Then & Now: The teahouse that quickly outgrew itself

An old sawyer named Moses Bemis lived at the foot of Pine Hill, a mile north of Conway Village. He and his wife both died there in 1920, and in May of 1930, a railroad conductor from Manchester named Nathan Morrell and his wife, Wiona, bought the house and a few adjoining acres. By the end of the month, they had converted a building there to a tea room and were erecting roadside cabins. It was evidently Wiona’s venture, because the deed was recorded in her name and Nathan kept his job with the railroad. Tearooms were all the rage by the time the Depression struck, and Route 16 was littered with them rom Tamworth to Bartlett, siphoning off a little extra cash from those still wealthy enough to tour the mountains.

In 1931, the Morrells bought another six acres and added more cabins. They owned land across the road, too, with a view of the mountains across the Saco River intervale, advertising the spot as “a good home when not at home.”