For a fascinating historical insight containing exclusive pictures taken by the American Colony Photographic Department in the early 1900's please follow this link

The rich history of the American Colony dates back to the late nineteenth century, following a series of tragic events that led Horatio and Anna Spafford, a devoutly Christian family, to leave their hometown of Chicago in 1881 in order to find peace in the holy city of Jerusalem and offer aid to families in distress.

Drawing strength through their faith and comfort from the words of the hymn “It is Well with my Soul,” written by Horatio following the loss of his four young daughters in a shipwreck, the Spaffords, together with sixteen other members of their church, journeyed to Jerusalem and settled together in a small house in the Old City.

They were never missionaries, but aimed at living as the early Christians did, a simple life with everything in common. With their charitable door open at all times to both their Jewish neighbours and the Bedouin from across the Jordan River, they soon established good relations with the local population and became well known for their acts of benevolence and assistance to the community. People referred to them simply as ‘the Americans.’ Seventy Swedes living in the United States joined ‘the Americans’ in 1894 followed by another fifty five two years later, and the now much larger group required a much larger home. The home they finally bought was initially designed as a palace for a pasha and his four wives. That palace would soon become The American Colony Hotel.

The seeds of the American Colony Hotel were sown in 1902, when Baron Ustinov (grandfather of actor Sir Peter Ustinov), finding the Turkish inns of the time unacceptable, needed suitable accommodations in Jerusalem to house his visitors from Europe and America. Before long, the American Colony emerged as a point of lodging for Western travelers and pilgrims whose expectations for high standards of luxury and service were not met by the establishments then existing in Jerusalem.

The American Colony Hotel has a unique place in Israel’s history, having endured countless challenges and damage resulting from the area’s involvement in a series of wars.  It was the venue from which a ‘white flag,’—made from a bed sheet from one of the Colony’s hospitals that is currently displayed at the Imperial War Museum in London—was draped at the end of World War I to initiate the truce that freed Jerusalem from three centuries of Ottoman rule.

The Colony has always been known as a neutral island, remaining outside the turbulent politics of the land. Owned neither by Arabs or Jews, but by Americans, British and Swedes, it has always had friends from all sectors of Jerusalem’s mixed society. An ‘oasis’ where Jews and Arabs comfortably meet, it is also a favorite haven for international journalists, high-ranking officers of the United Nations and diplomats from across the world.

The original founders retained their former home in the Old City and used it for charitable purposes, providing care to the needy and distressed with services that grew over the decades and today include medical, infant welfare and social work departments. 

Although the hotels’ active management by the Spafford’s grandson, Horatio Vester, was handed over to Gauer Hotels of Switzerland upon his retirement in 1980, the American Colony is still owned by the descendants of the original Founders and its board of directors is composed of family members who remain closely involved. The Colony is a part of their family history, just as it is a part of the history of Jerusalem.