In 1826, while local Congregationalists were eracting their church on the south side of Main Street, Samuel Thom built his house on the highest point in Conway Village. Off the corner of his front yard, he also built a store, and over the years he invested heavily in his neighborhood. In 1850, he joined with several other local entrepreneurs in construction of the Conway House, across Washington Street from his home. Thom died in 1858, and his son Richard carried on his role as village wheeler-dealer, but his widow sold the house and much of the remaining farmland in 1897.
Fifteen years later, the Conway House burned, leaving the village with no hotel but the rundown old Pequawket House. In 1917, Clarence and Alice Hanson bought the Thom homestead, demolishing the outbuildings and expanding the house into a hotel. Both of them were professional chefs, and they cultivated a clientele on the reputation of their cooking and on the mountain views from the second and third stories of what they called the Presidential Inn. Each room had the name of a different president on the door. Eventually they extended the hotel farther east, doubling the number of rooms.
I spent some wonderful evenings at the inn as my parents, Carol and Bill Hale, taught ballroom dance classes there. My sister and I were 3 and 6 at that point.
This is a completely inappropriate reference to Bill Clinton. Why single him out? He is not the first or last president to have been involved in unadmirable behavior. Also, without evidence, you are impugning a segment of the population which makes up at least 50% of the citizens of this country. This all seems to be done to be humorous—not humorous to this reader who spent the first 18 years of life within a half mile of the inn. A better story would have involved Mr. Moon, who spent a number of years as a very wonderful bartender, or about my aunt who spent a good part of her life cleaning rooms at the inn.
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I spent some wonderful evenings at the inn as my parents, Carol and Bill Hale, taught ballroom dance classes there. My sister and I were 3 and 6 at that point.
This is a completely inappropriate reference to Bill Clinton. Why single him out? He is not the first or last president to have been involved in unadmirable behavior. Also, without evidence, you are impugning a segment of the population which makes up at least 50% of the citizens of this country. This all seems to be done to be humorous—not humorous to this reader who spent the first 18 years of life within a half mile of the inn. A better story would have involved Mr. Moon, who spent a number of years as a very wonderful bartender, or about my aunt who spent a good part of her life cleaning rooms at the inn.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.