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POPLAR HOTEL North Newry, Maine The Bethel Journals
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Post card promoting Poplar Hotel said: “Located at the foot of Mount Puzzle. Its railroad station is Bethel. A pleasant summer home for Ladies and Gentlemen…” |
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A parlor layout of furniture at the Poplar Hotel shows the typical furnishings that would be found in country hotels of that day. Quite likely the frame pictures on the walls of the parlor were painting or prints of wildlife, mountain landscapes and trout fishing scenes. |
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Donald G. Bennett www.thebetheljournals.info PO Box 763 Bethel, Maine 04217 |
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Above photograph was taken during the construction of an addition to the Poplar Hotel building. According to the Newry Profiles, this may have been the work reported in 1895. |
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More about the Poplar Tavern history.
By 1903 he had built some cabins, torn down the old Frank Monroe shop and built a store onto the hotel, and added a piazza. At this time the Dixon family, Mr. Goss, Eli Stearns, and John Mencher may have been occupying the cabins.
By 1911, Wallace Kilgore had gone to Bethel and was operating a similar business there. Poplar Tavern was run mainly through the summers at this time and his brother Dennis would manage the place for him a number of years. In 1933, the property was reportedly purchased by a Massachusetts couple, possibly James and Inez Martin.
Wallace Kilgore regained ownership in 1939-40 and he in turn sold it to Sam Smith who called it The Appalachian House. Sam Smith owned it until 1948 and during his ownership the annex known as the club house , built in 1895 was torn down and the cabins moved away.
Mr. and Mrs. Mervin Rowland purchased the property in May of 1948. They continued to own it until 1955 when Mr. and Mrs. Bartholomew purchased it, however, the Bartholomews did not did not move into the hotel until September, 1969.
Thomas and Rae Bartholomew remained owners through 1980.
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Above: Three cabins built on the north end of the hotel property. Photo also shows the footbridge which crossed Bear River to the tennis courts. Guard rails along the road to Upton mark the highway’s location in front of the hotel. This scene may have been taken some years after the cabins were built (note the roofing on one) and after the tennis courts and gazebo had been removed. |
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And yet another view of the Poplar Tavern after 1903. This view shows the location of the Bethel to Upton road clearly, and how close it was to the hotel, and also the footbridge over Bear River which was close to the hotel. To the left, the hotel’s cabins can be seen. |