Maple Point
On July 26, 1902, The Elmira Daily Advertiser described Maple Point this way: “The cottage itself is a marvel of beauty, and the boat landing is covered by a neat pavilion, which makes it the handsomest dock on the lake.”
Maple Point combines the historical accounts of three generations of the Gleason, Bush, and Wells families who owned the property between 1895 and 2005. It also includes the author’s memoir of the twenty-two summers she spent at Maple Point cottage on Keuka Lake.
Tales of historical figures and places come to life: Rachael Brooks Gleason, one of the first American women doctors, and her husband Silas O. Gleason owned and operated the Elmira Water Cure as an alternative to 1800s medicine. Racheal Gleason delivered the four children of Olivia Langdon Clemens and her husband, Mark Twain. The Gleasons, Langdons, and Clemens were close friends, as was Rev. Thomas K. Beecher of Park Church, who was also the brother of Harriett Beecher Stowe.
Patricia Taylor Wells takes you on a journey to Keuka Lake and the surrounding Finger Lakes area, one of the most scenic places in America. The author tells how the lakes were formed and provides a snapshot of the indigenous people who first roamed Keuka Lake and gave it her name. Daily life is recalled from the journals and guest books kept by those who were fortunate to sit on the front porch of the cottage overlooking the lake.