The original building, built in 1764 by Thompson Purdy, and one of the oldest structures in Manchester, now houses the formal living room, the Gathering Room and the Library, Taft, Lincoln and Hildene guest rooms. This portion of the inn still contains (in the basement) one of the earliest jail cells in Manchester (yes, the bars are still there as well as the marble slab on which the prisoners slept) and an all-marble floor. In the foyer of the old entrance is the smoke room where meats were hung and cured. It is believed that Ethan Allen hid in this "room" during the Revolutionary War. The house may have also served as a safe house for the Underground Railroad.

In 1987 it was purchased and converted into a five-room bed and breakfast. In 1991 the property again changed hands. Renovations were made, but the inn was still operating with five guest chambers.

In the fall of 1995, further renovations converted the north end of the building, which had been padlocked because of the grave state of disrepair, into five additional guest rooms. The inn now consists of ten luxurious bedchambers, including one which is completely handicapped-accessible. The grounds and the inn are continually being improved to their former glory. Ted and Chris, your innkeepers, have made this THE inn you want to visit when you "come home" to Vermont.