New historic marker placed in Cliff Haven in remembrance of Catholic Summer School of America

CLIFF HAVEN — The Clinton County Historical Association and the Town of Plattsburgh celebrated the history of Cliff Haven as the location of the Catholic Summer School of America with a historical roadside marker. The dedication ceremony was held at 1 p.m. on the median between the southern end of Lakeshore Drive and Route 9 with speakers, including the Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Bernie Bassett, Plattsburgh Town Historian and Cliff Haven Homeowners Association President Richard Brogowski and Clinton County Historical Association President Helen Nerska. "It's just amazing what took place at this lake, the Town of Plattsburgh and the Champlain Valley," Bassett said. "I commend the Cliff Haven Homeowners Association, our historians and the people who simply care about the past." Following the dedication ceremony, people flocked over to the Clinton County Historical Association Museum for a 2 p.m. presentation with Cliff Haven resident and CSSA Historian Roger Black, featuring a photo-rich virtual walking tour of the Catholic Summer School of America. "I've been researching the Catholic Summer School of America for many years now," Black said. "I'm very pleased to see this sign here." CATHOLIC SUMMER SCHOOL The first session of the summer school was held in New London, Connecticut in July 1892, said Brogowski during the ceremony. After some consideration, the Delaware and Hudson Railway proposed to donate 400 acres in front of Lake Champlain to put the summer school in what is now Cliff Haven. From 1896 to 1941, the Catholic Summer School of America was a nationally famous summer destination for Catholic families, distinguished leaders of the Catholic Church of America, prominent lecturers, numerous New York governors and a few U.S. presidents, including William McKinley and William Howard Taft. At the time, Cliff Haven was filled with over 20 cottages, a large white auditorium for educational purposes and performances and a large chapel with nine altars. Along with being both educational and religious, it was also very oriented around outdoor recreation — a place where people could go swimming, boating, canoeing, horseback riding and golfing on a 18-hole golf course. "It was a religious Catholic community place where they could go for summer vacation," Black said. "It was a very unique vacation spot that brought together Catholics and presented them with an actual educational program." NEW HISTORIC MARKER The new historic marker was made possible by the Historic Roadside Marker Program through the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. The foundation launched its Historic Roadside Marker Program in 2006 to erect markers in towns and villages within Onondaga County. In 2010, the program was expanded to other counties in New York and kept expanding throughout the years until April 2012 when they expanded the program to include all municipalities as eligible grant recipients. The foundation, CCHA director Melissa Peck said, strongly believes that historic markers play an important role in local historic preservation by serving a dual purpose: educating the public and fostering historic tourism. "I see historic markers all the time and they not only commemorate a person or a historic event, but they really provide a window into our past, into a period that has long gone that really made a difference in our area," Nerska said. "It reminds you, especially in this case, how the past and the magnificence of an entirely different area of a destination of national and international importance benefited our entire area."

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New historic marker placed in Cliff Haven in remembrance of Catholic Summer School of America

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