Curtis House, Woodbury, CT
Connecticut has many historical buildings and significant architecture, but one that is most notable in the quaint town of Woodbury is the Curtis House Restaurant and Inn. Located on Main Street and famously known as the state’s oldest inn, the Curtis House has been open since 1754, with the building itself existing since 1736. Although not many question the historical significance and longevity of the inn, it is worth noting that another building, located in the town of Essex, has also claimed to be the oldest inn in Connecticut.
Griswold Inn, Essex, CT
The Griswold Inn on Main Street in Essex is also commonly described as the state’s oldest inn, even going as far as to emphatically claim that it is the oldest in the country on a billboard off of Interstate-91. This can confuse many visitors from both inns. The key to this strange circumstance is to define the meaning of “oldest.” According to William Winterer, former owner of the Griswold Inn, it is the oldest inn in continual use. The Griswold was built in 1776 as an inn and has been an inn ever since.
What trips up the Curtis House’s argument is, although it opened in 1754, it closed for a brief amount of time shortly before World War II due to a lease dispute. One big problem with making these claims in a state as old as Connecticut is that they can easily be disputed by being proven as a rumor or legend. Unfortunately, it is easy for history to have blind spots.
Therefore, because facts are so hard to come by in regards to buildings that date back to the eighteenth century, it seems that Connecticut has two very old inns—the Curtis House for the earliest date and the Griswold Inn as the the oldest in continuous operation. Connecticut might be at the top when it comes to historical significance and preservations with these two inns, both being the oldest in the state.