I came upon my first Sagamore Chair in 2005 when a friend of mine showed me a pair of chairs she had purchased on the roadside while driving through the Adirondacks.

The man who sold them to her claimed that they were the last two examples of the lawn chairs originally used at the famous Sagamore Resort in Lake George, NY. According to him, the Victorian-era chairs were used during the period following the opening of the Sagamore in 1883 until the resort burned down for the first time ten years later. (The hotel burned a second time in 1914 and was rebuilt after both fires).

I was struck by the chairs’ design and construction. They both were in poor condition, so I struck a deal to repair them so that I could have the opportunity to study them more closely and copy their design.

While repairing the pair I noticed several common points of structural failure. Using structural forensics I was able to determine what the weaknesses in the design were, and develop construction methods to eliminate these points of failure without impacting the overall design of the chairs. I named my version of the design after the Sagamore, in honor of the chairs’ supposed history.

These unique chairs, with their sinuous lines, and comfortable design are among the most popular furniture I make and sell.