After More than 200 Years, Saxtons River Inn Is Still a Memorable Destination

The guest house and restaurant once owned by my great-grandfather holds special memories for me and the people of Saxtons River.

Saxtons River Inn looks as though it jumped off the canvas of a Normal Rockwell painting and onto the Main Street of an All-American town. But the historic Vermont country guest house and restaurant, which was once owned and managed by my great-grandfather, has weathered many changes since it first opened 207 years ago. It’s a place I’ve known about since childhood, and it carries special memories from the one time I visited there in 2001. Now, new owners are reviving Saxtons River Inn to offer again a memorable New England destination for travelers.

The stately, white, clapboard-on-frame building has 16 guest rooms, a restaurant, a pub, and a large parlor with a fireplace. Two of the guest rooms have balconies, and the porches and patios offer opportunities to dine or relax outdoors. Guests have been taking advantage of those opportunities since 1817, when a hotel was first built on Main Street. The current building, built in 1903, is within the Saxtons River Village Historic District, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Like many small businesses that were affected by COVID, Saxtons River Inn couldn’t reopen after it shut in early 2020. But the inn has had its ups and downs and doesn’t seem to stay closed for long. New owners Caleb and Susan Saunders, who grew up in Saxtons River and have always known the inn, started making improvements after buying it in 2022. Now, they expect to re-open this summer.

Carl Morey at Saxtons River

The inn had many owners during the 20^th century who turned out to not really be innkeepers at heart. One of them was Carl Morey, my great-grandfather, who briefly tried his hand at being a Vermont innkeeper when he bought Saxtons River Inn more than 70 years ago.

Despite the family connections, the name “Saxtons River” has nothing to do with my last name. The inn shares its name with the town of Saxtons River, which is located on Saxtons River in south-central Vermont. No one knows how it took the name “Saxtons” in the late 1700s, but some sources suggest that it may be a misspelling of “Sextons.” In any case, Carl Morey was not a Saxton. He is my paternal grandmother’s father. Carl’s oldest daughter, Barbara, is my dad’s mom.

Carl was born in Maryland just outside Washington, D.C., but his family roots were in Massachusetts and Maine. His family returned there in his youth, and he spent much of his life in New England. He died in late 1969 a little more than seven years before I was born.

The Sailor and his Parrot

As a teen, Carl was a stowaway on a sailing boat off the coast of Maine. He later wrote about these adventures in Yachting magazine. Carl’s attempt at innkeeping might seem out of place for a sailor who sported sleeves of tattoos on both arms, but he had many jobs throughout his life doing very different things. Although he seemed to find a way to make a living from many talents, I don’t think he ever reached a comfortable financial status.

In fact, my great-grandfather was a licensed civil engineer. He had no formal training nor college education in engineering. Instead, he had a natural understanding of mechanical and electronic devices. The rest he learned as he worked. As a younger man, Carl was a shipbuilder who designed and built sailing vessels called Friendship Sloops. Ships remained a big part of his life. He built a model Friendship Sloop that actually sailed for my dad and uncle in 1949. Carl’s art skills were not just in carving and woodwork, but also in painting and drawing. He enjoyed painting ships at work in an open sea, and several of those paintings are known to still exist.

Saxtons River might have been a boondoggle, but it also wasn’t his first inn. He also owned The Lincoln Terrace Inn in Newcastle, Maine, prior to buying Saxtons River Inn. Today, the former inn in Maine is a retirement community. Although he had no experience owning or running an inn, my great-grandfather was apparently a phenomenal cook. This may have been his saving grace in the hospitality business. My dad said that he still cooked on a large wood-fired stove in the kitchen at Saxtons River. Guests could be sure to dine well, but they also would get a charismatic Carl Morey and his parrot, Grogan, as their hosts for the night.

The Great-Grandson Suite

I never knew my great-grandfather, but my dad highly admired him. Dad taught me many things about Carl when I was a child, and I first visited Saxtons River Inn when I was just 24 years old.

In September 2001, my first wife and I took our honeymoon in Vermont. We drove there from our home in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for a four-day weekend. Saxtons River was an overnight stay Sunday into Monday, Sept. 9-10.

The owner at the time showed us to our room. We talked about my great-grandfather. He knew the name and said he had some papers that had been his. I never got to see those papers, but a night at the inn still proved to be a treasure.

Our room did not have a balcony, but it was a pleasant and comfortable bed and breakfast suite. It had dark blue floral wallpaper and a mix of antique, early 20^th century, and modern furniture. I remember that the shower that morning was particularly invigorating after a long drive, as it had a large, rainfall-style, massaging shower head. In addition to the queen-sized bed, the room had two plush chairs, a desk, and dresser with a mirror.

After sipping a bottled beer on the front porch, I enjoyed a peaceful sleep in the woods of Vermont. Our breakfast the next morning included smoked salmon, warm bagels, and fresh fruit. The manager remarked while we were eating our morning treats that we seemed happy, and we were.

Sadly, our camera developed a mechanical problem just before we arrived at the inn. Cell phones didn’t have cameras at the time, so I bought a disposable camera at a convenience store. The photos turned out dark and blurry, so I discarded them several years ago.

The ‘Armchair’ of Saxtons River

Still, there will be new opportunities for picture-taking when Saxtons River Inn re-opens. Caleb said he hopes that will align with community activities for the Fourth of July. It’s a fitting tribute to a building that has been a village landmark for more than two centuries.

On the inn’s website, which Caleb said will be updated soon, the former innkeeper prepared a history of the inn. Included with the history was this statement about what the inn means to the people of Saxtons River, Vermont:

“Recently, an area resident commented that the inn is the armchair of Saxtons River, as many groups meet there for special events. It is a place for organizations to hold parties and for smaller groups to engage in private luncheons.”

Saxtons River Inn

In fact, Saxtons River Inn has always been a center of the community. The Masons met there in the early part of the 19^th century, and it served as a meeting point for a Vermont regiment during the Civil War. The significance of it has not gone unnoticed. Both Caleb and Susan grew up in the small village of Saxtons River, which has a population of fewer than 500. Susan also is helping another lifelong resident with a college thesis she is writing about Saxtons River Inn.

With the help and interest of the community, the Saunders are making Saxtons River Inn a memorable destination once again.