In 1773, Silas Pepoon established a small tavern on this corner under the sign of the red lion. It was a welcome stop for coaches traveling the dusty road between Albany and Boston. The following year, in July, angry citizens from several towns gathered at Pepoon's to pass resolutions protesting England's repressive Acts of Intolerance. They also pledged to boycott British goods. Throughout the colonial years and the early days of our republic, this inn participated fully in the busy life of a remote community.
In 1862, following a succession Of owners, the inn was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Plumb. Mrs. Plumb was a collector. We can thank her for much of the fine antique furniture and china in the inn today. During long drives throughout the countryside, she scouted for interesting pieces in homes and farms along the way. Even a hundred years ago the inn was famous for its collection of colonial antiques.
By 1884, it was known as the Stockbridge House and had been enlarged to accommodate 100 guests. The summer hotel, open from May through October, was one of several rambling wooden hostelries in the Berkshires. More additions were made in 1892 and 1894, but fire destroyed the entire building on August 31, 1896. The Berkshire Courier reported, "Mrs. Plumb's noted collection of colonial china, pictures, wearing apparel and furniture, the largest of its kind in the country, and the delight of everyone who went to Stockbridge, was saved."
Miraculously, the rebuilt hotel opened the following May, 1897. For over ninety years, the inn remained with the Treadway family, descendants of the Plumbs. U.S. Congressman Allen T. Treadway, their nephew, was one of the most prominent owners. The building was virtually unchanged until the early Sixties when private baths were added in the South wing and a swimming pool was installed. For several years, Robert K. Wheeler, a Great Barrington businessman. and owner at the time, staved off developers and searched for a purchaser who would be willing to keep the historic hotel going.
In 1968, Stockbridge residents Jack and Jane Fitzpatrick bought the property. They moved Country Curtains, their successful mail order company, into the building and continued the cycle of additions and renovations that have characterized the inn since its earliest years. Following other traditions, Jack Fitzpatrick served as our Senator in the Massachusetts State House for several terms, and Jane Fitzpatrick rivals Mrs. Plumb herself as an inveterate collector of old objects. She has added (and keeps adding) hundreds of 'new' pieces to the Inn's collection.
The Fitzpatricks, and their daughters Nancy and Ann, now own the last of the 19th century hotels still in business in the Berkshires. It is one of the few inns in New England operating continuously since before 1800. The inn has had several names, but a red lion has always graced its sign and the name has been used since around 1900. Among noted guests are five presidents: Cleveland, McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Coolidge and Franklin Roosevelt. Other guests were Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Cullen Bryant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Thorton Wilder and more modern legends from John Wayne to Bob Dylan.
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Red Lion Inn PO Box 954, 30 Main Street Stockbridge MA 01262-0954 Tel: 413.298.5545 Fax: 413.298.5130 innkeeper@redlioninn.com lodging@redlioninn.com
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