This month we are joining the library team on their travel up towards Bethlehem, PA, for Caitlin’s wedding!
The Paxinosa Inn was a short-lived, but popular, destination for locals in the Philadelphia and New York areas. The inn was named after the 18th century Shawnee Chief who lived in the area and negotiated trade routes with the French.
The inn opened on July 3, 1888, and sat along the Weygadt Mountain (meaning wind gate), overlooking the Delaware River. The home was built entirely of wood and held 82 guest rooms. A. Stanley Standford and his sister oversaw the building and its daily activities.
The popular mode of transportation to the inn was the railway. The Easton Station was only two miles away. Guests had the option of taking a stagecoach up the mountain or taking the trolley cars that were built in 1893. The trolley cars were a popular attraction and cost 25 cents. The lines are still visible in the area, especially after light snowfall.
The hotel stayed open through October and provided outdoor entertainment for guests like tennis and croquet. For chillier nights, the inn had large fireplaces and entertainment like orchestras, bowling, and billiards.
The Ocean Grove newspaper wrote a charming review, “Of the eight excursions provided for the newspaper fraternity this one ranks as a leader in everything that contributed to a pleasant and memorable outing”
The inn burned down in 1905 when a fire started in an overheard flute in the laundry room. It was quickly rebuilt and claimed to be “fireproof” by using brick, but that also burned down in 1931.
Sources:
“At Paxinosa Inn.” The New York Times. July 28, 1895.
“Editorial Outing to Paxinosa Inn.” The Ocean Grove. June, 26 1909
Parkhill, S.M. “A Mountain Ride to The Paxinosa Inn.” The Mourning Call. November 18, 1997.
Paxinosa Inn. (Medical Trade Ephemera Collection) Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.
Summa, Marie, Frank Summa and Leonard Buscemi Sr. Historic Easton (PA) (Images of America). 2000, Arcadia Publishing. 128 pages