History of East Hill Farm: The 1980s

What a journey the past 74 years have been! From the early days of housing only 30 guests, to our current capacity of 140, we have been fortunate to meet and make many lifelong friends that call East Hill Farm their home away from home. You are truly our extended Farm family!

The Inn at East Hill Farm will be celebrating our 75^th Anniversary during the weekend of February 4-6, 2022. As with all celebrations, it is more fun to have your friends and loved ones to celebrate with. Please mark your calendars and consider joining us for this momentous occasion!

We will be sharing photos, behind the scenes, and fun stories in a series of monthly blog, Instagram, and Facebook posts leading up to the celebration. While the Inn’s history dates to 1772, we are focusing on what it has been since right after WWII, an agritourism destination.

We pick our story back up in the 1980s…

During the 1980s, The Inn at East Hill Farm saw tremendous growth, with the addition of many buildings and attractions. Here are some of the highlights.

In the early 1980s Trailsend was constructed. It was built with families in mind as each set of rooms connects on the inside, perfect for a family. There are two living rooms where families can gather to visit. There is a heated outdoor pool and hot tub in front of Trailsend and unbeatable views of Mt. Monadnock.

In 1982, Dave and Sally Adams purchased the Brick House which is about a mile down the road from the Inn. Over the years each of their children have lived in the house for a time and currently, the brick House is used for overflow housing for the Inn. Many guests over the years swear that the house is haunted and enjoy staying there with the spirits.

The tennis court was also constructed in 1982. This added another way for guests to stay active while at the farm. There have been many tournaments and friendly rivalries held there over the years. You can sometimes find guests playing pickle ball there. The view is just spectacular, and the sheep and goats will help you keep score.

In 1985-1986, the Grandmother’s Attic section of the Main Inn was constructed. This addition included the three-bedroom guest accommodations known as Grandmother’s Attic, a public space known as Grandmother’s Attic living room with restrooms, gift shop and the office, which moved from the Adams’ house to where it currently is today. A major advancement at this time was the addition of a computer system for reservations. Up until that point, Sally did the reservations, mailing lists and related documents by hand. This DOS based program was in use from the mid-1980s until recently when a new custom web-based program was developed and introduced. I am sure many of you remember this DOS program as it was frequently commented upon by guests!

The farm animals and horseback riding program continued to expand, and the animals were outgrowing the barn. A large addition was added including hayloft, horse stalls, tack room and shavings room. This is the current horse barn. The addition allowed the smaller barn to be converted into a cow barn with milking stanchions and the layout has flexibility in how the pens can be configured for different needs throughout the year.

A variety of new activities grew with the expansion of the physical facility. During the winter, the Inn held several youth cross-country ski races on our ski trails. Guests staying at the Inn enjoyed hot cocoa in the warming hut that was along the blue trail.

In the summer, guests continued to fill the Inn’s expanding rooms and the activity schedule continued to grow, now including crafts and other games; for example, during July 4^th week, Ray Linscott and Tino Minichiello officiated the Annual 4^th of July Bocce Tournament, a tradition that continues to this day.

Stay tuned to the next post for a peek into East Hill Farm in the 1990s.

Visit our previous blog Make Hay While the Sun Shines here.

Submitted by Holly