Architectural vision for Lakeview Lodge at Band Camp Ruins, overlooking cleared land with woodland and historic stone ruins framing the view

Saugerties, New York

A remarkable retreat is taking shape.

Lakeview Lodge at Band Camp Ruins will be a five-bedroom, six-bath luxury estate overlooking a private, spring-fed pond on 24 wooded acres. Each of the four king bedrooms will feature an ensuite bathroom and a private entrance to the rear covered patio, with picturesque views of the pond. An ensuite bunk room with four twin beds and a hidden, kids-only lounge space will bring the lodge’s maximum capacity to 12. Here, modern lodge living will meet the storied remains of the former Ernest S. Williams Band Camp. The property is planned to become available as a short-term rental sometime in 2028.

Four ensuite king bedrooms Ensuite bunk room with four twin beds Maximum capacity of 12 Short-term rental planned for 2028 Private movie theater Indoor pickleball Golf simulator Game room Screened porch Hot tub & fire pit Private spring-fed pond Swimming, fishing & winter ice skating Dock & trails

Property owned by JAZ Property Group LLC. Renderings and planned amenities are conceptual and subject to change.

The history behind the name

Before the ruins, there was music.

Historic photograph of the Ernest Williams Band School building in Saugerties

A summer school in the Catskills

In 1930, the Ernest Williams School of Music opened a summer session on these same grounds in Saugerties. Its four-story, 150-foot-long main building stood directly beside the future site of Lakeview Lodge. It held a concert hall, dining room, kitchen, dormitories and baths for students who came to study, rehearse and perform. At its height, the camp housed more than 200 students—so much so that it was said anyone who was anyone in the music world and lived on the East Coast during that time period either studied or taught here.

Historic view of the main Ernest Williams Band School building and its entrance stairs — **Then** — the main building during its years as a music school.

The surviving entrance stairs and stone foundations at Band Camp Ruins today — **Now** — the entrance stairs and foundations remain on the property.

From the archives

The night the music stopped.

In May 1948, fire destroyed the camp’s main auditorium and a music library containing roughly 10,000 works and unpublished manuscripts. The camp announced plans to reopen that summer. It never did.

May 1948

1881–1947

Ernest S. Williams

Williams was a celebrated cornet soloist, conductor, composer and influential teacher. He performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Goldman Band before founding the Ernest Williams School of Music in Brooklyn in 1922 and opening its Saugerties summer camp in 1930. Generations of his students went on to hold prominent positions in American orchestras and concert bands. He also self-published numerous instructional books, many of which continue to be used to teach trumpet and cornet today.