Grape Arbor B&b...Bester Town House
North East, PA, 16428 US / PA
Location Description
The Grape Arbor Bed and Breakfast consists of two side by side mansions: the Bester Town Home (circa 1832) and the Hampson Home (circa 1835). The Bester House once served as a stagecoach tavern, a boarding house, a doctor's residence, North East's first kindergarten, and a home for the elderly and a restaurant. Although not officially documented, this house is said to have been used as a temporary station on the underground railroad during the Civil War, to mention a few of its earlier incarnations. The two buildings are among the oldest brick residences in North East, with interesting history. Both homes were constructed by carpenter Nathaniel Norris beginning in 1832. The Bester Town Home was built in the fashionable Federal style, featuring an elliptical arch window with a fanlight and decorative stonework over the front entrance. The roof added in the Victorian style is embellished with overhangs and curved brackets.
Location Category
- ACCOMMODATIONS - [general]
- ACCOMMODATIONS - Bed & Breakfasts / Inns
- HOUSES - [general]
- HOUSES - Mansions / Estates
- HOUSES - Period Homes / Historic
Architecture Style
- 1800s / Civil War
- Federal
