The Stone House Tavern

cHEstErfiELd, nEW HAMPsHirE

By Nancy McGartland Photos courtesy The Chesterfield Historical Society

the Stone House (once called The Lake House), sitting like a monument at the intersection of Routes 9 and 63, has a long and storied history: It first served as a tavern for traveling stagecoaches, then as a tea room and inn for city travelers to enjoy Spofford Lake, and most notably, has been rumored to be part of the Underground Railroad. Today, the home is owned by the Chesterfield Historical Society, which plans to open it as a museum. The Society’s website notes the house is remarkably intact, with many of its original features, including its delicate woodworking details, soapstone fireplaces, plaster walls, ballroom and attic accommodations, giving it, according to the Society’s website, “significant historical value.” The well-preserved house has parlors and dining areas at the first story, a ballroom, and guest chambers that were once reserved for the more “genteel” travelers at the second story. There are also rare attic cubicles, still intact, used to house teamsters, drovers, and others who were satisfied with a wooden bunk in an unheated space. The Stone House is probably best known to those living in the area today as a bookstore. But according to The Chesterfield Historical Society, The Stone House has been rumored to be part of the Underground Railroad, using space behind the old fireplace (or, according to some accounts, the cellar) to hide runaway enslaved people. “This can not be proven,” the Society states on its website. “However, facts do support that it was a popular place for locals to gather, get news, hold militia gatherings, and social events especially dances in the upstairs ballroom.” In the 1920s, Brooklyn ribbon magnate, Morris Friedsam,

bought the house and added electricity, heat and indoor plumbing. He employed skilled craftsmen to restore the quality of the original construction. Gordon Chamberlain purchased the home in 1953 after Friedsam’s death and used the building as a residence and bookstore. After Chamberlain’s death, the house was bought by Constantine “Deeko” Broutsas in 1995. With care taken to its original features, Broutsas renovated it and used The Stone House as a shop to sell antiques, rare books, and fine art. Broutsas, who ran the shop until his death in 2018, was a colorful character who served as a spy after WWII for the Office of Strategic Services (predecessor to the CIA). His obituary says he had to “occasionally retrieve information from Russian collaborators, sometimes at night in the Black Forest of Germany.” Broutsas generously offered the complex to the Chesterfield Historical Society, which purchased it in April 2018 using raised funds and LCHIP grant monies to repair the foundation and chimney. The Stone House is now on the State Historical Register. Once repairs and work are completed, The Stone House will once again be open to visitors ... this time as a museum. The goal is to provide educational programs “focusing on Chesterfield’s agricultural, manufacturing, and lake resort past and the people who made it all happen,” according to the Society’s website. Donations of period-appropriate furnishings are restoring The Stone House to its 1830s style, and plans are laid to also offer classes in weaving and spinning. Currently, builders are adding accessible entrances and restrooms. The Chesterfield Historical Society plans to open The Stone House Museum from May through October. Learn more about the history of The Stone House and the future plans of the Chesterfield Historical Society at chesterfieldhistoricalsociety-nh.org/history-of-the-stone-house

All photos courtesy The Chesterfield Historical Society.

LEFT, top: The Stone House sits on the corner of Routes 9 and 63 in Chesterfield, New Hampshire. Pictured, the south side of the building. Bottom: The Stone House circa 1900.

THIS PAGE, clockwise: Doorway framed in soapstone, a sitting room in The Stone House Tavern, hallway in The Stone House, antique baby carriage.

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