Page 14 - Taverns Stands in Woodstock - for Flipbook_Neat

Following the decline and end of the big cross-country stage lines, the building complex continued to be al-
tered, until at last it was razed and the brick portion moved in 1890 for a new kind of inn, one that catered to
tourists of the leisure class who arrived in town on the Woodstock Railway.

The 1890s were defining years for Woodstock. New efforts to promote the town and its amenities were being
developed and there was a rapid movement towards improving the town’s infrastructure to accommodate more
guests. One of the first moments of note occurred in 1891, when an enterprising man by the name of Walter
Dearborn bought a property on Dunham Hill and began advertising the healing properties of a natural mineral
spring there. The name of this spring was called Dearborn Spring (later Sanatoga Spring). This had a huge rip-
ple effect through town. Tourism increased as travelers from out of state were enticed to visit places like Wood-
stock for their water cures. These travelers needed accommodations beyond what the local hotels such as the
Eagle Hotel (on the site of the current Woodstock Inn’s parking lot) could supply. Seeing a money-making op-
portunity, investors raised stock for the Woodstock Hotel Company and built the Woodstock Inn in 1892 for
$120,000. Woodstock’s new hotel was open for business and the infrastructure of the mineral spring was being
improved with new tree-lined roads and bridle paths. Soon after, the Woodstock Inn offered a free, organized
sports day with mineral water being served to the participants. The organized sports included a “one-fourth
mile dash,” a “one-fourth mile old man’s race,” a “Potato Row,” bicycle race, and a dumbbell throw with appro-
priate prizes for all.

Woodstock became better known as a genteel resort town and many businesses prospered. The Woodstock
Railway clearly benefited from the town’s prestige as a tourist destination. “Twelve- wheel Pullmans and parlor
cars from New York and Boston proceeded over the 14 miles of well-maintained track, transporting fashionable
cargoes of gentlemen and their families to the Woodstock Inn and to various estates and guesthouses of the vi-
cinity. It was a period of sumptuous Fourth of July celebrations, County Fairs bulging with healthy livestock
and produce, hard-packed dirt roads where young sports exercised well-muscled horseflesh, and family picnics
by brook and pond.”

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