Brighton Notables
NOTABLE PEOPLE IN BRIGHTON
Since its founding in 1858 many notable people have lived in or visited the Town of Brighton. Some of these individuals are listed below. This list is not complete but gives a representative sample of those who have been here.
Compiled by Pat and Tom Willis
GOVERNMENT SERVICE
| Year | Name, Position | |
| 1873 | Teddy Roosevelt (future US President) | Guest at Paul Smith's Hotel| |
| 1884 | Grover Cleveland (future US President) | |
| 1900s | [Averell Harriman] (future NYS Governor) | |
| 1914 | Count [Heinrich von Bernstorff] (German Ambassador to US) | Guest at White Pine Camp| |
| 1926 | Calvin Coolidge (US President) | |
| 1926 | Herbert Hoover (future US President) | |
| 1926 | [Kellogg] (US Secretary of State) | |
| 1926 | [Smith] (NYS Governor) | |
| 1928 | [Davies"] (US Ambassador to Russia) | Co-owner of Topridge| |
| 1950s | ["] (Indian Ambassador to US) | |
| 1950s | General ["] (WWII hero) | |
| 1950s | Admiral Ray Hunter (WWII hero) | |
| 1960s | [C. Clark] (US Supreme Court Justice) | |
| 2000 | [Bush] (I) (former US President) |
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
| Year | Name, Position | |
| 1858 | Roswell Shurtleff (artist) | Spent summer at Keeses Mills| |
| 1858 | Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait (artist) | Guest at Wardner’s Rainbow Inn| |
| 1873 | Seneca Ray Stoddard (Adirondack photographer) | |
| 1880s | P. T. Barnum (showman extraordinary) | |
| 1908 | Olive Moore (light opera star) | |
| 1910 | [Caruso] (opera star) | |
| 1916 | [Burroughs] (nature writer) | |
| 1918 | [Rice] (sports writer) | Guest at McColloms Hotel| |
| 1920s | [Berlin] (song writer) | |
| 1926 | [Whiteman] (band leader) | |
| 1926 | William Morris (theatrical agent) | |
| 1926 | [Bacheller] (writer) | |
| 1936 | Gerald Murphy (artist) | Owned camp on Lower St. Regis Lake| |
| 1960s | [Merrill] (movie actress) | |
| 1960s | [Robertson] (movie actor) | |
| 1960s | [Hopper] (gossip columnist) | |
| 1960s | Betty Beale (society columnist) | |
| 1970s | ["] (journalist & White House press sec.) |
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
| Year | Name, Position | |
| 1859-1912 | Paul and Lydia Smith (hospitality industry) | |
| 1873 | Edward L. Trudeau (doctor, medical research) | |
| 1870’s | [Vanderbilt] (president NY Central RR) | |
| 1880s | [Reid] (publisher, New York Herald Tribune) | Owner, Camp Wild Air, Upper St. Regis Lake| |
| 1890s | E. H. Harriman (president, Union Pacific RR) | |
| 1894 | William Rockefeller (VP Standard Oil) | |
| 1908 | Archibald White (pres. Columbia Gas & Electric) | |
| 1908 | William Massarene (architect) | |
| 1911 | [Mizner] (architect) | |
| 1916 | [Edison] (inventor) | |
| 1916 | [Firestone] (president Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.) | |
| 1920 | [Kirkwood] (publisher Kansas City Star) | |
| 1923-1972 | [Merriweather Post] (Chairmen, General Foods) | |
| 1923 | [Hutton] (financier, stockbroker) | |
| 1926 | [Rosenwald] (president Sears, Roebuck Co.) | |
| 1926 | [Ford] (president Ford Motor Co.) | |
| 1920s | ["Legs" Diamond] (prohibition era gangster) | |
| 1936 | Gerald Murphy (president Mark Cross Co.) | Owned camp on Lower St. Regis Lake| |
| 1990s | [Crow] (president, Trammel Crow Real Estate Developers |
Sources: Chernow, Ron. Titan, 1998. Collins, Geraldine. The Brighton Story, 1977. Hampton, Krista. White Pine Camp Docent Handbook, 1995. Rubin, Nancy. American Empress, 1995. Vail, Amanda. Everybody was so young, 1998. Woods, James R. Paul Smith’s College, 1980
Brighton History Days have been held one weekend each summer since 1994, sponsored by the Brighton Architectural Heritage Committee.