The Angel Inn

The Angel Inn

and

The Beginnings of Guilford Center

The first settlers of what is now the town of Guilford began arriving after the end of the Revolutionary War. Two brothers by the name of Mersereau built the first mill in East Guilford by the waterfalls around 1788. They came from Staten Island where their father ran a tavern and stagecoach business before the war.
Later, after the mill was in operation for a number of years, Joshua Mersereau moved to what is now called Guilford Center to run the tavern there. This was the Angel Inn.
The hamlet at that time was called Parker. A harness shop was also located there and owed by another one of the first settlers by the name of Parker. Thus, the original name of the settlement. The tavern and hotel was a stagecoach stop where travelers could stay overnight. A photo of East Guilford taken c.1900 shows the East Guilford Church and the tracks of the O& W Railroad. Beyond those tracks, looking up the hill, one can see a dirt road. This was the old road of the Turnpike. In the 1800's two extra horses had to be kept at the Angel Inn to pull the stagecoach up the hill. Thus, the need for a harness shop and blacksmith shop which also serviced the stagecoaches that regularly stopped. The location of the inn was ideal for travelers. It was at the crossroads of the Catskill-Kingston Turnpike and Delaware-Oxford Turnpike. As a result, East Guilford grew and at that time was larger than the hamlet of Guilford.	The first merchants of the inn were Caleb Mann and Henry Smith who in 1809 sold goods in the tavern of the inn . In "Smith's History of Chenango County" mention is also made of a Dauphin Murray, son of Elibu Murray, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, who first built and ran the inn. I wonder if he was a friend of the Mersereaus?
Later, in 1880 it was occupied by a H.H. Van Cott who used it as a home. At one time the right front part was extended toward the front to make room for a post office and store. It also went under the name of "The Parson's Inn" but most remember it as the "Angel Inn" with the large wooden archangel above the inn. Possibly, it could have been carved by a traveler who stopped on the stagecoach. Many itinerants rode the turnpikes of the newly formed United States. Craftsman with every kind of talent for hire- potters, tinkers, carpenters, weavers, artists, wood carvers- brought needed services to the scattered homesteads. There were also doctors, dentists, teachers and preachers who rode the stagecoach. To serve the need of these travelers was the tavern, a combined drinking establishment, restaurant and inn - a focal point of the busy life on the highway.

Tavern signs were often painted and/or built by some of these travelers. They must have welcomed a break from the highway at a pleasant inn and were happy to do the sign in return for lodging and a few evenings in the barroom. One might say, that they were the earliest commercial artists. The signs they made reflected the tone of the tavern and inn. Most were made to be hung on a wooden post with pictures on both sides and placed at right angles to the road to attract travelers. Some tavern keepers fancied carved decorations as well. In "The Flowering of American Folk Art" (1776-1876), Jean Lipman notes that the proprietor of the Angel Inn in Guilford could not resist the opportunity by the tavern's name. "He ordered a saucy Angel Gabriel to hang over the doorway, summoning revelers to a last carouse before the grim accounting of Judgement Day - or the morning after." A copy of two pictures of the angel is located in the archives in Guilford, the Chenango County Historical Society, and an original picture is still owned by a Christine Klugh, the present owner of the Angel Inn which is now called the "Pillars Tavern"

In 1964 the archangel was sold by the owner, George Lefever. It was sold to a man from Stonehenge for $1200 and today it is considered priceless. It then went to a new museum opening in Philadelphia. Jean Lipman in her book "The Flowering of American Folk Art" notes, underneath the picture of the angel, that it is part of the New York Collection of Mr. & Mrs Jacob M. Kaplan. It could today be in the Whitney Museum in New York City.

Most wooded signs and carvings of yesterday are long gone, having succumbed to time and weather. In a way, it was a blessing that the angel was sold so it could be preserved. The "Pillars" (Angel Inn) stands today and even without its angel it is a lasting memory of the beginnings of Guilford. Deeds at the Chenango County Clerk's office has it recorded as owned from:

1899 to 1922 by Charles S. Rice

1922 to 1924 by Etta Rice

1924 to 1925 by Vernon E. Miner

1925 to 1927 by Charles U. Rider

1927 to 1930 by Calvin J. Nicholson

1930 to 1932 by Bertha Simmons & Lillian Ribben

1932 to 1935 by Etta Rice

1935 to 1945 by James W. Bump

1945 to 1946 by John Lisiesky

1946 to 1953 by William & Julia Gilchrist

1953 to 1979 by George & Ida Lefever

1979 to Present by Christine Klugh

It would be to the town's interest to have the Pillars (Angel Inn) preserved as a historical site. It is one of the only remaining pieces left of our history.

Recently, the Guilford Historical Society is researching the exact location of the "Angel Gabriel." Attempts will be made to travel to the location and if it is found, perhaps bring "Our Angel" back. It is also being considered by some of the carvers of the United Methodist Church of Guilford to make a copy of the angel. Either way, an angel might one day return to Guilford. Then, travelers on the new turnpikes of today can say that they passed through a little town that, "Was touched by an angel".

Further research is needed concerning this piece of history. This article represents only a beginning in putting the pieces of the story of the past. If you know of any information to add and/or change to this article, I would greatly appreciate if you would contact me.

Researched by:

Thomas Gray, Guilford Town Historian

April 16, 1999

References:

1. History of Chenango County by Smith
2. The Flowering of Folk Art by Jean Lipman & Alice Winchester
3. Chenango County Clerk's Office
4. Interview with Christine Klugh
5. Notes by Leona R. Weir

All information on this site are excerpts from Unadilla Valley: Pictorial Glimpses of the Past, 1976, Unadilla Valley Historical Society; Mert Brownell: Unadilla Valley: 1788-1976, 1976, Unadilla Valley Historical Society and partially reprinted with permission by Thomas Gray, Guilford Town Historian.

All pictures and photographs on this site courtesy of the Guilford Historical Society; underwater photographs by Robert M. Small, Professional Diving Services, Norwich, New York.

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