College History

Clinton Community College, a member unit of the State University of New York, is situated at Bluff Point, approximately 4 miles south of Plattsburgh, on forested heights overlooking Lake Champlain.

While the college features the modern equipment and facilities necessary for contemporary educational needs, its distinctive architecture and spectacular natural setting hint at significant times of the past. In fact, the Bluff Point locale has been the scene of some of the most important events in the founding of the American Republic and its tradition. It is fitting that an area so magnificently beautiful and so much a part of the early development of the United States is maintained for public use and enjoyment.

Bluff Point belongs to the citizens of Clinton County who now share the breathtaking scenery and sense of history, which had once been reserved for only a few.

History at Bluff Point 1609 - 1870

Bluff Point's recorded history dates to the Spring of 1609, when the French explorer and soldier Samuel De Champlain discovered the great lake which commemorates his name. This discovery established a gateway between what would become French Canada and the English Colonies during the earliest days of the European settlement of the New World.

During the long French and Indian War, England and France contended for strongholds along Lake Champlain's shores as a means to control the shipping lane between the Hudson River and the lower St. Lawrence, an area which would be known as the "Warpath of Nations" for almost a century. As the highest point overlooking the Lake's Northwestern shore, Bluff Point provided a natural roost for observers to watch ships passing between Canada and the French outposts at the strategic points of Crown Point and Ticonderoga. Later, military strategists of both the Revolutionary War and the war of 1812 regarded the view at the Bluff Point area as an important element in their reconnaissance efforts to help keep track of enemy ships approaching their encampments.

The first battle engagement on the North American continent between the then newly formed American naval force and a British fleet took place nearby Bluff Point on October 11-13, 1776, under the command of Benedict Arnold. This event, named the Battle of Valcour, is considered by historians to be a turning point of the Revolutionary War in favor of the colonists.

A brilliant display of naval tactics occurred just north of the Bluff Point area when American Naval Commander Commodore McDonough defeated a superior British force on September 13, 1814, during the war of 1812. The defeat of the British squadron saved Plattsburgh from an assault by a large British Land force. It also contributed to improvement of national morale and unification in the war effort, and impressed upon the British that nothing was to be gained by continued warfare.

Crab Island, only a short distance from the Bluff Point beach, served as a hiding place and as a medical treatment center for wounded American soldiers during the War of 1812. Many of the soldiers who died of their wounds on Crab Island were buried there, the graves remaining to this day. The obelisk monument erected to the memory of American veterans of the war of 1812 is easily seen from the northeast side of the present Bluff Point structure.

An interesting though little known connection with Bluff Point's significant history lies in the area of natural history. Valcour Island which provides part of the panorama seen from the Bluff Point elevation, is the site of one of the oldest heron rookeries in North America. For over 200 years, heron families have nested and raised their offspring on the southeast corner of the island to the delight of area naturalists.

History at Bluff Point 1870 - 1910

Bluff Point has long been highly regarded for its scenic magnificence and healing atmosphere as well as for its strategic importance. For almost a century and a half, citizens from around the country have come to the peaks and waterways of the Adirondack region to relieve a variety of mental and physical ailments for which fresh air and invigorating waters have been considered cures. An adept and farsighted Plattsburgh businessman, Smith M. Weed, saw the possibility for a highly successful resort at the Bluff Point Site.

Weed bought the property early in the 1870's. He convinced the Delaware and Hudson Company to join him in promoting the western shore of Lake Champlain as a resort area, which might be particularly attractive to downstate residents of means. The Delaware and Hudson Company built a railroad line to service the Northern New York area. In 1888, Weed sold the Bluff Point property to the Delaware and Hudson Company. The new owners would use the site for the establishment of a luxury resort hotel. Weed's actions have had an important long-term effect on the economy of Clinton County, as his Bluff Point venture encouraged north countrymen to market their beautiful lands as tourist attractions.

Hotel Champlain c. 1900

Hotel Champlain opened on June 17, 1890. The original structure featured 500 rooms and ornate Victorian woodframe construction. Three massive towers atop the building provided literally a "bird's eye view" of the lake, nearby islands, and the surrounding mountains of New York and Vermont.

Featuring the ultimate in "gay-nineties" luxury, the resort left guests with no other demands upon their time but recreation. A special railroad station (the ruins of which still exist just across Route 9) delivered vacationers to a point near the bottom of Bluff Point's access hill.

From there, guests continued in horse drawn carriages to the hotel's entrance. There an assortment of bellhops, servants, waiters, and child care attendants saw to it that guests were not disturbed from their leisure. Bridle paths, a steamer dock, a yacht club, hiking trails, a private beach and bath house, a bar and billiard room, and children's playrooms provided guests of any age with an almost limitless variety of daily activities.

Steamer landing at Hotel Champlain, Early 1900's

Adjacent to the hotel was the third golf course established in the United States. The Bluff-Point Golf Club had opened some twenty years prior to the opening of the hotel, and soon became so popular with golfing enthusiasts vacationing at the hotel, that it was preened to a course of superb quality. Still very much in existence and going strong, the Bluff Point Club retains its reputation as a first-rate golfing facility.

Hotel Champlain c. 1900

Throughout the Hotel Champlain's sixty year history, its register read like a "Who's Who in International Business, Politics and Sports." Signatures of notables included US Presidents McKinley, William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Warren Harding; New York Governors Hughes and Al Smith; Britain's Lord Beaverbrook, and New York Yankee's slugger, "Babe" Ruth. The woodframe building which was the original Hotel Champlain burned completely in May 1910. Fortunately no one was injured, but the old hotel was devastated, leaving hundreds of faithful yearly visitors without their vacation paradise. Construction began almost immediately on a new structure.

History at Bluff Point 1910 - 1951

On July 1, 1911, the present building of concrete and stone welcomed eager guests back to their Adirondack retreat.

Hotel Champlain c. 1930
The Hotel Champlain, circa 1930
Click in Picture to see more Detail
Though of rugged fireproof construction and considerably smaller than the original facility, the new Hotel Champlain boasted the same ambiance as its predecessor. Inside, period furniture combined to provide comfort and beauty. Outside, sculptured gardens and flowers decorated the grounds with a disciplined loveliness.

For 40 years the new Hotel Champlain flourished as one of America's most prestigious and fabled vacation sites. The Hotel's legends of romance and adventure abound from the lighthearted turn-of-the century era, through the frantic, high-stepping "Roaring Twenties" and to the intense experience of World War 1. Prohibition in the United States made the environs of the Canadian border attractive to New Yorkers who liked their cocktails on leisurely vacation evenings. It was rumored that the Hotel was one of the few places where guests could enjoy real beefsteak during the rigid rationing days of World War II.

The grounds surrounding Hotel Champlain provided the physical environment for parts of the 1924 Cosmopolitan Films movie entitled "Janice Meredith" Famed silent screen actors George Nash, Harrison Ford, Halbrook Blinn and Marion Davies starred in the elaborate costume drama depicting events from the Revolutionary War. Guests at the Hotel at the time were able to watch the costumed cast and film crews at work, thus adding to the Hotel's attraction.

The stock market crash of 1929, so devastating to the nation's economy generally, marked the beginning of Hotel Champlain's end. While the Hotel continued to offer luxury accommodations for a number of years after the crash, the long-term effects of the Depression, World II, and changing American vacation habits left the hotel's owners in debt.

History at Bluff Point 1951 - Today

By 1951, the Hotel operated at such a loss that it closed. During that year its owners sold the site to the Society of Jesus.

The grand old Hotel became the equally elegant Bellarmine College, an institution devoted to the preparation of Jesuit priests. Where orchestras had played lively contemporary tunes for summer dancers, now liturgical music provided a backdrop for students of religious life and classical languages. Bellarmine College closed in 1966 after fifteen years of operation, and the Bluff Point facility was left empty for the first time since its original opening in 1891.

After months of searching, investigating and discussing, Clinton County officials chose the Bluff Point site for Clinton Community College, which had been chartered by the State University of New York in 1966. Although County officials had considered opening the school elsewhere, the Bluff Point site was more attractive when it became available because of its natural beauty and historical significance. It was evident to the College's founders that Bluff Point would be one of the most beautiful and interesting campus settings in the country.

Clinton Community College admitted one hundred and eighty-nine full-time students to its entering class of Fall, 1969. The concrete structure, although remodeled within to accommodate present needs, retains its original architectural character so that a reminder of its fascinating history is preserved.

For more on the Hotel Champlain visit: http://clintoncountyhistorical.org/slideshow/slideshow.html