The Kuser Lodge: An Inn, A Mansion, A Museum
High Point State Park
The Kuser Family Transformed the High Point Inn
Twin brothers John and Anthony Kuser, purchased the High Point Inn and the surrounding property in 1910. The sprawling mountain resort became the summer retreat of Anthony Kuser and his wife, Susie Dryden Kuser.
The Kusers tore down more than a third of the 300-foot building to convert the rustic, Adirondack-style inn into their private summer home. They remodeled what remained in the Colonial Revival style with massive columns and large porches. The mountaintop mansion was the home of Kuser vacations for a dozen years and became a landmark.
The Gift of the Lodge: A Public Resource for 50 years
In 1923 the Kusers donated their summer home and more than 10,000 acres to the State of New Jersey. The lodge became the park office and a museum. By the late 1930s the building boasted one of the largest museums in the state. The Kuser Lodge also was the scene of numerous ceremonies, meetings and social functions. Massive fireplaces warmed sightseers on chilly days and visitors could rent rooms on upper floors for overnight stays.
By the 1960s the building was showing signs of disrepair. The poor condition of the Kuser Lodge forced its closing to the public in 1977. In 1995, following considerable controversy, the Lodge was demolished.
The Kuser Years
1904 Thomas Edison, once a guest at the High Point Inn, invents the first sound motion picture.
1908 The Kusers purchase the High Point Inn. The Ford Motor Company introduces the Model “T.”
1913 The 16th Amendment creates the Income Tax.
1914-1918 World War I
1916 The National Park Service is established.
1920 The 18th Amendment, Prohibition, goes into effect.
1922 The first section of the Appalachian Trail is completed in Bear Mountain State Park, NY.
1923 The Kuser family donates High Point to the State of New Jersey.
Marker is on New Jersey Route 23, on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
