Apollos Smith
Encyclopedia
Brighton, Franklin County, New York
Brighton is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 1,682 at the 2000 census. It was named after Brighton, England by early surveyors in the region....
, known universally as Paul Smith's Hotel
Paul Smith's Hotel
Paul Smith's Hotel, formally known as the Saint Regis House, was founded in 1859 by Apollos Smith in the town of Brighton, Franklin County, New York in what would become the village of Paul Smiths; it was one of the first wilderness resorts in Adirondacks...
, one of the first wilderness resorts in Adirondacks. In its day it was the most fashionable of the many great Adirondack hotels, patronized by American presidents, celebrities, and the power elite of the latter half of the 19th century.
During the nineteeth century
Smith was born August 20, 1825, in Milton, VermontMilton, Vermont
Milton is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 10,352 at the 2010 census. According to local legend, the town was named for the English poet John Milton, but the name most likely originated from William FitzWilliam, 4th Earl FitzWilliam, who held the title...
. When he was 16, he left home and found work as a boatman on a canal boat on Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
; in his spare time, he went hunting and fishing in the Adirondacks, which at that time was largely wilderness. In time he became known as a hunting and fishing guide in the Loon Lake region.
In 1848 he rented a house on Loon Lake that he ran as a small hotel, aided by his mother and father. In 1852, Smith bought 200 acre (0.809372 km²) near Loon Lake on the North Branch of the Saranac River
Saranac River
Saranac River is an river in the U.S. state of New York. In its upper reaches is a region of mostly flat water and lakes. The river has more than three dozen source lakes and ponds north of Upper Saranac Lake; the highest is Mountain Pond on Long Pond Mountain...
for $300. Here he built "Hunter's Home", a primitive hotel with one large living room and kitchen and ten small sleeping quarters; the bar was self-service—a barrel of whiskey with a dipper in a corner of the living room. It was popular from the start with the doctors, lawyers and other professional men from eastern cities with whom Smith had developed a relationship.
Smith's real estate transactions were legendary—in one transaction, he bought 13000 acres (52.6 km²) for twenty thousand dollars, and then sold 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) of it for the same price. At one point he owned 30000 acres (121.4 km²). When he sold land, it was generally to his wealthy clientele, many of whom built Great Camps
Great Camps
Great camps refer to the grandiose family compounds of cabins that were built in the latter half of the nineteenth century on lakes in the Adirondacks such as Spitfire Lake and Rainbow Lake. The camps were summer homes for the wealthy, where they could relax, host or attend parties, and enjoy the...
on the nearby lakes, using lumber from Smith's mill.
The hotel expanded steadily to 255 guest rooms, with a bowling alley, a large casino, several dormitories for guides and other help, and a stable for 60 horses. At the same time, Smith was involved in lumbering operations, developing a sawmill, and stores and shops. He created the area's first electric company, with hydroelectric plants on the St. Regis River
St. Regis River
The St. Regis River is an river in northern New York in the USA. It flows into the Saint Lawrence River at the hamlet of St Regis in the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. The Saint Regis River basin includes Upper and Lower St. Regis Lakes, and Saint Regis Pond in the Saint Regis Canoe Area.-External...
at Keese Mill
Keese Mill, New York
Keese Mill is a hamlet west of Paul Smiths, New York in Franklin County, New York in the Adirondacks. It is named for a sawmill that was located on the Keese Mill dam on the Saint Regis River...
, and on the Saranac River at Franklin Falls
Franklin Falls
Franklin Falls is a waterfall on the South fork of the Snoqualmie River, the first of three major waterfalls on the South Fork Snoqualmie River. The falls are located near Snoqualmie Pass in Kittitas County, Washington, United States, between the north and south lanes of Interstate 90, just east of...
and in Saranac Lake
Saranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake is a village located in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406. The village is named after Upper, Middle, and Lower Saranac Lakes, which are nearby....
. He built roads, and developed electric boats, recharged at his electric plant, to deliver passengers to their camps on Spitfire
Spitfire Lake
Spitfire Lake is a part of the St. Regis River in the Adirondacks in northern New York State. Along with Upper and Lower St. Regis Lake, it became famous in the late 19th century as a summer playground of America's power elite, drawn to the area by its scenic beauty and by the rustic charms of...
and Upper Saint Regis Lakes. He installed telegraph lines, a stock ticker wired directly to the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
, and finally, a telephone system.
During the twentieth century
Lake Clear, New York
Lake Clear is a hamlet and a lake in Franklin County, New York, United States. The area is named for Lake Clear, part of the original Seven Carries canoe route...
, to connect with the Mohawk and Malone Railway
Mohawk and Malone Railway
Dr. William Seward Webb's Mohawk and Malone Railway crossed the northern Adirondacks at Tupper Lake Junction, just north of Tupper Lake. Webb was president of the Wagner Palace Car Company...
. Apollos Smith and Louis Marshall were a force in tandem driving home the "Forever Wild" Amendment to the New York State Constitution,which went into effect on January 1, 1895.
Guests of the hotel included US Presidents Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
, Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
, Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
and Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
, as well as luminaries such as P. T. Barnum
P. T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum was an American showman, businessman, scam artist and entertainer, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the circus that became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus....
, E. H. Harriman
E. H. Harriman
Edward Henry Harriman was an American railroad executive.-Early years:Harriman was born in Hempstead, New York, the son of Orlando Harriman, an Episcopal clergyman, and Cornelia Neilson...
, Whitelaw Reid
Whitelaw Reid
Whitelaw Reid was a U.S. politician and newspaper editor, as well as the author of a popular history of Ohio in the Civil War.-Early life:...
, J. P. Morgan
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
and Anson Phelps Stokes
Anson Phelps Stokes
For other men with the same name, see Anson Phelps Stokes Anson Phelps Stokes was a merchant, banker, publicist, philanthropist, and became a multimillionaire. Born in New York City, he was the son of James Boulter and Caroline Stokes; brother of William Earl Dodge Stokes and Olivia Eggleston...
.
Paul Smith died on December 15, 1912, at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, after two consecutive kidney operations; he was 87. He had three sons — Henry, who died at age 29, Paul Jr., who died in 1920, and Phelps Smith, who continued managing the hotel until it burned down in 1930. When Phelps Smith died, his will provided funds to start Paul Smith's College
Paul Smith's College
Paul Smith's College is a private college and is the only four year institution of higher education located within the boundary of the Adirondack State Park in Upstate New York...
, which was built on the site of the hotel. The first class was matriculated in 1946.
Sources
- Collins, Geradine. The Biography and Funny Sayings of Paul Smith, Paul Smiths College, Paul Smiths, NY. 1965.
- Donaldson, Alfred L. A History of the Adirondacks, The Century Co., New York. 1921.