Chichester's Inn

Last updated
Chichester's Inn
Chichester's Inn.jpg
Front (south) elevation and west profile, 2008
USA New York location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location97 Chichester Road,
West Hills, New York
Coordinates 40°49′11″N73°25′31″W / 40.81972°N 73.42528°W / 40.81972; -73.42528 Coordinates: 40°49′11″N73°25′31″W / 40.81972°N 73.42528°W / 40.81972; -73.42528
Area2.3 acres (0.93 ha)
Built1680
ArchitectChichester Family
MPS Huntington Town MRA
NRHP reference No. 85002508 [1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 26, 1985

Chichester's Inn is located along Chichester Road in a wooded section of West Hills, New York, United States. It is a rare surviving example of a 17th-century inn on Long Island, mostly unchanged from its original form, although it is now used as a house. Walt Whitman, who grew up in the area, and Theodore Roosevelt were among its past patrons. In 1985 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Contents

Building and grounds

The main house is a 1+12-story, 11-bay clapboard structure of varied fenestration and form, reflecting considerable work and expansion in the first century of its existence. There are three entrances in the main facade, two with 19th-century panelled doors and the other with a vertical plank door and strap hinges. The main entrance has a shed-roofed porch. Large chimneys rise from the roof and two one-story wings project from the rear of the house. A small porch has also been built at the east end of the house, screened from sight by surrounding vegetation. [2]

Much original interior detail, including hardware, moldings and panelling. A unique 17th-century removable wall, complete with hinges, still exists, as does the old taproom and winding box stairs. [2]

The 2.3-acre (920 m2) lot on which the inn was built includes one contributing property. A springhouse, built in the 19th century and featuring a rubblestone foundation, clapboard siding, gabled roof and vertical plank door, is located behind the house. [2]

History

A tavern had existed on the site since 1660, when the town board authorized Thomas Brush to build an "ordinary" on the site, in the wooded West Hills that were then sparsely settled. Twenty years later, his building burned and the Chichester family bought the land and built the beginnings of the current structure, a small 1+12-story cottage with two rooms and a bed in the attic crawl space. Throughout the 18th and early 19th century, they kept adding onto it as needed, accounting for its ramshackle shape. [2]

The springhouse was built at that time, and that seemed to adequately serve the inn's needs. It no longer did any work other than routine maintenance, and the inn continued to be a popular local gathering spot for most of the 19th century, until the family decided to stop. Theodore Roosevelt and Walt Whitman, who grew up in the area, were among the most frequent visitors. [2]

The Chichester family sold it in the early 20th century, and it has remained a private residence ever since. In 1980 a portion of the roof caught fire, but it has been restored to be nearly equivalent to its pre-existing condition. [2]

Related Research Articles

Henry House (Bennington, Vermont) United States historic place

The Henry House, also known as William Henry House, is a historic house at 1338 Murphy Road in Bennington, Vermont. Built in 1769 and extensively reworked in 1798, it is one of Vermont's oldest surviving houses, and an important example of evolutionary architecture in the state during the 18th century. Now a bed and breakfast inn, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Gilbert Millspaugh House United States historic place

The Gilbert Millspaugh House is located on Church Street in Walden, New York, United States. It is a 2005 addition to the National Register of Historic Places, built in a Victorian style for a local man named Richard Masten. Later it was home to Gilbert Millspaugh, son of a local furniture retailer.

Culver Randel House and Mill United States historic place

The Culver Randel House and Mill is located along Randall Avenue and Browns Creek at the northern edge of the village of Florida, New York, United States. Culver built the mill around 1830 and the house 20 years later. The latter is an excellent example of the Picturesque aesthetic as applied to an Italianate house. Both buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Servoss House United States historic place

The Servoss House is a located on Fruit Avenue in the town of Ridgeway, New York, United States, near Medina. It is a Greek Revival style home built between 1830 and 1833 alongside the Erie Canal.

Mount Pleasant (Indian Falls, New York) United States historic place

Mount Pleasant is a farm complex located in the Town of Pembroke, New York, United States, east of the hamlet of Indian Falls. It was established in the mid-19th century.

Stephen Miller House United States historic place

The Stephen Miller House, also known as the Van Wyck-Miller House, is located along the NY 23 state highway in Claverack, New York, United States. It is a wooden farmhouse dating from the late 18th century.

Beaverkill Valley Inn United States historic place

The Beaverkill Valley Inn, formerly known as The Bonnie View, is located off Beaverkill Road north of Lew Beach, New York, United States. It is a large wooden hotel built near the end of the 19th century.

J. Dupuy Stone House United States historic place

The J. Dupuy Stone House is located on Krum Road near Kerhonkson, New York, United States, in the Ulster County town of Rochester. It was built in the mid-19th century and modified later.

Terwilliger–Smith Farm United States historic place

The Terwilliger–Smith Farm is located on Cherrytown Road near the hamlet of Kerhonkson in the Town of Rochester in Ulster County, New York, United States. It was established in the mid-19th century.

Unity Ranger Station United States historic place

The Unity Ranger Station is a United States Forest Service compound consisting of five buildings and a lookout tower in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest of northeastern Oregon. It was previously the administrative headquarters for the Unity Ranger District. It is located in the small unincorporated community of Unity, Oregon. The historic structures were built in the rustic style by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1936 and 1938. Today, the ranger station is only used during the summer months to house Forest Service fire crews. The ranger station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Michael Salyer Stone House United States historic place

The Michael Salyer Stone House is located on Blue Hill Road in Orangetown, New York, United States. It was built in the late 18th century.

Benjamin Franklin Gates House United States historic place

The Benjamin Franklin Gates House is an historic home and farm complex located on Lee Road in Barre, New York, United States. It is centered on a Greek Revival house built in the 1830s using the unusual stacked-plank structural system. The accompanying barn and privy are also included in the listing.

Clark-Dearstyne-Miller Inn United States historic place

Clark-Dearstyne-Miller Inn is a historic inn and tavern located at Rensselaer in Rensselaer County, New York. It was built about 1791 and is a 2+12-story, rectangular, gable-roofed heavy timber frame building. It rests upon a fieldstone foundation. There is a 2-story, shed roof addition to the rear. It features an ornate, bracketed, raised porch along the front facade added about 1880. The building exhibits a number of vernacular Federal details.

Lake of the Woods Ranger Station United States historic place

The Lake of the Woods Ranger Station is a United States Forest Service compound consisting of eight buildings overlooking Lake of the Woods in the Fremont-Winema National Forests of southern Oregon. All of the ranger station structures were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1937 and 1939. Today, the compound serves as a Forest Service work center, and the old ranger station office is a visitor center. The ranger station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Backside Inn United States historic place

The Brook Road Inn, formerly the Backside Inn, is a historic inn at 1171 Brook Road in Goshen, New Hampshire. The inn, which now provides lodging only, is located in an 1835 farmhouse that is one of a regional cluster of 19th-century plank frame houses. The inn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Covit House United States historic place

The Covit House is a historic house on Goshen Center Road in Goshen, New Hampshire. Built about 1800, it is one of the oldest surviving and best-preserved plank-frame houses in the town. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Durham House (Goshen, New Hampshire) United States historic place

The Durham House is a historic house on Ball Park Road in Goshen, New Hampshire. Built about 1860, it is one of a cluster of plank-frame houses built in the rural community in the 19th century. This one is further note for its Greek Revival features, and its construction is tentatively ascribed to James Chandler, a noted local builder. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Stelljes House United States historic place

The Stelljes House is a historic house on New Hampshire Route 31 in Goshen, New Hampshire. Built about 1800, it is one of the oldest of a cluster of plank-frame houses in Goshen. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It has possibly been demolished.

Theodore Wood House United States historic place

The Theodore Wood House is a historic house at 1420 Hollister Hill Road in Marshfield, Vermont. Built about 1887, it is the only known surviving work of Chester James Wood, a local builder of some reputation, and is the town's only significant surviving example of Second Empire architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Gordon Hitt Farmstead United States historic place

The Gordon Hitt Farmstead is a former farm located at 4561 North Lake Road near Clark Lake, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. It now serves as a vacation rental.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 NYS Parks & Recreation (n.d.). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Chichester's Inn". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . Retrieved 2010-02-20.

See also