A Summer Retreat Preserved in the Catskill Mountains
Theatrical yet as cozy as a camp, this Victorian house that sat vacant for a decade was remarkably intact.
They’d been looking for a weekend house for over a year, viewing everything from old barns to bungalows, in three states. Lewis Remele and his husband James Danner wanted something uncommon, unique—and they wouldn’t mind doing some work.
Still, nothing fit the bill, until they heard about a vacant Victorian summer camp in Elka Park. A late-19th-century colony high in the Catskills, Elka Park boasts picturesque homes nestled into steep, wooded hillsides overlooking the Indian Head Wilderness and Plattekill Clove (“clove” is Dutch for canyon).
About the Home
The towered house was built in 1896 as a summer getaway for Joseph Keppler, a noted Victorian illustrator and founder of Puck, the national political magazine. The Kepplers visited for just eight weeks each summer, as they had a larger home in New York City.
Subsequent owners, too, left the house unchanged. When Remele and Danner found it, the house was owned by neighbors who had improved the drainage to keep its foundation intact but the house had sat vacant for a decade.
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Intact Interior
The interior was in remarkably original condition; its hemlock wainscots, paneling, and trim had never been painted. The striking great room was ringed with romantic alcoves and nooks.
Lewis Remele explains that Keppler was an actor prior to his publishing career, which may explain the house’s theatrical layout: octagonal and circular alcoves, some with raised floors, resemble stages. The house retains two towers and porches running the length of the northwestern façade.
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Major Restoration Required
Lewis and James bought the house in 2017 and spent six months supervising crews working full time. Significant restoration was needed as the house hadn’t been maintained for decades; the only change, a 1960s kitchen, had to go.
Old knob-and-tube wiring was updated, outdated plumbing replaced, three small baths added, central heat installed (with plans for geothermal conversion in the future). New insulation and 52 new storm windows and screens made the house comfortable year-round.
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Additional Renovations
Outside, the curved porch suffered from rot; its roof and soffit were replaced. Crumbling stone pillars required jacking and repointing. The exterior was repainted with Benjamin Moore’s Hunter Green on the lower clapboard body and a custom-mixed green stain on upper-storey shingles.
The trim is painted creamy Mascarpone (AF20). The 1960s kitchen was a poor renovation featuring a dropped ceiling, particleboard cabinets, and resilient flooring that had rotted. New custom cabinets have practical butcher-block countertops; the cabinets are painted Webster Green from Benjamin Moore.
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Dazzling Details
They uncovered the fir floor to find it salvageable. A carved, polychromed plate rack, from a set of Bavarian furniture made for the house in 1896, was installed over the sink. The kneipe or bar room off the kitchen had a bad case of black mold in the wood paneling, which required hours of cleaning, stripping, and refinishing.
Most of the woodwork in the house, though, required only cleaning and hemp oil to restore its luster. Future projects include adding a third-floor reading room in the tower. It seems the Kepplers had never installed bookcases here, as their library remained in their New York City home.
At Elka Park
Manhattan summers are hot and humid. During the 19th century, before air conditioning, those who could escaped the city. In 1889, several wealthy German immigrants formed a summer colony in the cool forest of New York’s northern Catskill Mountains.
They called it Elka Park, based on the letters L and K derived from their LiederKranz social club, a group supporting music and the arts that remains active today. They purchased 115 acres of cleared land and between 1889 and 1896 built 22 Victorian summer homes.
An elaborate Clubhouse was built for communal dining and events, with rooms for visitors; it was lost in a fire in 1949. The building that replaced it is still the social center today. Elka Park’s holdings grew to 1,100 acres, preserving its viewscapes, yet no additional houses were built for the next century, preserving it as a tucked-away summer colony in the mountains.
Only a few descendants of the original families remain yet the spirit remains the same: of oneness with nature and geniality. The active social season of dinner dances, parties, charity events, picnics, and children’s programs begins in late June, when the woodlands are in full bloom, and goes through Labor Day, when autumn leaves begin to drift across winding roads and nights invite sweaters and a fire in the hearth.
Summer Camp Inspired Designs
 Bevolo’s Gothic Foyer pendant, electrified, features intricate cutouts on each panel. Suitable for indoor and outdoor use, it’s 22″ tall x 18″ wide. Call for pricing. bevolo.com |
 Pendleton Woolen Mills has offered National Park blankets since the early 1900s. Their Glacier Park blanket, one of the first, has the historic colored stripes that date back to frontier trading posts. In twin, full, or queen sizes, $249–349. pendleton-usa.com |
 Inspired by antiques, the Legacy Outdoor collection has a classic Bar Harbor look complete with pineapple feet on regular chairs. With aluminum frames and polyethylene weave, pieces stand up to full outdoor exposure. The Rocker is shown in Antique Brown; black, grey, and white are special order. Through retailers. catalog.designerwicker.com |
 The 24″ Warwick strap hinge with wings is standout in Acorn Mfg.’s traditional, forged-iron hardware collections. Each sells for $127. acornmfg.com |
 You may have seen these classic rockers by Troutman Chair at an airport! Wide, splayed arms and a contoured seat make them comfortable; interlocking joints (no glue) make them durable. Back height 46 1/2 “. In Natural and eight color choices in a urethane that stands up to weather (a covered porch assures greater longevity). Through retailers. troutmanchairs.com |
 The Indiana company Old Hickory has been around since 1899. The Broadview swinging bed, shown here in a new log house, is perfected suited to old camps from Maine to the Carolinas. It’s 85″ long x 52″ deep and includes a 5″-thick contoured mattress and chains. Customer is responsible for hooks. Priced by fabric grade. oldhickory.com |
— Written by Brian D. Coleman. Photographs by John Neitzel.
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Homeowners James Danner (left) and Lewis Remele porch-sit with Leka, their Finnish Lapphund.
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Nooks and Niches: The house centers on a soaring great room with alcoves and balconies. The hemlock trim and paneling are original. Furnishings are an eclectic mix of family pieces and vintage finds.
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The octagonal dining room retains its beamed ceiling and raised paneling in hemlock. Upper walls are painted Waterbury from Benjamin Moore. The dining chairs are original to the house.
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A raised card room off the great room is set with an Eames tulip table and original chairs that were built for the house.
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A massive stone fireplace anchors one end of the great room; the dining room is beyond. Lewis upholstered the side chairs himself, using textile fragments.
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The kitchen has been renovated with custom-built cabinets, butcher block, and Bosch appliances. Walls are in Minced Onion and ceiling in Mascarpone from Benjamin Moore. The vintage wicker serving table came from a Berkshires hotel auction. The plate rack over the sink is part of a furniture set made for the house in 1896. The original fir floor was meticulously restored.
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Interior Design Photography by John Neitzel
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Quintessential Camp: Details inside and out reveal a Victorian opulence, yet the place has an informal, summer-house air with its paneled wood wainscots, beaded-board walls, and rustic stone fireplace. A voluptuous curved staircase beckons beyond the doorway.
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Bold iron strapwork accents a Dutch door opening to the back hall.
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A bar room ("kneipe" in German) off the kitchen features a stained-glass window along with a high formal wainscot and ceiling beams. The cane-back French armchair is upholstered in a Pierre Frey plaid mohair.
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On the third floor, a children’s hideaway is tucked under the eaves.
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A large alcove on the second floor was made into a bedroom aerie; stairs lead into the tower.
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A broad, wraparound porch provides mountain views and welcomes summer breezes.
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Minimally furnished, the primary bedroom is invitingly cool painted in Behr’s wispy, nearly white Green Power.
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From Another Era: With elements of Queen Anne, Free Classic, and Shingle styles, the towered Victorian house nestles into seven acres in Elka Park, a 19th-century summer colony in New York State.
