Growing up outside of Philadelphia in South Jersey, I sometimes would spend a day driving up the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River and come back on the New Jersey side. There are a lot of quaint towns along the river and there is rich history too. The town of Washington’s Crossing, for example, is the site of one of the seminal moments in the birth of the United States.
We recently stayed in the town of Lambertville, NJ for a family birthday party. I had not been to the area since I moved to Connecticut in 1992. We spent the day driving along the river and stopped in the town of Frenchtown, NJ. Strolling in town, I came upon the old Frenchtown Inn. It was originally built as a hotel in 1805 to serve the river and ferry traffic. The town was a favorite stop for people travelling by horse and carriage, or by riverboat, between New York and Philadelphia.
The 1900's saw the hotel prosper with the Roaring Twenties, and then gradually slide into disrepair with the Depression and the decline of river traffic and the railroad. Since 1985, an on-going renovation project was started. The first floor was transformed into three beautiful dining rooms and a bar area, which resulted in a fine dining restaurant in Frenchtown. The restaurant has perennially been rated among the top in the State.
I thought that this side of the inn truly conveyed the historical look and feel of America’s early years and tried to convey that through this photo.