The buildings that form The INN were originally built by Charles Taylor Hall, better known as CT Hall, in the late 1800s as his Vermont home. Hall was a local lumber “baron” who hailed from Canada but came to the US in his twenties. He learned the lumber business at a young age working in his father’s factory as a woodenware foreman. 

 

Hall purchased an interest in the large butter tub works of W.H. Stiles Company in Montgomery Center. Wooden butter tubs were used to safely transport butter from the local dairy industry and were one of the main products of wood mills during the turn of the century. Hall also made wooden bobbins for thread and fine wood veneers that were used in RCA Victrola music boxes. His factory was the first to generate hydroelectricity, and he brought systems of electric lights and sanitary water to the villages.

 

Hall’s private residence was converted into an inn in 1959 by Hubert and Caroline Daberer from Austria. The Daberers called their inn The Carinthia, named after the Austrian state where Hubert was born. Here, they grew their family and ran their elegant inn until Hubert made a land deal with the towns of Montgomery and Westfield to build the resort community of Alpine Haven. Today this community can be found on the way to Jay Peak Resort and has grown to over 85 chalets across 400 acres.

 

After the Daberers, there were many owners of the inn. It became the go-to place for travelers and locals alike, all here to enjoy northern Vermont’s breathtaking scenery and four-season outdoor recreation. In 1981, the Carinthia was renamed The Inn on Trout River and remained as such until we purchased the property in 2012. 

 

We are proud to welcome guests from all walks of life to our inn, and hope you enjoy its deep history as much as we do. 

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Experience Living History 

 

Here at The INN on Trout River, authentic pieces of history can be found everywhere you look. Although CT Hall had motor cars, he was a classic Vermonter in that he loved his horse and carriage, and the property was built to accommodate them. The back portion of The INN was his carriage house, and the lower part of our Lounge was the old horse and carriage driveway. The fireplace in our Lounge was initially an outside fireplace to “pre-heat” carriages before passengers entered them in the wintertime. No luxury was forsaken here! 

 

In addition to the equine influences, guests are sure to enjoy the other historical touches throughout The INN. You’ll love exploring our living museum and relaxing in an environment oozing with old-world charm, including handcrafted woodwork, antique chandeliers, historic Vermont photography, and more. At times, you can still smell the scents of pipe smoke embedded in the wood and walls around the old parlor fireplace (now our reception area) as well as the smoking porch (now our public restrooms). Our historic inn is very much alive.  

 

You can’t visit a place of history in Vermont without begging the natural question: is it haunted? When we purchased The INN, it came with quite a few tenants from the spirit world, some of which were previous inhabitants of the house and others of which were travelers along the Trout River. They were all quite friendly and approved of what we were creating at The INN. Although we certainly could have had them stay, their presence was sadly a drain on our energy, so they were asked to leave and willingly did so with the help of a local spirit guide. Only a 10,000-year-old Native American spirit, and our in-house mistress of mischievousness, Jenny remained. Stay with us on sacred grounds at The INN during your next trip to Vermont.