107 Park Avenue, c. 1914. Photographed by Fletcher M. Durbin, Photograph may show Durbin's wife and children. Historic Saranac Lake Collection, ACC2020.2, courtesy of John Durbin.Address: 230 Park Avenue
Old Address: 107 Park Avenue
Other names: Burgess Cottage (1911), Broadhead Cottage (1913); Ward Cottage (1947); DIS
Year built: pre-1910
Architect: Possibly William H. Scopes / Scopes and Feustmann
Other information: The land that this cure cottage sits on was originally part of the hop farm on the south side of Mount Pisgah owned by Ensine Miller. His widow, Julia Miller, subdivided the farm after his death, and in 1902, William H. Scopes purchased a 2-acre portion of the land. Scopes further divided the lot, and 0.41 acres of it became 107 Park Avenue. Scopes sold the property to Mary E. Burgess in February 1903. The exact date of construction is not known, but the building was completed prior to June of 1910. Scopes' ownership of the land and stylistic elements of the cure cottage indicate that it may have been designed by Scopes and/or the firm of Scopes and Feustmann.
107 Park Avenue, c. 1914. Photographed by Fletcher M. Durbin. Photograph may show Durbin's wife and children. Historic Saranac Lake Collection, ACC2020.2, courtesy of John Durbin.
The building was originally a single-family home, and was operated as a cure cottage by Burgess until 1921, when she sold it to Elizabeth W. Williams. In 1940, Thomas P. Ward and his wife, Madeline, purchased the cottage. During World War II, their son Daniel F. Ward was in service. Thomas P. Ward was mayor of the Village of Saranac Lake from 1935 to 1941. The family was involved in Democratic politics here for three generations.
There are TB Society records of patients in the cottage under the ownership of Mary Burgess from 1910 to at least 1916. In the TB Society records, Fletcher Durbin is listed as occupying Miss Burgess' cottage on December 18, 1914, but a different occupant is listed by January of 1915. Durbin and his family moved to the Dr. A. H. Allen Cottage, just two houses down on the other side of Catherine Street. Durbin photographed the north and west elevations of the house sometime around 1914. There are no records of patients in the cottage after the sale to Elizabeth Williams. There is at least one patient recorded at the "Ward Cottage" in 1947, according to the Disinfection Records.
230 Park Avenue, January 31, 2021. Courtesy of Chessie Monks-Kelly.
Following the death of Thomas P. Ward in 1962, his son, Daniel F. Ward inherited the property. The property was transferred to Daniel's son, Thomas P. Ward, II, in 1983; he owned it with his wife Susan from 1993 until his death in 2005. Susan sold the property in 2015.
The 2 ½ story frame house, which features Craftsman and Shingle Style elements, has shingle siding and a stone foundation. The main entry is through a porch on the right side of the front north-facing elevation. The main roof and a third floor shed dormer on the front have overhanging edges with brackets underneath. There is also a cross gable on the rear elevation. The side gables have projecting eaves. Diagonal braces in the shape of logs support the side gables, probably decorative. There is another projecting element wrapping around above the main entry porch. A first floor one-story bay window exists on the right west-facing elevation.
The cottage was divided into two apartments (1st floor and 2nd/3rd floor) sometime prior to the 1980s. The interior staircase was removed between the first and second story, and an exterior stairway was added between the first floor sitting-out porch and the second floor sleeping porch. The third floor dormer was extended sometime before the 1980s as well. The property still has two sitting-out porches, one sleeping porch, and an enclosed former sleeping porch. The second and third floor exterior of the cottage were originally finished in stucco, but the majority of the building is now shingled.
Note: this was previously noted as the residence of Henry Larom. The Larom Family lived at 108 Park Avenue from ~1910-1916, so this was likely an error.
107 Park Avenue in the 1980s. Photograph was taken as part of the National Register property surveys conducted by Historic Saranac Lake. Historic Saranac Lake Collection.
The west elevation of 107 Park Avenue is visible at right. 103 Park Avenue is at left.
This photograph was taken by Fletcher Durbin, likely from the Dr. A. H. Allen Cottage, c. 1914.
Historic Saranac Lake Collection, ACC2020.2, courtesy of John Durbin.
Source: Deed research conducted by Chessie Monks-Kelly through the Franklin County Clerk's office in 2021, as well as information provided at the sale of the property in 2015.
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