POLE HOUSE

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 10: BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Pole House
1915 – ?

Pole House. [hook_031_mod.jpg]

POLE HOUSE, 1915 – ?

Pole House was constructed for a cost of $256.53 to serve as a much-needed guest house for visitors to the School.

In a 1915 Letter to Friends, Miss de Long notes that

We have finished the building of a little log house to be used as a rest house for workers, and as a guest house for our many visitors. No Adirondack lodge built by a millionaire can be more charming than this cheap little building, put up by a man who has built many a log barn and furnished with fascinating bark furniture made by our stone mason from the hills of Italy [Luigi Zande]. This little house is always open for you and we are anxious to have just as many of you as possible enjoy its hospitable fire and the view from its western windows.

Pole House became a favorite of many visitors who found their way to the campus. Its location high on a west facing hill captured the view down the long valley and, on summer evenings, there was always a cool breeze.

It was largely a Spring, Summer, and Fall building, as it had no insulation and only the fireplace for warmth. Also, there was no fully functioning kitchen or indoor bathroom in the building. It was as rustic as the barn it emulated but was a fond and favorite topic in the letters from visitors to the School. Pole House is no longer in existence and records have not as yet been found that describe its ending.