“My grandmother on my father’s side was alive when I was born and she kept the farm up with my dad, Albert Warner. Grandma Warner (Marilla Crowningshield Warner) ran a campground there with several little cabins, a small house for guests (which burned when I was young) and many tenting sites. There was also a blacksmith shop on the property. The campground saw lots of repeat customers in the summer months, all of whom were fishing buffs… My grandmother passed away when I was around 7 years of age (1957) and campers began to find other places to stay. All of the blacksmithing tools were given to Arto Monaco by my father, Justus Albert Warner, for use in the theme park “Land of Make Believe” which was situated in the center of Upper Jay by the river bridge.

Between the main road and the semi-circular driveway, my grandmother had a building she used to sell farm produce to passersby. It had old pie cases and the like in it and my brother and I would help her sell pie, bread (baked in the kitchen wood stove) and fresh eggs when tourists would stop in.

When I was very young, we had two work horses on the farm. They were named “Tom” and “Jerry”. We also had chickens and a pig. My job was to keep the wood box filled in the kitchen. 

There was a winter privy attached to the back porch of the old main house and another privy  near the ice house for the summer months. The water well was in front of the bay window and the inside water worked by a hand pump. We didn’t have an inside bathroom until around 1957-58.

Between the main house and the guest house and closer to the river was an “Ice House” building made of galvanized metal and insulated with sawdust. We would cut huge ice blocks from the nearby frozen river and store them in the building. The ice would keep into the mid summer!

I have wonderful memories of the farm. Across the road from the farm and up the mountain and down the other side a little is a beautiful pond called “Elvie’s Pond” or “Clement’s Pond” where my brother and I would hike to and camp out overnight and fish for Bullheads.

Across the road long before the house that is in the field there was built, we used to play baseball and had a nice baseball field there. In the winter months, we used to slide down the mountain in back of the field on skippers made with one barrel stave and a little seat attached to it.

Our entire family spent a lot of time in the swimming hole at the foot of the rapids. It had a sandy shore area and the water was around 7 feet deep on the other shoreline across from the beach. We used to catch rainbow and brown trout.

I absolutely loved those early years on that property.”

In the 70’s, Meda Romanowski, a talented carpenter, purchased the original 1800’s home and added an addition. The mid-century part of the house has been crafted to maximize river views. Her custom woodwork can be seen throughout the home.

In 2017, we purchased the property and got to renovating. Our goal was to restore this guesthouse to it’s former glory. Houses simply are not built this way anymore; we are so close to the river that you can hear it from nearly every room in Warner’s Camp. Conveniently located on a cliff, the house has never flooded. We invite you all to come enjoy this truly unique river adjacent property in the Adirondack Park. Learn more about the cabin and tour photos of the completed renovation. Before and after photos are available on Instagram.

In 2020, we made a permanent move from Brooklyn to the Adirondacks. We purchased a charming log cabin right across the street from the Original Warner’s Camp. After a couple years of renovation, this adjacent property is now available for booking on Airbnb.  Learn more about the Log Cabin at Warner’s Camp and follow along on Instagram for additional updates!