Spencer and Katrina Trask spent the summer of 1906 on Clay Island, a small island just offshore of Bolton Landing in Lake George. The Trasks used Clay Island as an escape from the endless stream of extravagant house parties at their grand mansion in…

While the Adirondacks had once been considered “one unbroken wilderness” and an exceptionally harsh environment, the rise of the Massachusetts Transcendentalists in the two decades prior to the American Civil War changed the public perception of…

The Stone Tower was most likely constructed around 1893, the same time as the Yaddo Mansion. The Trasks intended to use the upper story of the structure as their family chapel, with the lower level being used to store ice. The Trasks later came to…

Upon the completion of the reconstructed Yaddo Mansion in 1893, Spencer and Katrina Trask sought to furnish their new home with all the trappings of an English Tudor country estate as well as all the comforts of a modern American home. The Great Hall…

Located on the first floor of the Yaddo Mansion, the spacious Music Room is one of the primary social spaces at Yaddo. Following the communal dinner and the end of quiet hours, artists in residence are free to explore the rooms of the estate. For…

Much like the surrounding forests, the lakes and streams are essential components of Yaddo’s pastoral landscape. Similar to other lakes and ponds around Saratoga Springs, the Yaddo lakes were carved out by retreating glaciers. In 1932, the…

Spencer and Katrina Trask designed Yaddo to have a large terrace fronting the lawn, as well as a smaller covered porch. Terraces and porches were common architectural features for late-nineteenth century mansions. During the Victorian period, elite…

Spencer and Katrina Trask completed the present mansion in 1893 after their first mansion, a remodeled Queen Anne style house, burned in 1891. The family was in New York City at the time of the fire. Close friend and Spencer’s business partner…

The forests surrounding the Yaddo mansion are one of the estate’s notable landscape features. Visitors travel down meandering dirt lanes winding through the forests before arriving at the mansion or gardens. The forests are key in creating the…

In addition to designing the formal Rose Garden in 1899, Spencer and Katrina Trask also created a more informal woodland Rock Garden between the house and the Rose Garden. The Trask’s design process for the Rock Garden is even less well-documented…