They stood before there was the Bucks County that we know. Today, they are living landmarks that help to define the moments and people that forever changed our region.
By Kristin Boyd

The first images that typically spring to mind when one thinks bed and breakfast are fireplaces, hot tubs and, of course, big, comfy beds and elaborate breakfasts. But the inns throughout Bucks and Hunterdon counties, as a rule, are far more substantial. Many are living landmarks that offer valuable insight into the role the region played in the founding of the country and the forging of its reputation as a fertile arts colony.
Here, five innkeepers dedicated to preserving and promoting the past reveal the historical tidbits that, much like a chocolate mint left atop a pillow, continue to be a sweet surprise for guests.

Chimney Hill Estate & Ol’ Barn Inn | Lambertville, NJ
Part of what drew Terry and Richard Anderson to Chimney Hill Estate & Ol’ Barn Inn, once used as a summer home and farm for prominent international attorney Edgar Hunt, is its ability to meld the past and the  pr

esent in picture-perfect harmony. “That made it very enjoyable and intriguing for us. We feel privileged to have an inn with such history,” Terry says. The home was built in 1820, and Hunt, also a former ambassador to Germany, purchased the property in 1927, during the Great Depression. He commissioned Margaret Spencer, the wife of Impressionist painter Robert Spencer and one of the first female practicing architects in the country, to complete an expansion. The reverse stairway she designed, which extends from the kitchen (rather than the dining room) to the upstairs, is still used, and Hunt’s barn, which was painted white to signify he was a gentleman farmer, remains the same color. “It has been fun putting this farm back together,” Terry says, noting the 13-bedroom inn, also home to an alpaca farm for the past decade, has been featured on several magazine covers. “Everything on this farm is pretty well preserved to what it was.”
•207 Goat Hill Road, Lambertville, NJ; 609-397-1516; www.chimneyhillinn.com

Highland Farm Bed & Breakfast | Doylestown

Christine Cole was searching for an old barn to renovate when a realtor friend found a potential property. Problem was, a mansion came with the deal, too. “I was leery,” she says.

But Cole came around after learning the mansion once belonged to legendary Broadway lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, who wrote the lyrics to Oklahoma! while sitting on the wraparound porch that overlooks the Doylestown countryside. “It just seemed like a no-brainer, and it has turned out to be a great match for me,” says Cole, who purchased the 260-year-old property in early 2007. “It’s a really serene place. It has a very peaceful quality to it.” A pink love seat from the Hammerstein estate remains in the grand living room, and photographs of Hammerstein — and his writing partner, Richard Rodgers — decorate the stately inn, which includes four rooms named after their plays: Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King & I and Carousel. “I love the idea of taking this property and preserving it and the legacy of Oscar Hammerstein,” Cole says. “There is such a positive energy here.”
•70 East Road, Doylestown; 215-345-6767; www.highlandfarmbb.com

Tattersall Inn Bed & Breakfast | Point Pleasant
It was love at first sight for Lori Gleason and her husband, John, who own the Tattersall Inn, a property that dates back to the 1700s. Learning the home was previously owned by the well-known Stovers, one of Bucks County’s founding families, was a bonus. “The whole house is stone. All of the woodwork, the old doors, the fireplaces and mantels are still here,” Lori says. “I was totally awestruck from the moment I entered the house. I was just amazed at every room, the detail, the solidness and the history.” The Stovers owned the property for nearly 200 years, and their legacy remains evident at the Tattersall Inn, which features six rooms and three grand porches. The barn Ralph Stover built for a contest (he lost) still sits behind the inn, and one of the family’s 80 mills has since been renovated into a private residence across the street. Recently, the Gleasons also learned the manor home was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
•37 River Road, Point Pleasant; 215-297-8233; www.tattersallinn.com

Aaron Burr House Bed and Breakfast Lodging | New Hope
1870 Wedgwood Bed and Breakfast Inn | New Hope
The Aaron Burr House and the Wedgwood Inn, both Victorian structures owned by Carl and Nadine “Dinie” Glassman, share a history that runs as deep as the Delaware River. “[George] Washington was here prior to the Christmas Eve crossing,” Carl says. “I find it amazing that one of the most decisive battles, and why you and I speak with an English accent, not a British accent, was fought first here. They camped in New Hope for 14 days.” During the Revolutionary War, the Wedgwood Inn served as the headquarters house for about 1,400 of Washington’s army, including Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, who, in 1804, faced off in an infamous pistol duel. Hamilton was mortally wounded during the duel, and when Burr was initially indicted for his murder, he hid for a week in a New Hope home, which is now known as the Aaron Burr House.
Today, the seven-bedroom Aaron Burr and the eight-bedroom Wedgwood, which was recently linked to the Underground Railroad, are listed on the Bucks County Registry of Historic Places, and both are eligible for the National Historic Registry. “We have a very interesting history between the Civil War and the Revolutionary War,” Carl says. “I really feel a sense of place in this valley, and it has a lot to do with the gorgeous stone houses and the rolling hills.”
•80 West Bridge Street, New Hope; 215-862-2343; www.aaronburrhouse.com
•111 West Bridge Street, New Hope; 215-862-2570; www.wedgwoodinn.com

1818 Stone Ridge Farm Country Inn | Dublin
Much like a good book, 1818 Stone Ridge Farm Country Inn is both inviting and intriguing. Formerly a dairy farm owned by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck, who was the first American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature in 1938, the property is now a converted barn and working horse farm.
“The greatest thing about it is the converted barn,” says Jackie Walker, who bought the farm in 1984 and, for more than a decade, used the barn for their horses. In 1997, she and her husband began converting the barn into a charming, 10-room bed and breakfast, which opened two years later, in 1999. “The outside is all original, but the inside has all been updated. You walk in, and the ceiling goes up 40, 50 feet. It has all original hand-hewn wooden planks, and it’s all open. “It’s amazing here,” Walker says. “It has such a majestic feel.” Each room is decorated with antiques, and four of the rooms have access to a deck that overlooks the horse pasture, perfect for aspiring writers in need of relaxation – and maybe a little literary inspiration.
•956 Bypass Road, Dublin; 215-249-9186; www.stoneridge-farm.com