PAUL & LYDIA SMITH

Inscription

PAUL & LYDIA SMITH
BUILT HOTEL HERE 1859. VISITED
BY PRESIDENTS & PROMINENT
CITIZENS. HOTEL BURNED 1930.
LAND DONATED IN 1937 TO
EST. PAUL SMITH'S COLLEGE.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2023

Apollos Austin “Paul” Smith was born in Vermont in 1825. At 16 he left home and began working on canal boats running between Albany, NY and Montreal, Quebec. In the off season, he returned to work in his family’s logging business and, later, traveled to the Adirondack Mountains to fish and hunt. His first hotel was a small inn on Loon Lake where Smith acted as a guide for hunting and fishing trips. In 1858, with a loan from one of his frequent guests, Smith purchased land on Lower St. Regis Lake and began construction of a new and more elaborate hotel that would accommodate the wives and families of his sportsmen guests. (Paul Smith’s Adirondack Hotel & College, Neil Surprenant, 2009) The hotel opened in May 1859, just weeks after Paul married Lydia Martin. Lydia proved to be a shrewd business partner and the establishment grew from its original 17 rooms to a five-story 255 room structure with a boathouse, casino, bowling alley, general store, and stables. It boasted its own blacksmith, saw mill, woodworking and electrical shops. After 1912, an electric railroad was added to deliver guests from the main rail line to the hotel grounds.

The hotel was frequented by such notables as Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Grover Cleveland. P.T. Barnum visited with his family. New York Governor Alfred Smith and a host of wealthy businessmen from New York City prompted Smith to install a telegraph in the hotel. (St. Regian, Paul Smith’s College, 1948)

Tragedy struck the hotel on September 5, 1930 when an electrical short caused a massive fire. Seventy-five guests escaped, but the hotel and its contents couldn’t be saved. Despite the efforts of firefighters from three villages, the wooden structure burned rapidly and was completely destroyed. The boathouse, office building, company store, and several cottages were saved. (Journal and Republican, Lowville, NY, September 11, 1930) Neither Paul nor Lydia witnessed the loss. Lydia had passed away in 1891 and Paul in 1912.

In 1937, Phelps Smith, the last living son of Paul and Lydia, passed away leaving a will directing that his estate be used to establish a college on the site of the former hotel to “perpetuate the name of my father, the late Paul Smith.” Paul Smith’s College is known today for its academic programs in forestry, natural sciences, and hospitality.