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History of Stage Neck Inn at York Harbor Beach, Maine
[edit]Dating back to Colonial New England
[edit]Along the coastline of New England in colonial times, fish was dried and salted in order to preserve it for use through the long winters and for transport and sale to inland communities. This process was done on long tables called “stages” which were built out in the open areas near the sea, away from towns and villages because of the pungent odors of the fish.
At this time, the site that is now home to Stage Neck Inn was an island at the mouth of the [York River. This land was held as common land. Its location was ideally suited adjacent to a protected harbor and well down-stream from the colonial village of York. A causeway was built across the shallow eastern branch of the river to connect Stage Island to the mainland. When the Harbor Beach filled in, it then became known as “Stage Neck”.
Prior to 1761 and the opening of Sewall's Bridge, the trail from Wells to Kittery (Maine) followed close to the shoreline coming through York Harbor (then known as the “Lower Town”) across the causeway and around the northwesterly side of Stage Neck to a ferry landing near the narrow part of the channel. If you walk past the new docks today, you can still find traces of the old roadway, where the ledge was hammered away.
During the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, a fort was maintained on Stage Neck in front of Stage Neck Inn’s current Harbor Porches dining room. Below water level in the pond, just under the ledge, parts of the foundation of the fort still remain. This section of Stage Neck has hence become known as “the Point”. At one time, the Point was designated as a public execution ground, and gallows were erected. Some local histories refer to it as “Gallows Point”, although records indicate an Indian girl was the only person to die here.
During the first-part of the nineteenth century, Stage Neck was the home site for several of the area’s poorer families. It remained such until 1870-1871 when Nathaniel Grant Marshall acquired the entire neck.
He removed these homes and built the first hotel here, named “Marshall House”. This project started the York Harbor area’s evolution into a fashionable summer resort. In 1881, Mr. Marshall doubled the size of his hotel to accommodate the ever-increasing summer visitors from Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Providence, and Boston.
In January 1916, fire struck and the old wooden hotel burned to the ground. By June of 1918, the Marshalls had built a magnificent new hotel of red brick with all the safety features of the day. They operated the flourishing resort for the next 40 years until 1958, when it was acquired by the Tufts family of Pinehurst, NC.
In 1971, the property was acquired by a group of year-round and summer residents. Finding the 53-year-old structure obsolete, they proceeded to raze all of the buildings on the Neck, and began redevelopment of the property. As part of the project, Stage Neck Inn was built. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander B. Warrick, who had summered here almost all of their lives, opened Stage Neck Inn to the public on July 14, 1973.
In 1980, W. Mark Foster, a lifetime resident of York Harbor, and his father-in-law, Hal Field, purchased the Stage Neck Inn. Since that time they have endeavored to maintain the well-established high standards of quality service and accommodations set by their predecessors. During their ownership, they have made many improvements to the Inn with the goal of increasing guest comfort. These improvements include the addition of the fitness room and indoor pool, the addition of a spa facility at the Inn, extensive renovations to the restaurants (Harbor Porches, Sandpiper Bar & Grille, and the Outdoor Terrace), streamlining the kitchen for increased efficiency, installing wireless Internet access, adding a full-service spa, and many aesthetic upgrades such as new windows, flooring, more luxurious guest bathrooms, fine furnishings, and more.
More Information on the History of York Harbor, Maine on Wikipedia.
References
[edit]- Stage Neck Inn's Historic Setting in York Harbor, Maine contributed by site owner/author June 01, 2008
External links
[edit]- Information from York Historical Association on Sewall's Bridge
- Aerial images of Stage Neck Inn showing permanent causeway to Stage Island upon which the Inn sits
References
[edit]This article was written by Kristi Borst for Stage Neck Inn in cooperation with the Old York Historical Society.
Category:York County, Maine Category:Portland – South Portland – Biddeford metropolitan area