Colonial-era hotels give guests a taste of history as America turns 250

The U.S. turns 250 years old next month, and, unsurprisingly, the number of buildings and businesses that predate the country has dwindled over time.

However, there are four hotels operating today that each have a history so intertwined with the birth and early life of America — from housing patriots during the Revolutionary War to acting as cultural meeting places to literary greats.

Read more about each of these historic stays below.

Located in: Sudbury, Massachusetts

Established: 1716

Room count: 10

At only 10 lodging rooms and a few restored dining rooms with daily lunch and dinner service, Longfellow's Wayside Inn hosts history-loving guests and diners, weddings and other events in its historic walls.

Before The Wayside Inn existed, the land that houses Sudbury, Massachusetts, belonged to the indigenous Nipmuc people. John How, an early Massachusetts Bay Colony settler, was granted a license for a house of public entertainment in 1661. After the home of his son Samuel was destroyed in a fire, he rebuilt it on land that would later be the current site of The Wayside Inn.

Just like his father, Samuel applied for permission to start a hospitality business and doubled the size of his home to house travelers. Samuel's son, Ezekiel, was the next of the How family — later changed to "Howe" — to run the inn, expanding it to eight rooms by 1760.

Ezekiel served as a lieutenant colonel in the American Revolution, and, according to the inn's website, The Wayside Inn became a frequent landmark for the likes of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette and other Revolutionary War heroes passing by en route between Boston and Albany.

Ezekiel's son Adam took over ownership and again expanded the property to include kitchens and more chambers, which later became the ninth and 10th rooms of the inn today. Lynman Howe, Adam's son, is the last in the family to run the inn. When he died unmarried in 1861, the inn was sold by extended family to pay off his debts.

While Lynman's tenure was the shortest of the Howe family, his legacy was inspiring the innkeeper character in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Landlord's Tale," better known as "Paul Revere's Ride," which depicts Paul Revere's historic ride warning of the British invasion. The poem is one of three in "Tales of a Wayside Inn," and local merchant and antiques collector Edward Rivers Lemon purchased the inn and renamed it Longfellow's Wayside Inn to capitalize on the association.

In 1923, the inn was sold to Henry Ford, who at one point held almost 3,000 acres in the area and later built a trade school to prepare boys to work in his factories. In 1955, a fire devastated the inn, which was rebuilt and reopened in June 1958.

Today, the inn and restaurant is run by local trustees who adhere the property to historic preservation.

Located in: Rhinebeck, New York

Established: 1766

Room count: 80

The Beekman Arms, one half of the hospitality duo in Rhinebeck, New York, is often thought to be the oldest continuously running inn in the United States.

In 1704, as a small settlement called Ryn Beck was emerging in the forests originally belonging to the Sepasco tribe, a man named William Traphagen built a travelers inn called the Traphagen Tavern. Sixty-two years later, The Beekman Arms was added onto the property, and has been running ever since, according to the hotel's website.

Originally built of sturdy timber and stone to withstand Native American attacks, the tavern, renamed the Bogardus Tavern, offered protection and a place to train for members of the Continental Army. The inn claims to have hosted George Washington, Philip Schuyler, Benedict Arnold and Alexander Hamilton throughout the Revolutionary War. According to The Beekman Arms, the tavern is where the conflict between Aaron Burr and Hamilton — the one that culminated in a duel that killed Hamilton — originated.

Over time, Rhinebeck developed and grew in size as the inn continued serving guests. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had a special relationship with the property, and he ended each of his campaigns for governor and for president speaking from the hotel's porch.

Charles LaForge holds the title of the longest-running owner of The Beekman Arms, purchasing the property in 1958. He also acquired the nearby Delamater Inn and renovated it to run in tandem with The Beekman Arms. George Banta Sr. of Banta Management acquired the two inns in 2002.

Located in: Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Established: 1773

Room count: 108

Last renovation: 2012

With its strategic location between Albany, New York, and Boston — two major Revolutionary War-era hubs — The Red Lion Inn originated as a tavern established by Silas Pepoon in 1773, according to the hotel's website. One year later, the tavern hosted disgruntled citizens in opposition of England’s Acts of Intolerance.

For the next century, the property changed hands, until Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Plumb acquired the hotel in 1873. Plumb renamed the hotel the Stockbridge House and grew it to accommodate 100 guests during the summers from May to October. Mrs. Plumb is credited for the hotel's vast collection of antique furniture and china.

A fire devastated the hotel in 1896, but the antiques were saved and the hotel was rebuilt and reopened by the next summer. For over 90 years, the Plumb family and its descendants, the Treadway family, maintained ownership and historic accuracy, with the exception of adding private baths to the South Wing and a swimming pool in the 1960s.

According to the hotel's website, The Red Lion Inn has welcomed five U.S. presidents — Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt — as well as Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Cullen Bryant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Thornton Wilder, John Wayne and Bob Dylan. More recently, celebrities like Lyle Lovett, Steve Martin, Martin Short and Post Malone have visited.

Since 1968, the Fitzpatrick family has owned and operated The Red Lion Inn and other historic hotels in the Berkshires. While renamed throughout its history, the property has always displayed the signage of The Red Lion Inn.

In honor of America's 250th birthday, the inn is hosting a dinner and original production on July 1. More information on the Voices of Democracy: 250 Years Creating America event is available online.

Located in: Concord, Massachusetts

Established: 1716 (parts)

Room count: 56

Made up of several colonial-era structures, The Colonial Inn in Concord has parts of its hotel dating back to 1716, including a former storehouse for arms and provisions during the Revolutionary War. Another one of the buildings served at the time of the revolution as a the office for local doctor, Dr. Timothy Minot, who operated on many of the Continental Army soldiers who were injured in the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Today, the parts of the hotel that Minot worked in — the Liberty Room and room 24 — are rumored to be haunted.

The inn as it is known today began operating in the 1830s after serving as a boarding house in the early 1800s. Henry David Thoreau lived there while he attended Harvard University, per the inn's website. In fact, Thoreau and his aunt are thought to still haunt the halls of the inn — two of the property's more friendlier ghosts.

Renamed The Colonial Inn in 1889, the property expanded its original 16 rooms with the addition of the 32-room Prescott Wing.

The inn was acquired by hotelier Jurgen Demisch in 1970 and restored in 1988 before being bought by Massachusetts residents Michael and Dorothy Harrington.

The inn is as historic as its surroundings. Located a short walk away is the iconic North Bridge, where the first shot of the American Revolution rung out. Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is also nearby, as is its Author’s Ridge, the final resting place of literary greats including Louisa May Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

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