The Christmas Farm Inn & Spa
Okay then, now that I'm done telling you about sliding down rocks and almost into a river in my post "Falling For Jackson", I'd like to tell you about the place that we stayed at for our night in the White Mountains - the Christmas Farm Inn on Black Mountain Road in Jackson.
While planning our vacation, I knew that I wanted to spend one night in the area of Conway/Jackson as our plans included a ride on the Conway Scenic Railroad on Wednesday - something that my mom had done before but that neither Jamie nor I had. However, as I started looking at the accomodations that were available in the area and the cost I was getting a bit dismayed as - truth be told - it's expensive to stay on the eastern side of the White Mountains and if I'm going to pay over $200 a night to stay somewhere, I'd like it to be somewhere that has some personality and charm and not just a cookie-cutter chain.
Lucky for me, I finally stumbled across the website for the Christmas Farm Inn which is located on the side of a hill in the scenic little town of Jackson. Looking over their website (which is very well done, I might add!) I was quite enchanted with the pictures and the fact that the Inn has a rather interesting history - and you all know how I am about history! That pretty much sealed the deal for me so I made a reservation for Tuesday night.
Unlike a lot of your typical inns that consist of only one building, the Christmas Farm Inn is made up of quite a few buildings that have been pieced together over the years in a way that really works! First off, there's the Salt Box building:
The front section of this building is the original farmhouse of the Rufus Pinkham family and is believed to have been built in 1778 making it over 200 years old. The house is in the "Saltbox" style which originated in New England and was popularized by Queen Anne of Britain's taxation of houses greater than one story. Since the rear of roof descended to the height of a single-story building, the structure was exempt from the tax. Rather clever, eh?
A Saltbox house is a frame house with two stories in front and one in back, having a pitched roof with unequal sides, being short and high in front and long and low in back. The front of the house is flat and the rear roof line is steeply sloped giving it only one story. The name comes from its resemblance to a wooden lidded box in which salt was once kept.
Around 1786, the family erected the front portion of the white building which then became the new Pinkham homestead. The red house was converted to storage use but apparently it was also used as the local jail at one point in time. Have I ever mentioned that we New Englanders don't like to waste anything??
Speaking of not wasting anything, connected to the white house - which is now the main part of the Inn - is another building that was once the Free Will Baptist Church which had been built as Jackson's first church in 1803. The structure was jacked up, lowered onto logs, and pulled over by oxen from it's original spot down the road from the Inn where it was then secured to the existing building as the new owner of the property, Chase B. Perkins who had acquired the property from his brother in 1883, continued to expand what was then known as "Perkins Cottages", a sideline business to farming that he decided to take a chance on. Obviously the chance paid off!
When I made our reservations to stay at the Christmas Farm Inn, I thought that I had booked us in a room located in the old Free Will Baptist Church called "Sleigh Bells" but I may have been mistaken as when we arrived, we were given a key to Room #18 in the Salt Box building called "Noel". I must admit that I love all of the names of the rooms!
The barn has a large group meeting space downstairs with a vaulted post-and-beam ceiling and massive stone fireplace along with four family suites upstairs that are two-story condo-like spaces. I didn't get to go inside but it sure did look nice from the outside!
As for our room, I wasn't able to get my customary pictures before all of our stuff was moved in from the car as a) I actually forgot and b) even though the girls are used to that sort of thing, my mom isn't so I wasn't going to put her through my picture-taking mania before she got comfortable! Of course, I did manage to get a couple of shots!
Our room was quite comfortable even though you could tell that the building was pretty darned old but that's okay as I obviously don't mind old as long as it isn't falling apart and with a view like the one below out the door, who's really going to complain? Well, actually, I do have one small complaint ... I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to adjust the thermostat in the room and it was just a bit too warm for my liking ... but that's it for complaints - honest!
Speaking of the living room, this is it!
Another view of the fireplace and the entry to the Mistletoe Pub
Another view of the living room - checkers anyone?
I was rather hoping there would be a nice fire in the pit the evening we were there but alas - no such luck.
What says New England more than rockers out on the porch?
A beautiful lantern out by the flowers.
Speaking of flowers, there were gorgeous ones everywhere. You may recognize these mums from elsewhere on my blog - at least until I change the background again!
There was a lot more to the Inn - like the homey dining room where I had a delicious bowl of clam chowder for dinner on Tuesday night and a delicious breakfast on Wednesday morning (breakfast comes with the room) which is made by their Executive Chef who is a former Marine no less! The property has a lot of other buildings like the spa and the indoor pool and the Livery Stable and the Smokehouse and the Log Cabin and the Sugarhouse and ... well, let's just say it's a pretty big place!
If I'd had more time I definitely would have explored more but by the time I got back from Jackson Falls and the Honeymoon Bridge on Tuesday it was getting pretty late in the day and I was fast losing light. On Wednesday morning the rain that we had left behind in Connecticut had caught up to us so I didn't get the chance to really take many pictures before we left to head down to North Conway and our train ride.
I also should mention how very nice all of the staff at the Inn were from the lady who checked me in on Tuesday who told me that they'd had a moose on the property the morning before to the wait-staff in the dining room who were very attentive to the gentleman that I spoke to at check-out on Wednesday morning. As is my habit it seems, I was wearing my sweatshirt from American Ambulance that designates me as a dispatcher and when he saw that, we got to talking a little bit about the people who work in emergency medical services and fire departments and police. I was quite impressed when he told me that on the weekend of 9/11, there was a service in the center of Jackson and then afterward everyone was invited back up to the Inn for a barbecue which was free for anyone who worked in any of those fields. He said that it was their way of saying 'thank you' and giving back just a little which I thought was pretty darned awesome.
Kudos to you, Christmas Farm Inn and thank you for a very nice first time in Jackson. Perhaps with any luck, there will be a second time!
While planning our vacation, I knew that I wanted to spend one night in the area of Conway/Jackson as our plans included a ride on the Conway Scenic Railroad on Wednesday - something that my mom had done before but that neither Jamie nor I had. However, as I started looking at the accomodations that were available in the area and the cost I was getting a bit dismayed as - truth be told - it's expensive to stay on the eastern side of the White Mountains and if I'm going to pay over $200 a night to stay somewhere, I'd like it to be somewhere that has some personality and charm and not just a cookie-cutter chain.
Lucky for me, I finally stumbled across the website for the Christmas Farm Inn which is located on the side of a hill in the scenic little town of Jackson. Looking over their website (which is very well done, I might add!) I was quite enchanted with the pictures and the fact that the Inn has a rather interesting history - and you all know how I am about history! That pretty much sealed the deal for me so I made a reservation for Tuesday night.
Unlike a lot of your typical inns that consist of only one building, the Christmas Farm Inn is made up of quite a few buildings that have been pieced together over the years in a way that really works! First off, there's the Salt Box building:
The front section of this building is the original farmhouse of the Rufus Pinkham family and is believed to have been built in 1778 making it over 200 years old. The house is in the "Saltbox" style which originated in New England and was popularized by Queen Anne of Britain's taxation of houses greater than one story. Since the rear of roof descended to the height of a single-story building, the structure was exempt from the tax. Rather clever, eh?
A Saltbox house is a frame house with two stories in front and one in back, having a pitched roof with unequal sides, being short and high in front and long and low in back. The front of the house is flat and the rear roof line is steeply sloped giving it only one story. The name comes from its resemblance to a wooden lidded box in which salt was once kept.
Around 1786, the family erected the front portion of the white building which then became the new Pinkham homestead. The red house was converted to storage use but apparently it was also used as the local jail at one point in time. Have I ever mentioned that we New Englanders don't like to waste anything??
Speaking of not wasting anything, connected to the white house - which is now the main part of the Inn - is another building that was once the Free Will Baptist Church which had been built as Jackson's first church in 1803. The structure was jacked up, lowered onto logs, and pulled over by oxen from it's original spot down the road from the Inn where it was then secured to the existing building as the new owner of the property, Chase B. Perkins who had acquired the property from his brother in 1883, continued to expand what was then known as "Perkins Cottages", a sideline business to farming that he decided to take a chance on. Obviously the chance paid off!
When I made our reservations to stay at the Christmas Farm Inn, I thought that I had booked us in a room located in the old Free Will Baptist Church called "Sleigh Bells" but I may have been mistaken as when we arrived, we were given a key to Room #18 in the Salt Box building called "Noel". I must admit that I love all of the names of the rooms!
Looking at the picture above, our room is through the door on the right which was located next to this crooked little old garage -
That held this beautiful old Ford antique car - the sign on it basically said "look but don't touch!"
Behind our building was another of the many buildings that make up the Inn called The Barn, it is possibly one of the oldest structures on the property though you'd never know to look at it!
The barn has a large group meeting space downstairs with a vaulted post-and-beam ceiling and massive stone fireplace along with four family suites upstairs that are two-story condo-like spaces. I didn't get to go inside but it sure did look nice from the outside!
As for our room, I wasn't able to get my customary pictures before all of our stuff was moved in from the car as a) I actually forgot and b) even though the girls are used to that sort of thing, my mom isn't so I wasn't going to put her through my picture-taking mania before she got comfortable! Of course, I did manage to get a couple of shots!
Our room was quite comfortable even though you could tell that the building was pretty darned old but that's okay as I obviously don't mind old as long as it isn't falling apart and with a view like the one below out the door, who's really going to complain? Well, actually, I do have one small complaint ... I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to adjust the thermostat in the room and it was just a bit too warm for my liking ... but that's it for complaints - honest!
Of course I had to take the camera out and explore around a bit more of the property as I certainly can't very well give you a proper review without pictures, can I?
The Christmas Farm Inn's entry to the Jackson Return of the Pumpkin People Contest - it won Most Enchanting.
A cozy fire was burning in the living room and oh, did it smell heavenly!
Speaking of the living room, this is it!
Another view of the fireplace and the entry to the Mistletoe Pub
Another view of the living room - checkers anyone?
You can't very well be the Christmas Farm Inn without at least a couple of Santas, can you? This guy was in the living room.
This fella was out on the front porch waiting for someone to hop on and go for a ride.
I was rather hoping there would be a nice fire in the pit the evening we were there but alas - no such luck.
What says New England more than rockers out on the porch?
A beautiful lantern out by the flowers.
Speaking of flowers, there were gorgeous ones everywhere. You may recognize these mums from elsewhere on my blog - at least until I change the background again!
There was a lot more to the Inn - like the homey dining room where I had a delicious bowl of clam chowder for dinner on Tuesday night and a delicious breakfast on Wednesday morning (breakfast comes with the room) which is made by their Executive Chef who is a former Marine no less! The property has a lot of other buildings like the spa and the indoor pool and the Livery Stable and the Smokehouse and the Log Cabin and the Sugarhouse and ... well, let's just say it's a pretty big place!If I'd had more time I definitely would have explored more but by the time I got back from Jackson Falls and the Honeymoon Bridge on Tuesday it was getting pretty late in the day and I was fast losing light. On Wednesday morning the rain that we had left behind in Connecticut had caught up to us so I didn't get the chance to really take many pictures before we left to head down to North Conway and our train ride.
I also should mention how very nice all of the staff at the Inn were from the lady who checked me in on Tuesday who told me that they'd had a moose on the property the morning before to the wait-staff in the dining room who were very attentive to the gentleman that I spoke to at check-out on Wednesday morning. As is my habit it seems, I was wearing my sweatshirt from American Ambulance that designates me as a dispatcher and when he saw that, we got to talking a little bit about the people who work in emergency medical services and fire departments and police. I was quite impressed when he told me that on the weekend of 9/11, there was a service in the center of Jackson and then afterward everyone was invited back up to the Inn for a barbecue which was free for anyone who worked in any of those fields. He said that it was their way of saying 'thank you' and giving back just a little which I thought was pretty darned awesome.
Kudos to you, Christmas Farm Inn and thank you for a very nice first time in Jackson. Perhaps with any luck, there will be a second time!
I’ve been coming here since my son was 13 years old we cam ever year till 2000 when he left for college we loved it here my husband would be working and it was my 2 weeks off we loved it !! Thank you for doing such a nice job so warming I will be back for the first time with my husband in August I’m like a kid I can’t wait !! It’s been around 10 years or so
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