Manuscript Group 1187, Forest House Hotel, Hattacawanna Lake, NJ, Hotel Register and Postcards, 1866 – 1877

Archives Documents, Manuscripts, Maps, & Photographs

Manuscript Group 1187, Forest House Hotel, Hattacawanna Lake, NJ
Hotel register and postcards, 1866-1877, 0.6 linear feet / 1 volume
Call Number: MG 1187

• Summary
• Administrative History
• Provenance Note
• Scope and Content Note
• Related Collections

Summary:

Register of a hotel in what is now Budd Lake, Morris County, New Jersey. The register identifies guest, date and time of arrival, and hotel room number. Included are eight postcards of the hotel and lake.

Purchase, 1983.

Administrative History:

In 1866, the Forest House was one of the most prominent resort hotels on Hattacawanna Lake (today known as Budd Lake) in Morris County, New Jersey. Under the ownership of its proprietor, Jesse Sharp, the Forest House enjoyed success throughout the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, and was described in a 1914 account as the “leading hotel?on the lakefront” of Budd Lake. In 1914, the Forest House could accommodate 250 guests.

Sources:

History of Morris County. W.W. Munsel & Co.: New York, 1882.

A History of Morris County. Lewis Historical Publishing Co.: New York, 1914.

Provenance Note:

The Forest House Hotel register and postcards were purchased on January 29, 1983.

Scope and Content Note:

The collection consists of a hotel register, with entries ranging from 1866 to 1877, and eight postcards, probably dating from the early 20^th century.

The hotel register contains the names, addresses, times of arrival, and room numbers of every guest at the Forest House hotel. In addition, a special note is made if the guest chooses to eat dinner at the hotel.

The eight picture postcards, each of which depicts a recreational scene at the hotel, reveal much about the activities pursued by Forest House guests. In the postcards, guests are seen canoeing on Budd Lake, enjoying ice cream at a lakeside snack shop, playing tennis on the hotel?s courts, and relaxing on the hotel’s large patio.

Related Collections:

Manuscript Group 1361, New Jersey Places, Photographs, and Prints: Budd Lake

Processed by Scott Dixler, July 2001

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