BACKROADS • OCTOBER 2021
WE’RE OUTTA HERE TOWN & COUNTRY INN AND RESORT
20 US-2 SHELBURNE, NH 03581 603-466-3315 • WWW.TOWNANDCOUNTRYINNANDRESORT.COM Up near the top of the Granite State of New Hampshire, you will find a comfortable road designated Route 2 that meanders across the top of the state. On this road, just a few miles east of the town of Gorham, you will find a remarkable Inn, with a great and deep history. Welcome to Town & Country.
When we strolled in, the first thing that we noticed was the American Flags folded and displayed with military honor. It was then we began to learn about the history of the Inn. In 1956, Ralph “Navy” Labnon purchased the Androscoggin Valley Country Club House from the Brown Company. This property had
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a weekend destinationkeeping you on the backroads formerly been known as the Hitchcock Farm. In the ‘50s the clubhouse for the golf course, at that time, consisted of seven rooms, three baths, and six dining tables. In December of 1956, the small facility would begin operations under the name of the Country Club Inn with 11 hotel rooms, only one of which had a private bath, and an expanded dining room as well as a minuscule lounge. But Labnon had bigger plans for the Inn. As the law at that time stated a hotel needed 12 rooms in order to be granted a liquor license, one room was added to meet the state requirements. Several years later, the name was changed to the Country Inn, and then it finally became incorporated as the Town & Country Inn and Resort. A major event in the history of the business was the devastating fire that occurred on December 30, 1973. The main building, housing the kitchen, dining room, banquet rooms, lounge, and twelve motel units were totally destroyed. The family faced the New Year with a tremendous loss, but with firm determination to rebuild the Inn. Within thirty days, all the debris had been removed and construction of the new building was underway. Late in June, the major rebuilding project was complete and the Town and Country reopened. That was then….
