Dublin Inn: A Special Visit in 1912 that Transformed this Historic Inn

The Dublin Inn, one of Dublin’s most important buildings architecturally and historically, has been a significant element in the townscape since 1827. Next door to the busy Dublin General Store, it’s hosted many famous visitors, but in 1912 a visitor from Palestine transformed the Inn’s future in ways no one could have foreseen.

In August of 1912, Abdu’l Baha, son of the founder of the Baha’i faith, on a pilgrimage to the United States, arrived in Harrisville by train and came to Dublin via horse and buggy, staying for three weeks at the Dublin Inn, then known as French’s Tavern. He gave talks there and at the Dublin Community Church, drew crowds, and visited with many artists in Dublin’s summer colony.

Almost a century later, in 2001, a member of the Baha’i faith Gisu Mohadjer and her husband, Robert Cook, bought the Inn and donated it in 2005 to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’i of the United States. The Baha’i were attracted to this property because of its historical importance to the Baha’i, in honor of its illustrious guest, Abdu’l Baha, the son of Baha’u’llah, the prophet/founder of the Baha’i religion.

According to the Dublin Historical Society, Abdul Baha visited Dublin at the invitation of Agnes Parsons, a member of the Baha’i faith he’d met in Washington, DC. Sixtyeight years old at the time of his visit, he’d been imprisoned in Palestine for 40 years by Turkish authorities there.

He said, “We have come for work and service, not for amusement and pleasure.” In daily talks, he “discussed >