BARTLETT HISTORIC LODGING PLACES
The Intervale Area Hotels & Lodging
Intervale is an un-incorporated area of the Town of Bartlett
This 1952 photograph shows the northern end of what is now Rte 16A.
Todays Rte 16 continues to the left, about where the little brook can be seen.
The large house in the center was the Crystal Hills Lodge and Ski Dorm and later The House of Color operated by Les and Meg Brown.
The little cottage complex (upper right) was known as Castner's Camps.
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Todays Dunkin Donuts is located approximately in the upper center area.
Photo credits: Alan Eliason, Top and Steve Morrill below.
Our earliest knowledge of the smaller farm house near the upper center is that it was part of the Charles Farm.
"The Chinese Shop" is picture at right. It is located in the vicinity of the Dundee Road on Rte 16A, know today as the 1755 House. Steve Morrill of Madison tells me that this was his Grandparents shop in 1924. His Grandmother, Gertrude, lived in China from 1913 to 1918 and his Uncle Stephen was born there. Stephen was a Captain in the OSS working alone behind enemy lines in Northern Italy during WW2. His mission was to blow up Brenner Pass to stop Nazi supply lines. Executed in 1945
The Chinese Shop in Intervale
BOOK REFERENCE: The Brenner Assignment: The Untold Story of the Most Daring Spy Mission of World War II Kindle Edition
Like a scene from Where Eagles Dare, a small team of American spies parachutes into Italy behind enemy lines. Their orders: link up with local partisans and sabotage the well-guarded Brenner Pass—the Nazis' crucial supply route through the Alps—thereby bringing the German war effort in Italy to a grinding halt.
Wendy Brown Bridgewater, (Les Brown's daughter) who lived at the House of Color in the 1950-1960 era told me the house across the street from Crystal Hills Lodge (shown on aerial photo above) was occupied by May Young who had some affiliation with the Glen Baptist Church Choir. She was later affectionately known as "the cat lady" when she moved up the road a bit to a trailer with about 40 cats. When the Rte 16 by-pass was built I'm supposing the house was in the way and was eliminated.
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Below is Carl, Les, Meg and Wendy Brown perhaps 1956 or there-a-bouts'. They operated both the Lodge/Ski Dorm and later transitioned to The House of Color, a massive gift shop with thousands of items. They also featured a large display of native minerals and was a popular advice center for visiting "rock hounds" which was a popular past-time at the time.
Crystal Hills Lodge and ski dorm; later the house of color
Estimated date 1900: This Photo is near the Intervale Scenic Vista. White Horse and Cathedral Ledges. The large white building in the center was the Intervale House. The little white house towards the right side is Today's 1785 Inn - back when this photo was taken it was the Idlewild Inn. The building at the upper far left was the Clarendon Inn, which was destroyed by fire. The barns all belonged to the Cannell Family, both then and now although one was demolished to make way for the Vista Auto Shop which is there today (2020). The long barn at left was a bowling alley. The white building on the right was the Intervale Inn.
The zoomed image below is part of the above picture to show the detail of the Clarendon Inn, The Intervale House and the Idlewild Inn.
The picture below is the same area, but dated 1925.
The Ernest and Jessie Hatch House - Thorn Hill Road
Circa 1900
Photo and Story Courtesy of William Marvel and the Conway Daily Sun.
In the late 1840s, John Hatch decided to give up his farm in Chocorua and move to a new one in Bartlett.
He bought a homestead just below Benjamin Pitman’s place on the eastern slope of what was then known as Thorn Mountain, moving with his wife and two sons into a house that may have been built by the previous owner, Noah Sinclair. It would remain in the Hatch family for more than a century.
Thorn Mountain Road was little more than a trail, which may have made the farm a bargain. Hatch and his sons, Ivory and Lorenzo, found Ben Pitman an accommodating neighbor, as neighbors often are in isolated communities, and he let them use part of his pasture until they cleared their own.
Read the rest of this story at the original source. Conway Daily Sun
Pumpkin Hollow - 1909: This is on today's Rte 16A and the house is still there.
The Fairview Farm and Inn
The Fairview Hotel was built in 1854 by Cyrus Tasker who both managed and owned the property which he purchased from John Pendexter, Jr. Cyrus expanded the property when he bought the adjoining lot and homestead from the Reverand James McMillan.
Cyrus died in 1888 and left the Hotel and 1800 acres to his son William. Prior to Cyrus's death William had focused his attention on the farm but as Cyrus aged William also managed the Hotel. Mary Todd Lincoln was an overnight guest here when she came to ascend Mt. Washington and President Franklin Pierce spent two weeks one year, .
In 1896 the original Fairview was destroyed by fire, was rebuilt but only survived until 1919 when it was again the victim of fire. In 1920 the farmhouse on the property was enlarged and became the Tasker family house until 1933.
In 1945 Peg and Ted Weeden purchased the property and 60 acres along with the house next to the barn (now Limmers). The Weeden's used that second house as a country store, gift shop and gas station. The barn became a dance hall, Harmony Acres (Intervale Playground). The main house and seven cabins behind it were opened to tourists and Mrs Weeden provided breakfast and dinner. A later owner was Dallas Verry who sold it to Joe and Evelyn Rivers in 1979. During the late 1980's the cabins were demolished and replaced with a number of Townhouse type dwellings that occupy the property to this day (2020).