Prologue

Paul Smith’s Through the Years

  • 1859 - Apollos Smith Constructs Hotel

    When Apollos A. “Paul” Smith and his wife Lydia built Paul Smith’s Hotel, the Adirondacks’ first wilderness resort was born. Drawing high-profile guests, including three U.S. presidents, the hotel featured 255 guest rooms, housing for 60 wilderness guides, a boathouse, a casino, and a bowling alley.

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  • 1930 - The Hotel Burns Down

    When Smith died in 1912, his son Phelps continued to operate the hotel until it was destroyed by a fire in 1930. By that time, the Paul Smith name adorned a railroad, a telephone company, and a regional electric company. Even the village that sprang up around the hotel was called Paul Smiths. (Nope, no apostrophe!)

  • 1937 - Phelps Smith Donates Money and Land

    Phelps Smith died a wealthy man and bequeathed the bulk of his estate to the foundation of a college in his father’s name. Paul Smith’s College was established in 1937, and the original campus was built on the very same site as the former hotel.

  • 1946 - Paul Smith’s College Opens

    The first co-educational class of 150 students entered in 1946. It was largely composed of WWII veterans and local high school graduates interested in studying forestry and resort management.

  • Present - The Ultimate Higher Education Destination

    The only baccalaureate-degree-granting institution in the six-million-acre Adirondack Park, Paul Smith’s College stands today as the ultimate higher education destination where outdoor adventure meets hands-on learning meets preservation of our planet.