New Boston Inn
We are located in the southern part of Berkshire County. Sandisfield is the largest town in the area, comprised of 53 square miles. Today it is an isolated rural town and, like the other three villages along Route 57, is heavily forested.
There is little evidence that this was once one of the most prosperous towns in the county. It began as Housattonic Township No. 3 under a group from Westbrough Proprietors in 1737. Nine meadow lots were laid out and the settlement began with Captain Daniel Brown, the family name of Sandy, and friends of the captain who built on Sandy Brook in south Sandisfeild. Captain Daniel Brown was believed to have been the first settler in the Townnship. He built the first house on one of the 1100 acre lots and today you can see the plantation houses still standing. The house across the street from the New Boston Inn was where the "help" stayed and the house next to that was where the "not so rich" would stay. They had rooms 10-18 whereas we have rooms 1-9. Only seven are guest rooms today.
Captain Brown built this house in the middle of nowhere in 1737, but it wasn't an Inn until some years later. He had to turn it into an Inn because there were too many people stopping for water for the horses, an overnight stay in the barn, and a little hand-out of food. So they opened the house to the public in 1760, and they added the carriage house and ballroom, and four more bedrooms, and of course the restrautant and tavern. The town started growing fast when there was news of the possibility of the train going through.
In the late 1700's, the area was so populated that it was a thriving town. Streams feeding into the Farmington River furnished adequate water power and the soil proved to be great for growing rye, flax, and potatoes. Corn cidar was an important product of the hillside orchards which are still here today with some of the best tasting apples. Small industries were added by the midle of the 19th century with six saw mills (of which one smaller one is still left), four blacksmith shops, a shingle mill, a two-chair barber shop, a bedstead (the New Boston Inn), a wheelwright's shop for the carriage wheels, a tanery, a silk mill for saddles and clothing, doctor's, lawyer's, and even a make-shift bank. The Inn was the center of the town, used for town meeting, Saturday night dances in the ballroom, and dinner and tavern on Saturday night.
The New boston Inn was then the center of the town, which was named New Boston 'til 1754 when it was changed to Sandisfield by the Township. By the time the American Revolution came from 1775-1789, we were recruited to the roll of a training site for the patriots called to arms to defend the cause. Like a lot of places, Genral George Washington was suspected of stopping here to check the troops. We were bestowed with the honor of recognition in 2001 by the Federal goverment and by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. By the time 1873 came and the failure of the proposed railroad along the Farmington River, people packed up and moved on, but the Inn and restuarant survived many years of being a best destination for New Yorkers and their friends from all over the world.
