St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1894-08-23
IN THE KEENE VALLEY.
Editorial Correspondence

Murray wrote DOCK Iudl iuli u
duced the Adirondack wilderness to
the American traveller, yet the Keene
Valley has an old resident who has
done more to open up this wilderness
than all the books of Adirondack"
Murray. o. S. Phelps, better known
to all travellers in this region as
"Old Mountain" Phelps, was born
in Vermont in 1916 and came to this
vicinity when only II years old. For
so years he has lived in the Keene
Valley and is the pioneer guide OF
the Adirondacks. ae made the as
cent of Mount Marcy in 1S49 and
has since climbed all the peaks in its
vicinity and opened up many trails
that have since been continually used.
The inventor is often forgotten when
the promoter buys the patent. SO
it is with "Old Mountain" Phelps.
This pathfinder IS forgotten while
'Adirondack" Murray achieves fame
and makes and loses fortunes in va
rious was outside the ministry.
Keene Valley is reached by easy
stage lines from WestpOrt on Lake
Champlain. An eight mile ride over
an excellent road brings the travel
Ter to Elizabethtown, a prosperous
village of 1000 souls and the home
of Rev. A. w. Wild formerly, of Peach
am. Two large hotels are well filled
with tourists during the summer
season. The next stage ride OF 16
miles brings one into Keene Valley,
but before the valley IS reached the
mountains must be climbed. In the
village of Keene Heights are two
large hotels and three miles up the
valley is St. Hubert's Inn. Between
many cottages and small hotels.
The Brazilian minister, Salvador
Mendonca, has a $3.50 stone resi-
dence that is the finest in the valley.
He spends his summers here and is
expected to arrive with his family
this week. Not far from this house
is the summer home of Charles Dud-
ley Warner. This cottage has not
been occupied for several seasons
That delightful outdoor book, In
the Wilderness" was written here
and it's stories are the most accurate
guide book of the region. His story
entitled "Catching a Trout" is un-
questionably the best and is bit of
satire aimed directly at Mr.. Murray.
The guides are Disguised with the
exaggerations and romance of Muir
rays tales, as so many of the city
folks come here with the expecta-
tions of seeing all that Murray's i'm
aglnative pen describes.
St. Hubert's Inn is situated at the
head of the valley in one Of the most
attractive spots in the mountains.
The plateau is completely surround
ed with mountains whose sides are
covered with the forest primeval.
The dozen mountains encircling the
hotel range from $500 to 5000 feet,
nearly all of which have good trails
leading to their SUBMITS.
The hotel stands on the site of
the old Beede House, which was
burned in the winter of 1890. The
new hotel was built and opened to
the public the following spring. 1t
is modernJ in construction, hand
somely furnished and complete in
every particular. The readers of
the CALEDONIAN will be interested to
know that one Of its managers is
Pliny Houghton, an old St. Johns
bury boy. He came from Boston
FIVE years ago fer his health and has
remained ever since. The bracing
mountain air has completely restor-
ed his health and by his untiring eff
forts he has made ST. Hubert's Inn
one of the most popular resorts in
the Adirondacks. The hotel and sur
rounding cottages accommodate 300
guests and nearly this number are
now here. President H. NJ Whit
ney of the Dominion Coal Company
and the former president of Boston's
street railroad system, is expected
here with his family soon Prot.
H L. Southwick of the Emerson
School of Oratory is here, together
with Prof. Metcalf of the same in
stitution. Mr. Southwick's wife is
better known to St. Johnsbury au-
diences as Mrs. Jessie Eldridge South
wick, reader, and Prof. Metcalf is
c.,r,raoc+oI Z -. L..