The following is taken from a history of Livingstone Lodge, written by the son of Alfred Livingstone for the current owners.
“Around 1997, in order to conform to the 911 emergency call system, the town of Enfield renamed Old Shaker Hill Road Livingstone Lodge Road. The new name remembered a once popular summer resort that operated for over fifty years until its sale in 1983. Overlooking the lake and high on the hill, Livingstone Lodge’s dark-stained siding and bright red trim made it a prominent landmark that also brought minor but important commerce to the community.
The Lodge began as a business venture of Alfred and Nellie Louise Livingstone. It offered an ideal summer retreat, where the founders could enjoy summers at Mascoma Lake with family and friends.
The Livingstones’ original wish and intent was to open a summer boys' camp for which he was immensely qualified. Livingstone was director of physical education at a New Jersey high school and acclaimed in New Jersey sport circles. Nellie was an accomplished painter and sculptor, who used clay she took from Mascoma Lake.
It was a family labor of love. However, our daily desire to swim, fish, or romp through the woods was often preempted by painting, mowing, and cutting firewood for the never-dying fireplace. With thirteen structures, forty-two acres and 2,280’of lake-front, the Lodge kept three young lads pretty busy.
The 1930s depression and social hardships altered the plan, so the Livingstones catered to business and professional folks seeking a quiet and peaceful vacation in the mountains. The Lodge improved its facilities each year and offered an affordable retreat to friends and guests.
The Lodge also acquired a valuable collection of early New England antiques. Guests were in awe of the thousands of items hanging from walls and ceilings. The Old Shaker furniture, handmade tools, brass antique pots, hand forged hinges and a spinning wheel or two created a museum ambiance.
Summering in Enfield was not always happy. Two weeks before opening in 1935, the Lodge was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. The original 1859 site was destroyed along with more recent renovations and improvements. The Lodge opened anyway, operating from its game-room. The 1938 hurricane took off a few of our cabin roofs and blighted the landscape. Repair was done in time for the 1939 summer season.
The years before World War II were the height of the Lodge’s operations. At full occupancy, there could be up to forty guests. Such a crowd would relegate my brothers and me to cots in the open-air tool shed. The camp-out we enjoyed; the mosquitoes we did not.
During the boom years, there was complete dining room service under the head chef, who came every year from a major hotel in Boston. His assistant and three Dartmouth student waiters made dining at the Lodge a gourmet’s treat. Staff was billeted in a three-unit employee cabin behind the kitchen. Housekeeping was provided by mostly local residents with excellent results.
World War II caused an almost a total shut-down of the resort. Although Dad, then a licensed pilot, attempted to enlist in any air service, he was denied due to his age. He reopened the Lodge in the summer of 1942, although with reduced services.
The years after World War II permitted only a minor rebirth of the pre-war boom. The cabins acquired cooking facilities and there was a light breakfast/brunch on a modified American plan for overnight transient guests. Enfield’s Sarah Littlefield served for many years as chef and house mother to this teenager. I also remember her husband Walter, who could cuss up a storm.
Over the many years of operations, thousands of past guests and friends have enjoyed the view from the Lodge. They came from all quarters of the globe, from many varied professions and academia, among them many famous and important people. They were unknown on your streets or in your shops but were guests of your town and of Enfield’s environs. They will remember.”