For more than 150 years, Scott’s Family Resort has beckoned families to its nearly 1,000 bucolic acres.
But the waterfront compound in Deposit, New York — just under a three-hour drive from the city — is best known as the idyllic backdrop for a few beloved episodes of Amazon Prime’s hit series, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
The Catskills retreat in Delaware County, near Binghamton in upstate New York, has been operating since 1869.
But now, due to lingering debts and the ailing health of its owners, who are in their 90s, the Scott family is ready to pass the torch to a new proprietor for $6 million. The auction for the property ended on Sept. 17 without a qualified bid, so it still remains on the market.
In the show, set in the 1950s and ’60s, Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) is a housewife turned standup comedian who spends summers at the fictional Steiner Resort in the so-called “Borscht Belt.” She and her family enjoy dances, picnics, bowling and July 4 fireworks on the lawn.
In real life, the 134 rooms, cottages and guest houses at Scott’s Family Resort, set upon spring-fed Oquaga Lake, are typically open from Memorial Day to Columbus Day but are currently closed due to COVID. It’s still available to rent out for private events, tours and occasional stays.
“It had the best year ever after ‘Mrs. Maisel’ filmed there,” says Jonathan Meyerhoff, 53, who is married to the Scotts’ daughter, Jai Hari Meyerhoff, and has been a visitor since the 1970s when his parents were performers there.
The Playhouse has a ballroom, a classic ice cream and soda fountain and a bowling alley from the 1900s with hand-set pins. Outdoors, there are water sports on the lake, as well as courts for tennis, volleyball and shuffleboard.
An Instagram account called Cheap Old Houses spotlighted the troubled resort with a plea to save it. The post has garnered nearly 40,000 likes.
Meyerhoff is helping to field calls and offers for the property, which is not publicly listed.
“So many people come back here,” he says. “Everybody loves the family vibe.”
An earlier version of this story appeared in the New York Post print editions on June 11.