Historical Interpreter
To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, and at least three references to:
Connor Williams, Sagamore Historian at cwilliams@greatcampsagamore.org
Job Title: Historical Interpreter
Location: Raquette Lake, NY
Job Type: Full-time, seasonal
Dates: June 1 to October 18
Compensation: $15.00-17.00/hour depending upon experience. Free on-site meals and lodging are available. * (Valued at $31.80/day as determined by the NYS DOL.)
Historical Interpreter
Help bring the past to life at a National Historic Landmark!
Great Camp Sagamore is now hiring historical interpreters for the 2024 season. The interpreters’ primary responsibility is leading groups of day visitors and overnight guests on daily guided two-hour tours of Sagamore’s historically preserved and restored 17-acre, 27-building campus. Interpreters also use a substantial amount of their time conducting agreed upon season-long history projects that are mutually beneficial to their own historical interests and Sagamore’s ongoing initiatives. Past examples include archiving documents, imagining displays, creating historical media, conducting historical research, or expanding historical communications and marketing strategies.
Other duties also include supporting multi-day, overnight, or special history programs in various ways, often assisting with set-up logistics or joining an in-progress event. On occasion, interpreters also work in the welcome center and retail gift shop where all tours begin and end. Lastly, interpreters may also lead or help facilitate “History Hikes” to nearby wilderness sites using maintained hiking trails. While neither tours nor trails are particularly strenuous, this is a job suited for outgoing individuals who enjoy being outdoors, talking to visitors, and sharing stories and insights about the past.
Applicants need not be subject experts: two weeks of fully paid, full-time training start the season. During training, interpreters learn about Sagamore’s historical origins, key players in its past, and how camp operations provided sophisticated luxury in the heart of the most remote part of the Eastern United States. We also share strategies and develop skills to help interpreters draw visitors into nuanced historical narratives in lighthearted, engaging and accessible ways.
Beyond these primary responsibilities, interpreters are also welcomed as full participants in Sagamore’s organizational culture and operations, and contribute to providing a safe and welcoming atmosphere for guests and fellow staff.
About Great Camp Sagamore
Located on an otherwise undeveloped 200 acre lake and surrounded by more than 4000 acres of forever wild forest in New York’s Adirondack Park, Great Camp Sagamore provides an exceptional example of the Adirondack architectural style. With extravagant buildings built almost entirely by hand with native materials harvested on site, Sagamore’s preserved past provides unparalleled opportunities for visitors to connect to nature and community while reflecting on more than 125 years of environmental, architectural, and American history.
Built in 1895 by Adirondack developer and railroad heir William West Durant, Sagamore Lodge was owned by Alfred Vanderbilt and his widow Margaret Emerson for more than fifty years from 1901 to 1953. Between 1954 and 1975, Syracuse University owned and ran Sagamore as an important site for lifelong learning and scientific, industrial, and corporate conferences. Since 1975, Great Camp Sagamore has operated as a non-profit organization, welcoming overnight guests and day visitors to experience Great Camp lifestyles as program attendees, vacation guests or tour visitors. There are few velvet ropes at the site: guests and staff alike sleep in the historic buildings, eat in the historic dining hall, and enjoy use of the historic playhouse, boathouse and other recreational amenities.
Working at Great Camp Sagamore:
This is a full-time, non-exempt, hourly position that runs from June 1 through October 18, 2024. The standard work schedule is eight hours per day, five days per week. In addition to job-specific duties that account for the great majority of their time, historical interpreters may be assigned up to four paid hours per week assisting other departments as necessitated by unexpected developments or special needs, including communications, marketing, retail, donor relations, office, kitchen, housekeeping or facilities. Compensation includes entirely free room and board, along with full use of the camp’s recreational facilities.
Great Camp Sagamore employs seven year-round and 18-20 seasonal staff members. It is a collaborative work environment where all staff are expected to lead by example and to foster a safe, encouraging, and enjoyable community for all staff and visitors.
Great Camp Sagamore is committed to creating, supporting, and sustaining a diverse, inclusive, and equitable work environment that empowers all staff members to grow and to be active within decision-making spaces. We are committed to ensuring an anti-racist culture and a work environment free from discrimination and harassment where staff are empowered to bring their authentic selves to every aspect of their work. Great Camp Sagamore does not discriminate based on gender, gender expression, sexual identity, sexual orientation, race, class, color, age, ethnicity, first language, religion or belief, or family, marital, parental, military, or veteran status in any aspect of employment including recruitment, hiring, promotion, discipline, termination, wages, benefits, training, and professional development.
Requirements for the Historical Interpreter position include a four-year college degree or similar educational attainment, previous experience and comfort with public speaking, a demonstrated interest in history, and the ability to thrive in a small, tight-knit community deep in a wilderness setting. Qualified people in all stages of their career are encouraged to apply.
To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, and at least three references to:
Connor Williams, Sagamore Historian at cwilliams@greatcampsagamore.org