Lake Mohonk is a lake at the northern end of New Paltz

New Paltz, New York

New Paltz is a town in Ulster County, New York, USA. The population was 14,003 at the 2010 census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston, New York. New Paltz contains a village also with the name New Paltz...

, Ulster County, New York

Ulster County, New York

Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...

, U.S.A., about 14 m. N.W. of Poughkeepsie

Poughkeepsie (city), New York

Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...

. The lake is a small body of water, picturesquely situated 1,245 ft. above sea level in the towns of Rochester

Rochester, Ulster County, New York

Rochester is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 7,018 at the 2000 census.The Town of Rochester is an interior town located near the center of Ulster County...

 and Marbletown

Marbletown, New York

Marbletown is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,854 at the 2000 census.The Town of Marbletown is near the center of Ulster County, southwest of the City of Kingston. US 209 and NY 213 pass through the town...

, on Sky Top Mountain (1,542 ft), one of the highest peaks of the Shawangunk Ridge

Shawangunk Ridge

The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of New Jersey to the Catskill Mountains.The ridgetop, which widens considerably at...

. The highest point of Sky Top lies just east of the south end of the lake; close by, to the west, Eagle Cliff rises to a height of 1,412 ft. Competitors in the Survival of the Shawangunks

Survival of the Shawangunks

The Survival of the Shawangunks is a triathlon held in the town of New Paltz, New York. It is unusual in that it has seven transitions among the three racing modalities, compared to the two that are typical for the sport...

 swim the lake as their final aquatic leg of the competition.
The development of this beautiful region into a summer resort and the holding of Indian and arbitration conferences here have been due to Albert Keith Smiley (b. 1828), a graduate of Haverford College

Haverford College

Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...

 (1849), who conducted an English and classical academy in Philadelphia in 1853-1857, was principal of the Oak Grove academy at Vassalboro, Maine

Vassalboro, Maine

Vassalboro is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,047 at the 2000 Census. Vassalboro includes the villages of South Vassalboro, North Vassalboro, and East Vassalboro, home to the town library and sports field.-History:...

, in 1858-1860, was principal and superintendent of the Friends' school at Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

, in 1860-1879, and became a member of the United States Board of Indian Commissioners in 1879.

In 1869 he bought, at the northern end of Lake Mohonk, a tract of land on which he built a large hotel, Mohonk Mountain House

Mohonk Mountain House

The Mohonk Mountain House also known as Lake Mohonk Mountain House, is a historic American resort hotel located on the Shawangunk Ridge in Ulster County, New York. Its prominent location in the town of New Paltz is just beyond the southern border of the Catskill Mountains on the western side of the...

. Here, in October 1883, the first Conference of the Friends of the American Indian met; these conferences have since been held annually, their scope being enlarged in 1904 to include consideration of the condition of "other dependent peoples", i.e. the natives of the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 and Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

. The first conference on international arbitration

International arbitration

International arbitration is a leading method for resolving disputes arising from international commercial agreements and other international relationships...

was held here in June 1895.