HERstory: Effie Newell Smiley
Updated April 8, 2025 For the past 150 years, our historic resort has been owned and operated by the Smiley family. 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment,...
Voices from the Archives – Episode #8
By Louisa Finn, fourth generation Smiley family member Episode #8: A Wider View: The Smileys’ world travels Part II As wonderful as the pictures were in my imagination after reading...
Voices from the Archives – Episode #7
By Louisa Finn, fourth generation Smiley family member Episode #7: A Wider View: The Smileys’ world travels – Part I Daniel Smiley was only 25 years old when his elder...
Voices from the Archives – Episode #6
By Louisa Finn, fourth generation Smiley family member Episode #6: Sarah Smiley’s Journey South The Sister of Mohonk’s Founder: A portrait in courage As a child wandering the halls of...
Voices from the Archives – Episode #5
By Louisa Finn, fourth generation Smiley family member Episode #5: Testimonial Gateway Quaker testimony is best understood as the public witness of an inward faith of both individual and community....
Voices from the Archives – Episode #4
By Louisa Finn, fourth generation Smiley family member Episode #4: Passing the Baton 2021 will be forever etched in my mind, not only because of our country’s climb out of...
Voices from the Archives – Episode #3
By Louisa Finn, fourth generation Smiley family member Episode #3: Eliza and Effie—Sisters in Grief and Love In order to understand the special relationship between Eliza and Effie Smiley, you...
Voices from the Archives – Episode #2
By Louisa Finn, fourth generation Smiley family member Episode #2: Garden Musings In a private office on the ground floor of Mohonk Mountain House live grand old bookshelves lined with...
Voices from the Archives – Episode #1
By Louisa Finn, fourth generation Smiley family member Episode #1: “Love controls all things” When I first read one of my Great-Grandmother Effie’s letters in the Mohonk Archive, over a...
Pandemic Years
Throwback Thursday—102 Years Ago Today— October 29, 1918
HERstory: The Women of Mohonk
For the past 150 years, our historic resort has been owned and operated by the Smiley family. August 26, 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the implementation of the Nineteenth...
The Golf Course Takes Shape
Beginnings In 1880, Albert K. Smiley bought 118 acres of land from Cornelius Lucy out at Mountain Rest across the “public road,” as Mountain Rest Road was then called. On...
Hidden Histories AR App
With the celebration of Mohonk’s 150th year, our guests are now able to immerse themselves in the history that created this one-of-a-kind castle. The mobile app, Hidden Histories, is an...
Then & Now: Boating on Lake Mohonk
By: Nell Boucher, Archivist, Mohonk Mountain House Boats on Lake Mohonk have always been part of the Mountain House experience. In the early years, a popular event was the annual...
From the Archives: Lightning & Thunder
By: Nell Boucher, Archivist, Mohonk Mountain House Over the past 150 years, the most consistent reason to visit Mohonk has been the opportunity to bear witness to nature’s awe-inspiring displays....
Mohonk Artworks Restoration Project (Part 2)
By: Nell Boucher, Archivist, Mohonk Mountain House Most artworks at Mohonk Mountain House were selected by the founders Albert, Eliza, Daniel, and Effie during 1880-1910 when they were furnishing the...
Accidental Archives: 1915 Mohonk Bulletin Discovered
By: Nell Boucher, Archivist, Mohonk Mountain House While doing some maintenance on a dryer in Mohonk’s laundry room, Maintenance technician James Callaizakis uncovered some interesting documents that had fallen between...
Mohonk Artworks Restoration Project (Part 1)
You may have noticed someone working meticulously in the hallways of Mohonk Mountain House, listening and whispering to the walls as she restored artworks throughout the property. Who is Debra...
