Elm House
Beal’s Hotel
Public Houses and Hotels
Once upon a time in the town of Norway, there were two hotels. Now there are none. Where did they go?
One disappeared and became a parking lot and the other gave way to the Post Office.
Actually, as the area began to be populated, a number of public houses, taverns, or houses of public entertainment were in operation. The term “pub” is derived from public-house. In the earliest days, private homes were opened to travelers offering a bed and whatever repast was provided for the family, only a small payment was asked for this hospitality. The first public houses struggled until the new county road from Bethel to Norway was opened in 1823.
Around 1800, Joseph Stevens is listed as the first to open a public house/tavern at his property along the now Greenwood road in northern Norway, a business he ran for twenty years.
Even at this time, a license was required of any tavern providing “strong liquors” to the public. However, this requirement was largely ignored until the establishment of Oxford County in 1805.
According to William Lapham’s History of Norway, the first public-house in the village was the Samuel Smith house on Main Street operated by Dr. Case who arrived in 1806 and stayed here only briefly. Joshua Smith built a home and store at about this time. This was converted into a public house which, after Smith’s death in 1843, was purchased by a group of local investors (known as the 12 Apostles), renovated, and added onto, becoming the Elm House.
Various proprietors ran the inn until 1866 when Captain William W. Whitmarsh along with William Jordan purchased the property. Two years later, Jordan sold his interest to Capt. Whitmarsh who, along with his wife, were the proprietors for the next forty-one years. During this time, the Elm House had the only dance hall in the area. The floor was hardwood and was balanced on springs to absorb the movement. When the hall was no longer needed for large gatherings, it was converted to a billiard room, the first in town.
In 1908 the inn was sold to Ellsworth Young. Fred Harriman took over in 1911 and in 1914 sold it to Nathan Merrill, the last owner of the Elm House.
After 104 years of serving travelers, as well as short and long-term tenants, this popular three-story
hostelry was torn down in 1916. Jeff Gallison is quoted in the History of Norway, “It was a jolly crowd of genial spirits that used to haunt the murky atmosphere, redolent of tobacco smoke and good cheer, of the famous old Elm House bar-room.”
Let’s move along Main Street to another once-popular location.
The original building on the site of Beal’s Hotel, at the corner of Main and Cottage Streets, was constructed as a private home by William Reed in 1807. Rust’s Mills was the way the town was known at that time.
Ezra Beal purchased the home in 1842 and in the last years of his life, added on to the building and furnished it as a very respectable public house. Although his son General George Beal is more familiar to us today, Ezra was well known in his time as an accomplished architect and builder. He constructed buildings in Portland including the Grand Trunk Railroad Station and many of the railroad stations along the tracks to Island Pond, Vermont.
In 1871 General George Beal became the first landlord of the Beal’s Hotel. His tenure was, however, short-lived, as various state appointments took him away to serve the public in other ways. The hotel had several owners until 1888 when a corporation, under the name Beal’s Hotel Company, was formed. The company made needed repairs and upgrades to the property and leased it to Royal Quimby and his daughter, and then to Henry Hinds. At this point, F. W. Sanborn of Norway acquired 45 of the 48 shares in the hotel and leased to others interested in managing it. The Beal’s Hotel Company was dissolved when the property was sold to John A.Woodman of Manchester, NH. The hotel was sold twice more and the name was changed to Beal’s Inn (later to Beal’s Tavern) by owner Robert Seavey who took up residence in 1900.
In October of 1944, William Davis purchased the hotel and hired a manager to run it. Five years later, Jo and Ralph Stone bought the property and changed the name to Hotel Stone. The dining room was now open to the general public as they catered suppers for local civic and school groups. During the first twelve years of their ownership, the Stones renovated the entire hotel replacing carpets and furnishings. The forty-six rooms, two living rooms, and the lobby were updated and made more attractive. The Stones, in their generous way, provided rooms and meals at a very low price for elderly residents who relied on their small social security checks. They also provided many meals for school fund-raisers.
Times were changing and Jo Stone was looking toward the future with a plan. The Hotel Stone was torn down in September of 1961 to make room for a new building with a family-style restaurant, banquet hall, and cocktail lounge on the first floor, motel rooms on the second floor, and a swimming pool in front.
For the next four years, there were meetings with architects, builders, and legal counsel. About this time, the Twin Town Shopping Center at the corner of Alpine and Main Street in South Paris opened with space available. There had been talk among Jo, her husband Stony, their daughter Barbara, and her husband Henry Paradis about running a restaurant together. Barbara and Henry decided to run a restaurant on their own and purchased the building in front of the shopping center occupied by Twin Town Hardware. After extensive renovations, the Country Way Restaurant opened for business.
Jo and Stony decided not to rebuild on the hotel lot, and that she would continue running BarJo’s. The lot was paved over and parking meters were added. Jo wanted the parking lot to be named in memory of Ezra Beal. It is now officially The Ezra Beal Parking Lot in Memory of Josephine Stone.
The Norway Museum and Historical Society is open on Saturdays from 9 to noon. During the summer the hours will include Tuesdays from 1 to 4.
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