Samoset Country Club

The Samoset Country Club in Morrisville was a cottage colony operation for summer tourists on Lake Lamoille in Cadys’s Falls, VT. The country club catered to out-of-town tourists who were primarily from the New York/New Jersey area. Attempting to initiate a winter business, the club constructed a toboggan chute and offered cross-country skiing and ice skating as additional winter attractions. In 1937, downhill skiing was added on a small practice slope.

A view of the area in the late 1930s, from John and Linda Osgood.
Tow at left at edge of trees.

The Morrisville Messenger featured two short write-ups on the practice slope, one in 1937 and the other in 1940. The earlier article does not mention a tow however, a Norwegian instructor by the name of Ragnor Blomquest was brought in to teach guests how to ski. The 1940 report mentions a ‘newly constructed’ rope tow on the site. A photograph that was provided by Morrisville historian Francis Favoreau shows a small portion of the slope and tow. The country club closed in 1942 because of World War II and reopened for a few brief years starting in 1946, but the rope tow and toboggan chute were never used again.