Two Adirondack chairs hide on the front step of Arter Hall. According to the travel guide adirondack.net, Adirondack chairs — known as “Muskoka” chairs in Canada — were invented by Thomas Lee of Westport, NY in the opening years of the 20th century, and were originally called “Westport” chairs after their town of origin. As the chairs grew in popularitity across the United States, the name changed to reflect the chair’s origin in the Adirondack Mountains of New England.