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History of Clinton Community College
Once offering the height of luxury on Lake Champlain, this grand hotel was located on Bluff Point, now the site of Clinton Community College. The Hotel Champlain opened in 1890. Operated by the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Company, it offered magnificent views of Lake Champlain, the Adirondack Mountains (to the south and west), and Vermont’s distant Green Mountains (across the lake). Because of its advantageous location, it quickly became recognized as a leading summer resort for wealthy vacationers and the elite. Political dignitaries of all kinds frequented the 300-room hotel, as did celebrities like baseball star Babe Ruth and prominent families such as the Astors and the Vanderbilts. U.S. President William McKinley and his wife spent the summers of 1897 and 1899 there. Because of this association, the hotel was sometimes called the “Summer White House.” Many New York State governors spent time at Hotel Champlain–as did the president of Cuba and his family.
The original Hotel Champlain burned on May 28, 1910. A little over a year later, on July 1, 1911, the “new” Hotel Champlain—the present building—was opened to the public. Built of structural steel at an estimated cost of $300,000, this building was much smaller than the original.
Hotel Champlain’s primary recreational activity was golf. Its 18-hole course holds the distinction of being the first hotel golf course constructed in the United States and the third-oldest course in the country. Today, the course still operates as Bluff Point Country Club.
Because of financial difficulties during the Great Depression, the Delaware & Hudson Company sold Hotel Champlain in 1939 to Mailman Brothers of Montreal. The hotel remained in operation for several years, but at a loss. The Depression, World War II, changes in transportation, and the emergence of new vacation spots all combined to dim the popularity of Hotel Champlain and other Lake Champlain resort hotels as vacation destinations. In July 1951, Hotel Champlain was sold to the Society of Jesus and converted into a Jesuit college called Bellarmine College, which operated until it folded in 1966. Hotel Champlain and its grounds then became Clinton Community College in 1969.
