Historic Wing

We invite you to step out onto the lawn in front of the Historic Wing to get the full perspective.

At a glance you can see well over 100 years of history! The five buildings of the Historic Wing were built during the 1800s, each as a stand-alone building.

The Stone Inn, the building behind the Frontier Tavern, was built in 1806. It was originally a 2-story building with 24 guestrooms. It was built of stone and timber from here on the Bedford Springs property. The top floor was added later in the century.

Soon after the Stone Inn opened, Mrs. Anderson, John Anderson’s wife, insisted that single ladies and bachelors should not be lodged in the same building. The Crockford House was then built to house the bachelors. This left the Stone Inn for the exclusive use of the single ladies and families. The Crockford is no longer standing, but it had been located just beyond the circular drive in front of the hotel.

As more and more people came to the hotel, our focus evolved from health into more of a social retreat. To answer the demand for more rooms, the Evitt House—just in front of you—was built.  What is now a hallway on the ground floor was originally an open-air porch.

By the late 1830s, the Andersons recognized the need for a grander building to impress wealthy and influential guests who were now “regulars.” So in the 1840s the Colonnade Building to our left was built. Guests found its brick façade and columns on the outside just as sumptuous as the grand staircase and high ceilings were inside.

The arrival of the railroad in the 1870s made it easier to get here so more guest rooms were needed. The Swiss Cottage, to the right of the Stone Inn, was built on top of the original fortification here. The gun portals and original rough-hewn beams are still beneath the Swiss Cottage.

Just beyond the Swiss, the Anderson House was built in 1890, named after the founder, John Anderson.

During renovation in the late 1800s the individual buildings were connected. Exteriors were made consistent; the stone of the Stone Inn was covered to match the other buildings; and the hallways and porches were tied together.

These shared porches are a favorite feature of visiting families and groups. The open-air porches were key to the health-oriented nature of the hotel. Until the 1950s, the hotel was open in the summer only, so the porches also provided the “air conditioning” the guests needed.

If you walk down the hallway to your guestroom in the Historic Wing, you will notice the unusual turns and steps.  Being a historic landmark required that plans for our 2007 renovation retain these eccentric features!

To accommodate modern standards, bedrooms and bathrooms were made larger, but to do that, 2 bedrooms were made into 1, or sometimes 3 into 2.

Please continue your tour.