Merwinsville Hotel (Housatonic Railroad Stop Litchfield Line

[Jeff Smith]

Well, not really railroad related currently, but it is trackside and was railroad owned.

Trackside History, Fine Wine

Sylvanus Merwin opened the hotel in 1843 because he had slyly learned of the path the Housatonic Railroad would take, bought up that land and gave the right-of-way in exchange for a contract establishing a lunch stop at his establishment. The hotel served the railroad until 1877, and then went through a series of hands until the Merwinsville Hotel Restoration (MHR) took it over in 1971.

The three-story building is one of the last standing trackside hotels east of the Mississippi River. The Browns Forge Road structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and features parlors, a third floor ballroom and a unique double stairway with a second floor mezzanine.

MHR has stabilized the building, and recently completed an extensive and highly detailed examination of needs, and is raising funds to rebuild the ballroom.

[Greg Moore]

A small (self-serving) shout-out on this one. My father was the architect that helped guide the renovations. I haven't seen it myself, but he definitely enjoyed working on the project.

[Jeff Smith]

^Greg, awesome.

Another article: sorry I was late posting it, been playing catch up.

Housatonic Times

Christmas at the Merwinsville Hotel

Long before most residents even thought about Thanksgiving, Gaylordsville resident Georganne Bensh was dreaming up imaginative ways to turn the Merwinsville Hotel in Gaylordsville into a magical winter wonderland. After all, it wouldn’t be Christmas at the Merwinsville Hotel without Ms. Bensh, who for the last decade has annually transformed the historic hotel into a holiday feast for the eyes—and what a veritable visual banquet it is. Throughout the hotel are collections of snow globes, nutcrackers, Santas, a World’s Fair amusement collection, Christmas trees and one of the most impressive Dickens Villages around, made all the more enchanting by a running model train.

Now, after more than a month of preparations, the hotel is decorated to the nth degree for this weekend’s Christmas in Gaylordsville at the Merwinsville Hotel. The hotel will be open Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 1 and 2, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It’s also an opportunity for guests to step back to a time when passenger trains ran through Gaylordsville.

“Even today when a train comes through, you become a child all over again,” Ms. Bensh said. “This old building contains so much history, and you cannot help but get excited when a train passes. We all enjoy this building so much, which is why we are all so dedicated to restoring it. And the friendships forged over the years with people who are just as dedicated to the hotel and restoring it creates such a community atmosphere.”

The hotel’s history began in 1837 when surveyors for the Housatonic Railroad were looking for the best route through Gaylordsville...

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The Merwinsville hotel is located at 1 Brown’s Forge Road in Gaylordsville. For more information, call 860-350-4443, or visit www.merwinsvillehotel.org.

[Greg Moore]

^Greg, awesome.

You're welcome. My father has promised me more pictures to be posted at some point, but I don't have them yet.

[Jeff Smith]

Some news: CountyTimes.com

Spring Arts and Fine Crafts Show benefits Merwinsville Hotel
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This year is the 175th anniversary of the Merwinsville Hotel, which opened for business in 1843. The second floor features rooms with period furniture and decor reminiscent of the hotel’s earliest years. There is a museum of artifacts featuring the rich history of the building that was originally a meal stop and station for the Housatonic Railroad.
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[Jeff Smith]

https://patch.com/connecticut/newmilfor ... gives-back

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This year, The Merwinsville Hotel in the charming village of Gaylordsville along with the New Milford River Trail Association is donating their Give Local pledges to participating organizations that are helping the most vulnerable in the area. They are suggesting that rather than making a donation to the Merwinsville Hotel, a historic gem, that people make a donation to Camella's Cupboard, the Community Culinary School of Northwestern CT or Loaves and Fishes Hospitality House. The Give Local event runs from April 21 through April 22 and ends at 7 pm. To donate click here.

About the Merwinsville Hotel

The Merwinsville Hotel Restoration, located along the Housatonic Railroad in Gaylordsville, Connecticut, was a meal and rest stop which opened for business in 1843. The Merwinsville Hotel Restoration is a non-profit, living museum that continues the ongoing care, restoration and preservation of the Hotel to educate, inspire, challenge, and invigorate both present and future generations, and to raise awareness within the local community of the Hotel's contribution to the collective local history by promoting cultural events.