lake region. The proximity of the Canadian border made it an attractive hideout for some reluctant draftees during the Civil War. Skeedaddler's Cove is named for them.

The first lease on the south end of the lake was signed in 1875. Phineas Richardson, Cornelius Richardson and Ed Grant opened the Forest Retreat House. Only the most adventurous sportsmen made their way to Kennebago. The railroad stopped 60 miles away in Farmington. The stagecoach could take you as far as Rangeley.

1877

From Harper's "The Androscoggin Lakes"

by Edward Abbott

The excursion to Kennebago makes a considerable demand upon him who attempts it, but is not to be overlooked by any who have really a first-class appetite for camp life.The lake is one of the most beautiful of all the feeders of the Rangeley system, walled in by mountains, and entirely cut off from the permanent haunts of men. One or two rough camps furnish the rudest of sleeping accommodations to the visitor, who must, however, take in with him his own stores, and do his own cooking.

The road thither from Rangeley is not so very long, but it is circuitous and difficult, and, after the first two or three miles, not easily passable by wagons. Kennebago pilgrims must, therefore, make most of the distance on foot, and carry their rations with them, which, if their stay is to be but a day or two, will not be so formidable a burden as to offset the pleasure of the trip. From four to five hours is needed for it: in one day and out another is a good schedule for those whose time is limited. The attraction at Kennebago is trout, in plenty and of good size, none of the Rangeley waters furnishing better sport for rod and line...

Phillips Phonograph 4-15-1882

In a little less than three hours we arrive at our journey's end. We find a very good hotel kept by Messrs. Grant & Richardson.

The buildings that constitute this hotel, or camp, are several in number. The main house is a frame building, and has about a dozen rooms; another smaller building corners on, and is used for a dining room. The kitchen, a log building, joins the dining room. Some thirty feet from the main house stands a nice; two story building with seven or eight rooms in it. This is to accommodate ladies, many of whom visit this lake each season.

A very nice sand beach serves for a boat landing.

In 1884 Ed Grant went to Beaver Pond and the Richardson Brothers changed the name to Kennebago Lake House.

Phillips Phonograph 6-4-1888

They have moved the buildings all back and you now have a fine view of the whole lake. They have also graded from the House to the Lake and are preparing the grounds for a beautiful lawn. The House is so constructed as to accommodate about 40 sportsmen and guides. Their tables are laden with the best the region affords and everything is done to make their guests comfortable.

Phillips Phonograph 7-23-1888

We are made welcome by Landlord and Landlady Richardson, whom we were very glad to meet. After a bountiful supper we took a stroll around among the hotel's surroundings.

Since they have moved their house back from the lake they have connected the main buildings together by putting a new part in the center, making a building 100 feet long and a nice wide veranda running the entire length, facing the Lake. Here can be had a fine view of the Lake and its surroundings.

They have built a new annex cottage which contains a large sitting room and six large airy bedrooms. This cottage has a nice piazza running on two sides of it, making it nice for families who may want to be by themselves. In the main building there are thirteen rooms and an office, two sitting rooms, dining room and kitchen; joining this is what they call the log cabin which Landlord Richardson and family occupy. Farther back is the guides' house which is finished up with several rooms.

Soon we came to the log stable where Landlord Richardson keeps his horses and cows. Not far away is his store house and from a look inside one would suppose he kept a first class grocery store with the large pile of barrels of flour and sugar and boxes of canned goods and every thing to make a good store. The next building is the ice house and meat market, where are kept several kinds of meat.

Near the shore of the Lake stands the boat house where they store the boats in the winter. At this time of the year they use it for a pool room and bowling alley. They are going to move this building soon to a more convenient place near the other buildings.

The little steamer "Lightning Bug" that runs on the Lake, with Mr. Eugene Smith as captain and engineer, was out of fix while we were there and had to be taken to Portland for repairs.

George Whitin of Whitinsville, Massachusetts built the first private camp on the north end of the lake in 1891. The Whitin-Lasell camp remained in the family until the mid 1990's.

By 1893 the Kennebago Lake House had 4 camps on the other end of the lake in addition to Alpha and the main house.

In 1905 the Grant brothers, Will and Hall, along with their father, Ed, began Grant's Camps. Eventually Grants would have 17 log cabins plus a lodge.

The golden age of Kennebago began in 1908 when the Kennebago Hotel Company, run by William Tibbetts, Harry Look, and money man Harry A. Furbish, bought the Kennebago Lake House. The first log camp was built in this year, and the expansion continued until the camps looked pretty much as they do today. This company would be at the helm for more than fifteen years, and eventually expanded to include the Rangeley Tavern (now the Rangeley Inn) and Pickford Camps.

Phillips Phonograph 6-18-08

The new log cabin is almost completed and is a beauty. This cabin consists of two sleeping rooms, sitting room with fireplace, and an 8 foot piazza; also one large sleeping room upstairs reached by a most unique stairway. Mr. Washburn of Portland has just finished the magnificent stone fireplace for this camp, the first one ever built at Kennebago Lake.

The Kennebago Hotel Co. is planning to erect several of these camps in the near future...

Phillips Phonograph 8-10-1908

Mr. and Mrs. F.F. Sherburne, Misses Ruth and Elizabeth and Master Tenney arrived from Beaver Pond Sunday afternoon for a three weeks' stay at Camp Bide A Wee.

In March of 1910 the paper mentioned that KLH planned to build 2 more log camps and that 4 had been built last year. By September of that year there were 9 log camps plus 6 camps on the lake shore (most at the other end of the lake) and a new set of camps at John's Pond.

The Lambert Camp (Dingle) was built in 1911.

Phillips Phonograph 9-8-1911

Judge Geo. W. Wheeler, accompanied by Mrs. Wheeler, their son, Macy and daughter, miss Helen, were here for their fourth summer. The Judge is a worker not only in the law court, but on the tennis court, for when he reached here and found there were rackets and tennis balls but no court, the Judge took off his coat, asked for a shovel and went to work on the vacant lot back of the first cottage. The college professor, the doctors, the guides, and all hands were interested in the work and now there is one of the best tennis courts in the county here at Kennebago. The Judge was greatly surprised the night before he went home to be surrounded by the guests in the office when Dr. Lambert presented him with a handsome silver loving cup from the friends here who sent balls over the net...

Phillips Phonograph 6-29-1912

Since last year the Kennebago Hotel company has made many changes and great improvements.

The three camps next to the main building have been moved back in line with the others, and two 22 x 24 foot long camps have been built, and a bath room, completely furnished with hot and cold water added to each camp, also completely furnished bath rooms in the main building.

Pipes have been laid from up on the side of Spotted mountain, and water taken from that never failing spring of pure sparkling water, and brought into all the camps.

A new and extensive system of sewerage guaranteed to be perfect has been installed. These changes, and filling the ice houses, cutting nearly 200 cords of wood have kept a crew of workmen, sometimes over 30, busy since last October......

Up on little Kennebago the Hotel Company are building two camps 18 x 20 feet which will be furnished so fishermen and hunters can remain over night or for several days if they wish. One of the camps is built for Mr. Atwood's private use...

The trails up Spotted mountain, over to John's, Flatiron and Blanchard ponds, up West Kennebago and four miles down the lake shore have all been cut out, and daily are followed by different parties and their guides, for the people who come here live out in the open, on the water or in the forest, only in the evening do they keep the camp fires burning...

Phillips Phonograph 4-22-1913

I had a delightful chat by telephone with Mr. Look at Kennebago Lake House and among other interesting things I learned that a handsome new steamboat 49 feet long; with a cabin was today loaded onto the freight car at Portland and will come via Oquossoc. The new boat is named "Kennebago" and will meet all trains, bring passengers, mail and express up the lake.

The company has also purchased a handsome new 20 foot motor boat. This winter they have built two new log camps with bath and everything is now being put in order for the travel will be much larger, as more tourists will now visit this charming spot than ever before.

Phillips Phonograph 6-23-1913

The old buckboard still comes rattling in from Rangeley and some, for the sake of old times, prefer this route.

The steamboat Kennebago leaves to take passengers down the lake at 5 in the morning for the 6:20 am train and at 10:45 am for the 12:30 p.m. train, bringing back the people who have come on the noon train in time for dinner and those who come by the afternoon train reach here in time for supper.

All are glad that the "iron horse" does not come within six miles of the place and that the echo of the steam engine is not heard across the lake. Life in these big cabins can be spent as in the days past close to the unbroken forest, with all the comforts of life, but far from the rush and noise of city life.

Phillips Phonograph 6-16-1914

There are three new camps and the casino which is 30 x30 and built just back of the tennis court where they can dance until the wee small hours and not disturb the sleepers.

The dining room has been extended ten feet the length of the building and a new piazza on the main house.

The "Old Timers" is the name a camp took from a party of railroad employees of Massachusetts who have for years spent their vacation here, coming early in the season. There were 18 in the party this year who stayed two weeks...

Phillips Phonograph 8-11-1916

The electric lights have been turned on and they are making bright the evenings, for 200 lights in a woods camp surely gives a brilliant effect.

The laundry is now equipped with electricity for all purposes.

Phillips Phonograph 6-20-1917

Work is progressing on the two new camps that are being built at the end of the line, and James T. Roche of Fairfield, Conn., is building a camp on the site of the old boat house for his own use. Also one for the guides and a dining room that will be ready for the family who come the first of August.

Phillips Phonograph 7-12-1918

Whitmore Preston of Boston is again a guest of this house coming for the ninth consecutive year. He has an attractive little camp on the hill in the woods where he spends his nights but practically all his waking moments are passed around the office and camps, where he assists very materially in adding to the happiness of the other guests. The tennis court has received good care and Mr. Preston is thus far the champion...

Phillips Phonograph 9-1-1921

Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Harcourt and son of Mr. Vernon, N.Y., have returned for another season. Mr. Harcourt is of the publishing firm of Harcourt, Brace and Howe, which published Main Street. This book, of which so much has been said, was finished in Silver Birch Cabin here at Kennebago by the author, Sinclair Lewis, who was here last season and is now in England.

The glory days of the sporting camps would last through the 1920s. In 1924 Harry Look left Kennebago to manage Pickford Camps. William Tibbetts died in July of 1927. By the time the stock market crashed in 1929 the hotel was being run by William's sons, Hayden and Payson, who were only in their early twenties. The glory days of the Kennebago Lake House were over.

1930-1934

In 1934 the business was sold at auction and purchased by J. Lewis York. For many years he had successfully run York's Log Village on Loon Lake. He changed the name to Kennebago Lake Hotel and Camps and built the auto road into camp. Good days followed for Kennebago but the next generation drove to camp and rented a Rangeley boat with a motor as often as they hired a guide.