Contemplating an “All American” getaway to celebrate the USA’s 250th year? How about a stay in the place where Revolutionary War munitions were stored? Or, legend has it, where the Brits, after burning most of the town, retired to have a drink at the only standing tavern? Or where Thomas Edison oversaw the very first electrified hotel?
From the War of Independence to the Gilded and Jazz Ages – the following lodgings in the Northeast US allow you to stay in the Rooms Where It Happened.
(For more dreamy weekend ideas in the Northeast, check out Romantic Getaways in New England.)
7 Inns and Hotels Steeped in American History – Northeast US
1. Griswold Inn, Essex CT
Debunked rumor had it that after the Brits burned much of Essex CT to the ground in 1814, they retired to the tavern at the still standing Griswold Inn – built in 1776, “while the ink on the Declaration of Independence was still wet” – to celebrate. Hubris, yes, but only six families have owned the Gris during its 250 years in operation – each keeping up with modern standards while safeguarding its history.
2. Colonial Inn, Concord MA
Stay at the Colonial Inn in Concord MA, and you might get the sense that a cadre of Minute Men will walk through the door any second. Built in 1716, the Inn sits in the center of town, just a half-mile from the North Bridge – the site of the “Shot Heard Around the World.” Not just a witness-house to the Revolutionary War, the Colonial Inn was very much involved as both a storehouse for ammunition, and a field hospital in 1775. Over the years, additional wings have been cobbled together, creating a rambling, maze-like building. But at its core, the Colonial Inn is a physical reminder of our Nation’s origins.
3. General Stanton Inn, Charlestown RI
Yes, the General Stanton Inn is haunted, according to many a guest. No big surprise, as the fireplace in the Narragansett Room – built in 1667 – was blackened over the centuries through the building’s origins as a school for Native American children; a meeting place for Revolutionaries Washington, Hamilton, and Lafayette; and a safe haven on the Underground Railroad. The 1920’s “Prohibition Room” hosted the likes of Al Capone and other bootleggers, and now, thanks to a complete renovation of rooms and common areas, hosts restaurant goers looking forward to a great meal of “tweaked” colonial-era food and piped in jazz – not to mention comfy, ghost-free (hopefully) guest rooms.
4. Athenaeum Hotel, Chautauqua Institution, NY
The Athenaeum Hotel, on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution, was the first hotel in the world to be wired for electricity after it was built in 1879. Why? Because the inventor of the lightbulb, Thomas A. Edison, was intricately connected to the Institution through his wife, Mina Miller, the daughter of one of the founders of Chautauqua, Lewis Miller. Thus Edison was personally involved with the electrical installation. Chautauqua hosts luminaries in every field – politics, business, entertainment, journalism, music – throughout its 9 week summer session – and one of its largest venues, the Amphitheater – is just steps away from the updated Athenaeum Hotel.
5. Troutbeck, Amenia NY
First established in 1765, Troutbeck was home to poet-naturalist, Myron Benton, who welcomed Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, and other celebrity poets and writers of the day to this stone mansion in the New York State boonies. It has since been a retreat for other literary giants, environmentalists, Civil Rights activists, and political leaders. With rooms luxed up for the modern traveler and an astoundingly good restaurant, Troutbeck’s property encompasses wild woods laced with streams, lovingly tended gardens, and outbuildings to explore.
6. Omni Bedford Springs
In the late 1700’s, Dr. John Anderson learned that Native Americans used the water emanating from the springs at what is now the Omni Bedford Springs Resort, (formerly the Bedford Springs Hotel) in Bedford PA, for healing. Believing the springs to have curative properties, Anderson purchased over 2,000 acres and began to bring patients to this western area of Pennsylvania.
Word spread, enticing wealthy people to the restorative waters. Thomas Jefferson stayed a few weeks in 1819. President James Buchanan considered this his “Summer White House.” And other US Presidents have visited since then. As a favored mid 1800’s vacation spot for Southerners, Bedford Springs was one of the only northern establishments not destroyed by Confederate troops during the Civil War. It remains a top resort – with a story older than our nation itself.
7. Sayre Mansion – Bethlehem PA
Fortunes gleaned from steel and railroads built our nation – and the Sayre Mansion. In 1858, prominent philanthropist Robert Sayre, chief engineer of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, a director of Bethlehem Steel, and trustee of both St. Luke’s Hospital and Lehigh University, built his Gothic Revival stone mansion high on a hill overlooking his gritty enterprises. Feel like a tycoon in one of these baronial rooms – comfy, upscale, and of an early, gilded-age era.
