This beautiful New England homestead was built by Elijah Phelps in 1820. To fully understand the family who lived here and some aspects of the house itself, however it is necessary to know something about Eljah Phelps father, Noah. It was Noah who owned this land, and gave it to his son to build on. He also gave him a legacy of patriotism and public service that stemmed from his own role in building the New Republic. Noah, a Yale graduate, a lawyer and a judge served in the Continental Congress. He was a friend of, and fought under George Washington in the Revolutionary War. Most importantly he was a war hero. His heroism was connected to the Battle of Ticonderoga. The British were holding the fort, and the colonists needed to know how protected it was in order to plan their attack. Noah Phelps, a Major General at the time, disguised himself as a peddler and was admitted to the fort. Once inside he was able to observe the number of soldiers and how well they were armed. This information he reported back to General Ethan Allen, who with his men were able to take the fort and win the day. The family's pride in this heroism nurtured a strong sense of patriotism the motivated much of the family's interests and even the architecture of their home.

The first floor consisted of a center hall with two rooms on either side. Today this is room 101, the library, the innkeeper's office, and the entrance hall. At the end of the center hall, stood a kitchen and breakfast room, what is now the parlor. The second floor had the same configuration of the center hall and two rooms on each side. It was a simple floor plan in keeping with the architecture of the time, but the richly detailed woodwork, numerous fireplaces, and use of decorative glass around the entrance were unmistakable signs of wealth.

When Elijah Phelps built his house he was like his father Noah, a Yale graduate, a lawyer and a judge and served in congress as well. The house took three years to build, and was an imposing building for its rural location. Placed on a rise on the main road through town an American eagle was placed above the front door, a symbol of the patriot family who lived there. Elijah and his wife Lucy had three children: Mary, John and Lucy. John moved to Missouri and later became its governor as well as a United States senator. Mary married a man named John Allen and their son later severed as a U.S. senator as well. Lucy married Amos Eno, a Simsbury boy who began in the dry goods business, then moved to New York City where he made a handsome fortune in banking and real estate. He and Lucy lived in New York, but they and their ten children came back to Simsbury every summer. It was during one visit that Gifford Pinchot, a grandchild, was born in the house.

Gifford Pinchot later became the founder of Yale's School of forestry and an important part of Teddy Rosevelt's administration. He also served as governor of Pennsylvania three times keeping the tradition of public service still an important part of family life.

In 1890, when Amos was 80, he retired from the business and decided to move back to the family home in Simsbury. His wife was deceased and not wanting to be alone he built a large extension onto the house to accommodate his children and their families on long visits.

Continue to Part Two.