Antique photograph of The Seventh Lake House in 1900 from the collections of Lora and Doc Jones of Old Forge and Phoenix. Duane Norton, a sawmill operator from Lewis County and a game protector in the region, built the Seventh Lake House in 1898 on what was recorded as the highest point on the Fulton Chain of Lakes, 1,820 feet. He constructed a large frame hotel with a graceful wrap-around porch at the end of Seventh Lake. He offered pure spring water, fresh eggs, fresh milk and vegetables from the Hotel’s garden and dairy, a large hall for dancing and amusements, telephone and telegraph service, hot and cold water, central heating, open fires, sanitary plumbing (electric lights soon after), and carriage service from Eagle Bay or Raquette Lake. He said Black Bass and Salmon Trout were in the Lake, Brook Trout in area waters, and that deer were abundant. He offered boat rentals. Norton billed The Seventh Lake House as a “get away from it all” destination with the “philosophic calm of secret places in the forest, the beauty of romance, the thrill of discovery, the joy of sport,” and at that time it was well isolated. However, visitors would take a train from Utica to Old Forge, a steamer or ferry to Eagle Bay and a carriage ride to the Seventh Lake House. While he described the carriage part as an easy three and one half mile ride, the way was very rough and it took almost two hours. The “getaway” became a “stay away” in short order. Even with the onset of roads and cars, it didn’t become a real going business because early driving tourists preferred places close to and visible from the highways they drove. Chester Gillette, who sensationally murdered Grace Brown at Big Moose Lake, is said to have stayed and dined at the Seventh Lake House because it was so inaccessible. J