Located a mile from the Newcomb Lake Road trailhead is the Santanoni Farm Complex.

The Farm was a great source of pride for Robert C. Pruyn, who referred to the venture as a “patient contest with nature.”

Construction of the Farm began soon after completion of the Main Camp and Service complexes, with self-sufficiency in mind. Pruyn hired renowned scientific farming expert Edward Burnett of Massachusetts to design his Farm, which included housing for both staff and livestock.

Burnett sited the residential buildings and creamery uphill of the livestock, an effort to maintain hygienic food production practices. Today, visitors can still explore the Creamery, the Gardener’s Cottage and the Smokehouse, a small stone building at the northern end of the Farm. The Farm Manager’s Cottage, a Harris Brothers kit house built in 1919, remains on site but is not open to the public. In addition, the oldest building on the property, the Herdsman’s Cottage, which was built prior to the Pruyns’ purchase of the Farm, is also still on site but not open to the public.

Downhill from these buildings are the ruins of the dairy barn, which burned down in 2004, and its associated structures — the piggery and poultry house. The ruins of the duck house are located at the bottom of the hill near the wetlands. Also still in existence are the remains of the hotbeds — early cold frames — and the ruins of the seed house, which were used to start crops for the garden. The garden is now an open field just north of the Farm along Newcomb Lake Road.

The crops and livestock were chosen specifically for their ability to withstand the Adirondacks’ harsh winter climate. In fact, some crops – including some of the Duchess of Oldenburg apple trees, horseradish and asparagus — can still be found by enterprising visitors.

While in operation, the Farm provided fresh produce, milk and pork for the Pruyns, their guests and for the Santanoni staff. Chauffer Art Tummins made weekly trips with goods from the Farm to the Pruyns’ residence in Albany.

The farm ceased operation in 1931.