Hill's Inn or Stam House
114 Washington Avenue

Since it was first shown on the 2001 tour, the owners have revised the known date of this monumental Victorian B&B from the early 1870s to 1860. Restoration of the uppermost section of its hallmark tower revealed a signature by Colin F. Stam with the earlier date.

Built for the Stam family, Hill's Inn's large porch looked across an expanse of formal garden and a small but once navigable waterway, Barroll's Creek. This inlet of the Chester River was channelized and overfilled as the town expanded. The "town spring" appears on early maps and Spring Street refers to the water source, not the season.

The house has an unaltered first floor plan with original faux-marble painted fireplaces and hand-painted plastered ceilings. "Jenny" or jib doors, an early means of avoiding taxes levied on exterior first floor doors, lead to the original preserved side porch. During the late years of the Great Depression, Heighe Hill converted the residence into a tourist home, and it remains a bed and breakfast today. The young owners have furnished it with English Victorian antiques, but afford their guests all modern conveniences, afternoon English tea or sherry in the ambiance of a gracious time long since past.

Owners: Marta and Michael Girone.

Historic Sites Survey, K-75