Rewind:  April 1, 2026

A HISTORY OF HAGUE’S TROUT HOUSE HOTEL
By Sally Rypkema, Hague Town Historian, and Ginger Henry Kuenzel, President of Hague Historical Society, March 2026

Today, there is little evidence of the many grand hotels that once dotted the shoreline in Hague on northern Lake George. One of these was the Trout House Hotel. And although the original hotel no longer stands, the Trout House Village Resort is still operating at the same location in the hamlet of Hague. Here we take a look at the history of this property.

The first Trout House establishment was run by John and Betsey Wheeler, who purchased the land around 1855 and opened a boarding house in the early 1860s. It had rooms for 15 boarders and was famous as a place where you could get a trout dinner for a dollar. Their son Charles (Charlie) Wheeler expanded it in the 1890s, turning it into one of Lake George’s finest hotels. There was no road over Tongue Mountain, so guests would travel by steamer up the lake to the Hague public dock, where they would be picked up by horse and buggy and brought to the hotel.

In the early 1900s, R.J. Bolton bought the property from the Wheelers. The hotel offered many amenities, including a tennis court and a croquet court.  But Bolton wanted to offer even more. In 1916, he built a large garage, which could house 30 cars and had expert mechanics on call day and night. Two years later, in 1918, he purchased the Iroquois Hotel and Guesthouse, located on the adjacent property to the south, to use as an annex.

After the Trout House burned in 1919, Bolton renovated and expanded the annex, which then became known as “The New Trout House.” This new hotel could accommodate up to 100 guests.

A write-up in the Delaware and Hudson guidebook touted: “Among the resting places of the north, few houses offer the peculiar attractions of this place. Centered among the other houses, its numerous porches, its shaded lawn and well-kept tennis courts make it a nucleus for the social activities of the season.”  It also noted, “The nightly dances to the music of the excellent hotel orchestra are largely attended, not only by the hotels guests of Hague, but by many of the cottagers along both shores.”

In 1922, Bolton opened the Trout House Casino next to the garage. It housed a poolroom, movie theater, bowling alley, and barber shop. After it burned in 1932, it was rebuilt (seen here, at right). Both architectural gems – the garage and casino (later known as Dock ‘n Dine Restaurant) – have been razed.

In his book, The History of Graphite, New York, Wilford Ross notes that the Trout House was known from coast to coast and was one of the most prominent hotels in the North Country in its heyday.  Like the other hotels, Ross writes, the Trout House was full all summer. But unlike the other hotels, Bolton opened up his hotel for the month of January, during which time he sponsored horse racing and harness racing on the ice. Racetracks would be cleared on the ice, which measured between 18 and 35 inches in thickness. Meals were served and there was dancing in the evening, with banjo and violin music.

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n 1971, Bob and Lynn Patchett purchased the Trout House and embarked on a complete transformation of the property.

In 1975, the hotel, which had been vacant and in disrepair, was taken down. Today’s Trout House Village Resort, operated by Bob and Lynn’s son and daughter-in-law – Scott and Alice Patchett – offers accommodations in log cabins and cottages, a country inn, and a motel.

But R.J. Bolton served as far more than just a hotel proprietor. He played a major role in the politics of Hague as well as Warren County and New York State. He was Hague Town Supervisor, Chair of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, Warren County Sheriff, and a New York State Assemblyman, where he used his influence to help get funding for the first paved road over Tongue Mountain in 1927. As sheriff, he was called to the scene of a murder in June of 1913 at the home of famed artist Harry Watrous, just a short distance north of the Trout House. Watrous had shot and killed a robber who had broken into his home in the middle of the night. In later years, R.J. Bolton’s grandson Dick Bolton also served as Hague Town Supervisor and Chair of the Warren County Board of Supervisors. And Josh Patchett, son of today’s Trout House owners Alice and Scott Patchett, is currently Hague Town Supervisor.

We want to thank Rick Bolton (great-grandson of RJ Bolton) and his wife Sharon for their work in researching and preserving the Bolton family history and sharing it with us.

Thank you to Sally Rypkema and Ginger Kuenzel for sharing this story of the Trout House Resort in Hague.