HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
1737 Berkshire Tavern, Inn, and Restaurant
101 N Main St, Sandisfield, MA 01255
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Overnight rooms typically range $130-$200 depending on season; restaurant pricing standard for Berkshire dining.
Access
Limited Access
Historic Federal-style building with stairs to upstairs rooms
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1737 · Colonial Tavern · Stagecoach Route · Federal-Style Architecture · New England Inn Tradition
Daniel Brown founded the settlement that became Sandisfield around 1751 and held the earliest tavern license in the area between 1755 and 1764. The Brown family operated taverns on the site through the eighteenth century. The current main building, in the Federal style typical of the Berkshires, was constructed around 1790 by Daniel Brown's grandson, Sanford Brown Jr.
The inn thrived because it sat on the principal stagecoach route between Hartford, Connecticut, and Albany, New York. Travelers crossing the Berkshire Hills required overnight accommodation, and the New Boston Inn was a primary stop. The building has a working ballroom on the upper floor that hosted weddings, dances, and political gatherings through the nineteenth century.
The inn changed hands many times across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and has been operated continuously, sometimes as a tavern only, sometimes with overnight rooms. It is currently in operation as a bed and breakfast and restaurant.
The Sandisfield Historical Society maintains records of the building and its operators and has published research on the property's social and economic role in the early Berkshires.
Sources
The legend of Harriet is the inn's central piece of folklore. The story, repeated in Enchanted New England, Boston Uncovered, and the inn's own materials, describes a young woman from a wealthy summering family who fell in love with a local farm boy in the early 1800s. Her parents refused the match because the farm boy was poor. They arranged a wedding to a wealthier suitor the following summer. As the wedding ceremony was being held in the inn's upstairs ballroom, the farm boy entered, asked Harriet to leave with him, and shot her after she refused.
The Sandisfield Historical Society has searched its records for evidence of a Harriet connected to the inn and reports finding none. The story appears to have been told for at least several generations, but its archival foundation is unestablished.
Reports across decades cluster on Room 4. Guests report objects misplaced and then returned to their original location, generally framed as a benign presence rather than a malevolent one. Music boxes have reportedly begun playing without being wound. Footsteps in the upstairs hallway have been reported when those rooms were unoccupied. Doors have been reported as resistant to opening at certain hours.
The inn does not market itself primarily as a haunted destination, but reservations for Room 4 are commonly made by guests interested in the folklore. The inn welcomes such inquiries.
Notable Entities
Stay in one of the original guest rooms in a Federal-style inn built around 1790 by Sanford Brown Jr. Room 4 is the most-requested room and is the focus of the inn's resident folklore around a young woman called Harriet, said to move and return small objects.
Dine in the working tavern at the corner of Routes 8 and 57. The original 1751-era taproom anchors the dining room and remains a stop for travelers crossing the Berkshires between Hartford and Albany.
See current room rates and availability at New Boston Inn.
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