In this postcard being called “The Old Homestead Inn,” Boscawen NH, was first known as Carter’s Tavern, later the The Kettle & Crane, today known as the Winthrop Carter House.
Taverns, inns, and houses of entertainment were an integral part of early colonial America society. They were not only a resting place for travelers, but also an important gathering place where local and national news could be gained and shared. Whether you traveled on foot, horseback, by oxen-drawn cart or later by horse-drawn stagecoach, the sign of an inn was often a welcome sight for the weary or thirsty. Licenses to provide liquor were purchased of the town by the inn owners. Mail packets were left at these places to be picked up at a later date by the intended recipient.
These essential stopping-off places dotted the trails, post roads, toll-roads, turnpikes and highways of New Hampshire. Stage-coach routes developed, with Boscawen being one of the important locations for those traveling both south-north and west-east within the state. The advent of the railroad rang the death knoll for many of these small hostels. Continue reading
