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1. Type of Area Form
Town-wide:
Historic District:
Project Area:
2. Name of area: Wayfarer Inn (Sheraton
Wayfarer) Historic District
3. Location: 121 South River Road (US 3)
4. City or town: Bedford
5. County: Hillsborough
6. USGS quadrangle name(s): Manchester
South, NH
7. USGS scale: 1:24000
8. UTM reference: 19.297997.4758845
9. Inventory numbers in this area
previous survey: N/A
current survey: N/A
10. Setting: wooded site with brook, in
commercial artery/strip
11. Acreage: 16.14 acres
12. Preparer(s): Lynne Monroe, Kari Laprey
[with contributions from Jim Garvin’s
2012 Draft NHDHR Inventory Form for
John Goffe’s Mill (Garvin 2012)]
13. Organization: Preservation Company
14. Date(s) of field survey: January 2014
15. Location map
N
Bedford GIS map showing location of parcel 121
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16. Sketch map
Entrance via
Bedford Mall
parking lot
N
Cottage
19th century
Telephone
1984
Convention Center
1967
Upper Falls
1971
Gazebo
Upper Dam
1939
Bridge
1962
E
South River
Road
(US Route 3)
Cabana Units
1962
Pool
1962
restaurant
deck
Dam
1939
Mill
1939
lobby
Motel Addition
1964
Restaurant and
Motor Inn
1962
A
Porte Cochère
late 20th century
Culvert
1962
B
C
D
Motel
entrance via
Macy’s
parking lot
Second
entrance via
Macy’s
parking lot
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17. Methods and Purpose
The Wayfarer Inn is a sprawling motel complex in the midst of the modern commercial strip on
South River Road/US 3. The property is comprised of interconnected motor inn and conference
center buildings on both sides a scenic brook and mill pond, around the John Goffe Mill and its stone
dams, built in 1939. The original motel complex from 1962 is now more than fifty years old. It has
been substantially altered, but the form, layout and plans remain evident. The buildings have been
vacant for four years. They are in vandalized and damaged condition. There has been extensive
water damage. The property owner plans to remove the Wayfarer buildings and redevelop the site.
The mill and adjacent dams may be preserved. This NHDHR Historic District Area Form was
prepared to meet requirements of wetland permitting. At the request of NHDHR, the form assesses
the potential significance of the Wayfarer Inn and Conference Center complex as a historic district
eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, and examines the individual eligibility of John
Goffe’s Mill.
There are eight major connected components, including the 1939 mill, which is attached to the 1962
building. The original motor inn consisted of the motel units toward at the southern end of the
complex, the lobby, function rooms, kitchen and restaurant all in one continuous building. A
modern covered bridge structure (porte cochère) attached to the front lobby dates from the late
twentieth century. The covered pedestrian bridge spanning the brook dates from 1962. It is attached
to the large convention center (1967) on the northeast bank of the mill pond. The western motel
sections were built separately. The Cabana building was originally detached. The southeastern
motel units were added in 1964 and the lobby connector built at that time. The northwestern
building known as “Upper Falls” was built ca. 1971. Separate structures are the 1962 swimming
pool, two masonry dams (1939), a pipe culvert (ca. 1962) under the rear access road, and a small
“gazebo.” Detached buildings on the parcel include a nineteenth century cottage on the north side of
the brook and a modern telephone company building (1984) beside the road.
Field investigation was limited by snow cover. Interior inspection was conducted of major
accessible spaces. Current photographs are supplemented by aerial images from Bing and Google
maps. The architectural firm of the 1962 motor inn has some original plans, though the main set was
damaged by water and mildew. Town of Bedford GIS Maps and aerial views provide coverage of
the building footprints and property lines. The historic background and evaluation of the mill
building relies heavily on a preliminary, un-submitted NHDHR inventory form prepared by James L.
Garvin for the Bedford Historical Society in 2012. The local community and the Bedford Historical
Society have taken an interest in preserving the John Goffe Mill building and its dams when the
Wayfarer is demolished.
18. Geographical Context
The Wayfarer Inn is located east of US Route 3 (South River Road), a heavily developed
commercial strip in the northeastern corner of Bedford, south of downtown Manchester. The
property lies north of the major interchange of US 3, I-293, and NH 101. The motor inn complex
fills the nearly square parcel, between South River Road/US 3 and the parallel F.E. Everett
Turnpike/I-293 on the bank of the Merrimack River. The “landlocked” Wayfarer Inn has always
been accessed via rights-of-way through the adjacent parking lots north and south. The property is
shown on Bedford Tax Map 12-Parcel 32. The address is 121 South River Road. The property
contains 16.14 acres according to the tax assessment or 16.1674 acres based on the current site
survey. Deeds record it as 16.758 acres. Immediately south of the Wayfarer Inn is the Macy’s store
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(formerly Jordan Marsh) at 125 South River Road (12-33). The Bedford Mall shopping plaza lies to
the north (79 South River Road, 12-26).
Bowman’s Brook flows east and southeast through the middle of the Wayfarer Inn property toward
the Merrimack River. Two stone dams and broad “mill pond” between them are located at a bend in
the stream. The Wayfarer Inn was designed around the historic “John Goffe Mill,” which stands on
the southwest bank, at the west end of the lower dam. Erected in 1939, this was the last of a series
of mills on the several mill sites on the property. The restaurant and lounge overlook the mill pond
from the southern shore. The swimming pool is sited at the top of the stream bank near the upper
falls. Upstream, on the west side of the road is another dam and mill pond. The Bowman who was
the last to operate the mill there gave his name to the brook. Previously it was called Crosby’s
Brook for the owner of a mill farther upstream (Town of Bedford 1903:238; Chace 1858).
Most of the older landscape of this part of Bedford has been obliterated. River Road was once a
rural neighborhood of large farms on Merrimack interval land. Across the road from the inn,
modern office complexes surround two isolated historic dwellings. A large house and outbuildings
at 116 South River Road on the south side of the mill pond has office buildings on three sides. This
was part of the same large farm and summer estate as the mills and the Wayfarer site, from
settlement until 1961. North of the brook, 106 South River Road (12-26) was the location of the
original Goffe homestead, later replaced by the existing early nineteenth century house and owned
along with the mill that stood behind the house, by Bowman, before returning to Goffe descendants.
Additional houses stood on the west side of the road where Kilton Road is now. There were
nineteenth century buildings on the east side of the road at the northeast corner of the Wayfarer
property and to the north in the mall parking lot (Chace 1858).
The Wayfarer Inn property has points of access from properties north and south, with no direct
opening on South River Road/US 3. A right-of-way from the Macy’s entrance turns north through
the Macy’s parking lot to the Wayfarer entrance near the southwest corner of the parcel. This has
always been the motel entrance, reserved as a right-of-way when land for the store was subdivided in
1965. The motor inn driveway branches in several directions with the lobby entrance straight ahead
(northeast). The access road runs along the southern edge of the parcel around the motel and turns
north toward the service entrance and the upper parking lot of the convention center. A second
opening from the Macy’s lot was added in the southeast corner in the 1970s or 80s. The access road
crosses a culvert at Bowman’s Brook. The upper parking lot fills the northeast corner of the
property alongside the Wayfarer Conference Center. There is a right-of-way from the adjacent
Bedford Mall parking lot on the north.
The Wayfarer property is primarily open, with trees and shrubs on the edges and along the brook.
There are modern landscape plantings around the motel. The unmaintained site is becoming
overgrown. The buildings are clustered around the winding brook in the center of the parcel. The
ground slopes down into the valley from both sides. The historic mill building stands on the
southwest bank of the stream. The original Wayfarer Inn buildings are attached to the mill above the
southern shore of the millpond. The restaurant faces the water. The motor inn is oriented parallel to
the brook, facing southwest toward the US 3/NH 101 interchange. There is a rectangular parking lot
with head-in spaces for motel guests alongside. Three connected motel buildings form the western
part of the complex, roughly parallel to the road. Asphalt parking lots and overgrown lawns separate
the buildings from the road. The upper (northeast) parking lot was the main parking for the original
restaurant and function rooms. The entrance is via a pedestrian covered bridge above the mill dam.
The large convention center fills the northeast shore of the mill pond. A small historic dwelling
stands north of the brook, just below the upper dam. Beside the road, in the northwest corner of the
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parcel, is a small modern telephone company building. There are utility easements along the road
and under the northern edge of the property.
19. Historical Background
Introduction
The Sheraton Wayfarer complex built in the 1960s incorporates the historic and scenic “John
Goffe’s Mill” and its dam and mill pond. The present water-powered mill was constructed in 1939
by Dr. George Woodbury, a seventh-generation descendant of the first Goffe settler to erect a mill on
Bowman’s Brook. The existing building was the third on the site. Woodbury lived west of the road
on the north side of the brook (house not extant). Two ancestral Goffe and Woodbury homes remain
across the road, surrounded by large office complexes. George Woodbury immortalized the mill in
his 1948 book John Goffe’s Mill and John Goffe’s Legacy published in 1955. In 1961, the
Woodbury family sold to the Dunfey family, developers of New England hotel chains.
“The Dunfey family transformed the mill site into the Sheraton Wayfarer Hotel and conference
center in 1962. Recognizing the evocative literary and aesthetic appeal of the millpond and building,
the hotel developers and their architects, Perry, Shaw, Hepburn and Dean of Boston, retained the
mill as an adjunct to the expansive hotel complex. They bridged the millpond with a new pedestrian
covered bridge that spanned the waterway just to the north of the mill and dam, and finished the
interior of the mill as a gift shop and later as office space” (Garvin 2012). The motor inn was
enlarged with additions in 1964 and 1971. The Wayfarer Conference Center was built on the
opposite side of the brook in 1967. The property was part of the Dunfey Hotel Corporation until
1986. It went through several owners during the late twentieth century. After a major remodeling in
2004, it closed in 2010.
Original Goffe Mills, 1744-1938
The original John Goffe Mill was built in 1744 by Col. John B. Goffe (1701-1781). He lived in
Goffe’s Falls on the opposite side of the Merrimack River, before moving to Bedford sometime prior
to the Revolution onto land granted for service in the French and Indian Wars (Woodbury 1955:96).
The homestead site on the west side of South River Road is indicated by a NH Historical Marker.
The gristmill was operated by Major John B. Goffe (1727-1813). According to George Woodbury,
this first mill was located east of South River Road on the southern bank of the brook, where he
rebuilt in 1939 (Woodbury 1948:25; Woodbury 1955:21). Goffe built a second dam upstream on the
west side of the road to power a sawmill (Woodbury 1955:96). The sequence of mills and their
locations described by Woodbury does not match that in the 1903 town history (Town of Bedford
1903:240). Woodbury’s version is included here, because it was his reconstruction and operation of
the existing mill that contributes to its historical significance
Theodore Atkinson Goffe (1769-1860) inherited the homestead including two dams with mills on
either side of South River Road. At the northeast end of the eastern dam, he built a fulling mill that
was operated by Deacon Dole (Woodbury 1955:132). On the west side of the road, north of the
western dam, was a shop leased to Rev. Abbott who made jalousie window blinds (Woodbury
1955:134, 152). A middle dam was built east of the road, which is now the Wayfarer upper dam.
William Goffe (1809-1897) and Otis Batchelder had a tanning vat and bark mill there (ca. 1830s40s) (Woodbury 1955:136). In 1845, the original grist mill and the fulling mill at the eastern dam
were destroyed by fire, along with the adjacent bark mill by the middle dam (Woodbury 1948:86).
(Fire dates of 1844 and 1834 are reported in other sources, but 1845 was the date used by
Woodbury.) According to Woodbury, Theodore A. Goffe, although he was nearing the end of his
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life, rebuilt on the southwest side of the brook where the existing mill is now. He installed an up-todate turbine and a circular saw. There was also a cider mill (Woodbury 1955:152-153). Part of the
Goffe farm and the western mill were sold to Jonas B. Bowman who ran a sawmill north of the
brook on the west side of the road in the mid-1800s. At the end of his life, T.A. Goffe lived in a
house (not extant) south of the brook (Chace 1858).
Daughter Nancy Goffe (1805-1888) and her husband John McGaw (1801-1871) lived in New York
where he was a wealthy shipping merchant. They retired to New Hampshire and took over her
father’s property. McGaw also re-acquired parts of the original Goffe homestead that had been sold,
so that he owned land and houses, including the two remaining mills, one on each side of the road.
A new McGaw house was built in 1859 west of the road (now 116 South River Road). Two older
houses were moved elsewhere on the estate. McGaw leased out the mills. The western mill was run
by Bowman for a time before it was torn down. The lumber, grist and cider mill continued to
operate on the site of the present John Goffe Mill at the lower dam (Woodbury 1955:172-173).
Nephew George W. Goffe had a sawmill at the middle dam during the 1860s (Town of Bedford
1903:242).
Harriet McGaw (1832-1907) became the wife of lawyer Freeman P. Woodbury (1831-1886)
(http://www.nh.searchroots.com/HillsboroughCo/Manchester/goffe.html). They lived in New York
during the 1860s-80s, but she returned to Bedford upon inheriting the estate. In 1891, Mrs.
Woodbury remodeled the house (116 South River Road) in the Colonial Revival style (Town of
Bedford 1903:609). Her son, New York lawyer Gordon Woodbury (1863-1924), and his wife
Charlotte moved in with her (Census 1900; Town of Bedford 1903:934, 1121). Gordon Woodbury
purchased other properties in the vicinity and was a gentleman farmer (Woodbury 1955:215). From
1894 to 1906, he was managing editor of the Manchester Union Leader, then affiliated with the
Democratic Party. There were multiple houses on both sides of River Road, only a few of which
remain extant (Hurd 1892). Woodbury built a row of dairy barns and sheds on his property at the
corner of Kilton Road where the house later occupied by his son George Woodbury was located. The
house is gone; the barns are incorporated in the business complex. This had been the site of the
original Goffe House, replaced in the mid-1800s (Town of Bedford 1903:611; Garvin 2012). The
Woodbury estate included the small house now standing north of the brook on the Wayfarer property
(Hurd 1892). This was rented to unidentified tenants. The one remaining mill (site of the present
mill) was used as a cider and grist mill in its later years (Town of Bedford 1903:238). The stone
dam was breached by a flood in the spring of 1909 leaving the mill inoperable and it was later
removed (Woodbury 1955:22; Garvin 2012). The mill site was located on a seventeen acre tract
between the road and the Merrimack River (Deed 665:141).
“John Goffe’s Mill” Rebuilt by George Woodbury, 1938-1939
Son of Gordon and Charlotte Woodbury, George Woodbury (1902-1973) was a graduate of
Princeton University; Caius College, Cambridge; the University of Vienna; and the University of
Edinburgh. As an anthropologist, he had worked in Europe, Asia, and the southwestern United
States. He had served as curator at the Colorado State Museum from 1930 to 1934, and was
employed as lecturer and research fellow in anthropology at Harvard from 1935 (Garvin 2012). His
first wife Edna Thuner (1890-1935) who he married in Egypt in 1927 died in 1935. In 1936, George
Woodbury married Constance Tyler (1907- 1974) of Brookline, Massachusetts.
As told in Woodbury’s 1948 book John Goffe’s Mill, their move to Bedford and the subsequent
repair of the dam and construction of the third mill were occasioned by the termination of
Woodbury’s employment at the Peabody Museum, during the Great Depression. When his research
contract was not renewed in 1937, the couple returned to Woodbury’s ancestral property in Bedford,
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where several dwellings, including a recently vacated rental house that was formerly occupied by
Woodbury’s father and family, offered shelter until the couple could identify a new source of
livelihood (Garvin 2012). The house that George and Connie Woodbury moved into in 1938 is not
extant. It was located on the west side of South River Road (US 3) a short distance north of the
brook, at what is now the corner of Kilton Road (Woodbury 1948:19; Garvin 2012). Other members
of the Woodbury family occupied nearby houses. His mother Charlotte Woodbury (1873-1866)
lived in the mansion at 116 River Road with companions and servants. His brother Judge Peter
Woodbury lived next door at 120 River Road, which is extant but remodeled for commercial use
(Census 1940). George Woodbury found himself too professionally specialized for any local job, so
he turned back to the land to earn a living (Woodbury 1948:24).
“Shortly after the Woodburys’ arrival in Bedford, the woodlot on the property was damaged by the
devastating hurricane of September 1938. To salvage the value of the pine trees that were felled or
damaged by the storm, it was imperative that the logs be sawn before the return of warm weather in
the spring. The Woodbury’s purchased a portable, gasoline-powered sawmill and spent the winter of
1938-39 felling and sawing timber and lumber, some of which they would use to reconstruct the
water-powered sawmill on Bowman’s Brook as a permanent shelter for their sawmill machinery.
They employed a local stonemason to repair the breached stone dam, and hired a timber-framer to
build the new structure on the foundations of the second mill” (Woodbury 1948:36; Garvin 2012).
The names of the craftsmen given in the book, wood-chopper Louis Lavigne, mason Desidère la
Tulippe and framer Henry Gookin, were probably fictional names (Woodbury 2012).
Woodbury restored the water-powered turbine of 1845 and reinstalled much of the shafting and
belting of the second mill, putting the third mill on the site into operation as a water-powered
sawmill by the spring of 1939 (Woodbury 1955; 101; Garvin 2012). Woodbury called the mill
“John Goffe’s Mill” after the original owner.
“Back to the Land” Context
“John Goffe’s Mill and the activity that surrounded its construction and evolution reflect the “back
to the land” subtheme in American life and literature. This was a recurring tendency by a minority
of Americans to turn away from the accepted norms of urban life and regular employment in order to
retreat to a rural environment and attempt to gain a living from the land, and sometimes to regain
health that had been damaged by the stresses of city life. Elements of the movement might be traced
to the communal villages established by the Shakers in the late 1700s, to Transcendental
experiments like Brook Farm (1841-7), and to Thoreau’s retreat to his self-built cabin by the shore
of Walden Pond (1845-7; Walden published 1855)” (Garvin 2012). “Individuals who renounced
urban life to turn to the land for subsistence and health often forced themselves to learn hitherto
unfamiliar skills and to adjust to rural perspectives and expectations” (Garvin 2012).
A persuasive early twentieth century theorist of the return to country life was the essayist and
muckraking writer Ray Stannard Baker (1870-1946), who signed his influential back-to-the-land
books with the pseudonym “David Grayson.” Less abstract were the writings of the arts and crafts
pioneer Gustav Stickley (1858-1942), publisher of the enormously influential Craftsman magazine
(1901-1916). The Craftsman published designs for small houses that were designed for
homesteaders, and frequently included essays advocating retreat to the country to engage in farming
and handicrafts. Putting theory into practice, Stickley established Craftsman Farms in Morris Plains,
New Jersey, hoping to demonstrate the practicality of rural life and straightforward craftsmanship”
(Garvin 2012).
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“The persuasive back-to-the land literature of the early twentieth century was followed by several
autobiographical accounts in the ensuing years. As was the case with the Woodburys, the onset of
the Great Depression was a decisive factor in focusing attention on the possibility of subsistence in
the country. Among the influential books of the 1930s were Ralph Borsodi’s Flight from the City
(1933), William Budington Duryee’s A Living from the Land (1934), Elliott Merrick’s From This
Hill Look Down (1934), Maurice G. Kains’ Five Acres and Independence (1935), and Charles F.
Speare’s We Found a Farm (1936). Books like these provided a context for Woodbury’s John
Goffe’s Mill, and a prelude to the works of popular later writers like Helen and Scott Nearing, whose
Living the Good Life (1954) inspired the next back-to-the-land generation of the 1960s and 1970s.
For a full account of the back-to-the-land movement in the United States from the 1860s, see Dona
Brown, Back to the Land: The Enduring Dream of Self-Sufficiency in Modern America. Although it
was an international phenomenon, “back-to-the-land” literature was especially prevalent in New
England; over half of the books in this genre published between 1930 and 1946 used New England
as their setting (Brown 2011:178). George Woodbury was clearly conscious of his connection with
the “back to the land” movement and the place that his mill and his book, John Goffe’s Mill, might
occupy in the literature of that movement. Woodbury concluded the book with a chapter that
addressed the back-to-the-land paradigm by recounting his loss of urban employment, his shrinking
bank account, and the diagnosis of an unnamed illness that required him to work outdoors
(Woodbury 1948:240)” (Garvin 2012).
John Goffe’s Mill Operated as Water-powered Mill, 1939-1961
Begun as a circular sawmill, the mill was slowly diversified with additional equipment. Woodbury
added a small gristmill in the eastern wing, commencing the manufacture of stone-ground wholegrain flour and marketing the mill’s products by mail order. Woodbury later added a reciprocating
or “up-and-down” sawmill mechanism, using an ancient blade said to be from the Nichols-Colby
sawmill in Bow, New Hampshire (Woodbury 1948:223-224). One of the last operating up-anddown sawmills in New Hampshire, the Nichols-Colby mill had been essentially destroyed by the
hurricane of 1938 shortly after it was recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey. The upand-down sawmill mechanism allowed Woodbury to cut wide boards for a line of furniture that he
made and marketed at the mill (Garvin 2012). He was able to produce it from start to finish, cutting,
drying, sawing and finishing all on site (Woodbury 1948).
A few years after completing the main mill building, Woodbury added a shed-roofed addition,
cantilevered beyond the top of the dam on the north side of the mill. Here, he installed several
lathes, including an automatic wood-turning lathe patented by Asa S. Perkins of Goshen, New
Hampshire (Woodbury 1948:209-216). Using this machine, Woodbury began to manufacture threelegged milking stools of white pine. In three sizes, these became a popular sales item used for a
variety of household purposes. The gristmill proved impractical to operate and was abandoned
(Woodbury 1955:23-25; Garvin 2012). “The mill also provided a demonstration, akin to the return
of handicraft production through the League of New Hampshire Arts and Crafts during the same
period, that there remained a niche in New Hampshire for traditional methods of production even in
the twentieth century” (Garvin 2012).
Five children were born to Connie and George Woodbury between 1938, when they moved to
Bedford, and 1946: Gordon Woodbury, Jr., Ruth, Nancy (1941-1943), Sarah and Harriett
(http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/40358563/person/19603242851; Boston Globe 1940s article). In
1948, George Woodbury published an account of the rebuilding and operation of John Goffe’s Mill.
Two years later, his second book told the story of his tinkering with and restoration of an old Stanley
Steamer. The water-powered mill became a familiar fixture in the town of Bedford, and eventually a
local icon. After publication of John Goffe’s Mill in 1948, the site was regarded as a literary
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landmark and was visited by travelers from afar. Located adjacent to busy US Route 3, the Daniel
Webster Highway, and the mill remained “where it has always been for all these many, many years,
an oasis of tranquility in a desert of hurrying humanity” (Woodbury 1955:29; Garvin 2012).
In the 1950s, Woodbury was employed as columnist and literary editor, book reviewer, and feature
writer for the New Hampshire Sunday News and Union Leader of which his father had formerly been
editor. In 1956 he started the “Homegrown History” column (Union Leader 11.26.1973). George
and Connie Woodbury divorced in the early 1950s and he was married again to Eleanor Smart
(1910-1968), an interior decorator from Manchester (Census 1940).
“Even as Woodbury was writing his book John Goffe’s Legacy in 1955, the serenity of the mill was
about to change. In that book, Woodbury predicted the arrival of a “new toll road, double two lane,
limited access, [that] will soon cross the mill stream below the falls to the east,” expecting that the
new highway would relieve traffic congestion on Route 3 (Woodbury 1955:28). That road was
completed in the late 1950s, dramatically transforming the character of the Bowman’s Brook
neighborhood in a way that Woodbury had not foreseen. Passing within yards of the mill, the new
turnpike ran headlong over Bowman’s Brook and planted a sprawling interchange just below the
millpond. Suddenly, Woodbury’s familiar world disappeared, as did much of the quiet farming town
of Bedford. Now readily accessible to interstate traffic, the Bowman’s Brook neighborhood became
a prime location for major businesses” (Garvin 2012).
In September 1961, the Woodbury family (Charlotte Woodbury, Peter Woodbury, George
Woodbury, Martha Morford and Frederick S. Dunn) sold the mill property to the Dunfey Real Estate
Corporation of New Hampshire, owners and developers of hotel chains (Deed 1659:66).
Dunfey Hotels Historic Background, 1945-1961
The Dunfey family, inducted to the Business Excellence Hall of Fame by the New Hampshire
Business Review in 2009, was called, “One of the most amazing families in the history of New
Hampshire.” “Pioneers and leaders in the transformation of the hotel industry … they adopted a
Yankee sense of hospitality that became the signature for their inns and hotels.”
(http://www.nhbr.com/October-9-2009/2009-NHBR-Business-Excellence-Hall-of-Fame-Inductees/).
The Dunfey brothers were born in Lowell, Massachusetts, to a family of twelve children. Their
father Leroy (Roy) Dunfey owned a variety store and lunch counter (Census 1940). In 1945, five
brothers opened a clam stand at Hampton Beach. A second restaurant was established in 1947 and
Playland arcade opened at the Beach. A third restaurant operated in Durham where the boys studied
at UNH. William graduated in 1950, John in 1952, Walter in 1955, Robert and Gerald in 1956. In
1954, the five brothers and their newly widowed mother, Catherine, bought Lamie’s Inn and Tavern
on Route 1 in Hampton. Mrs. Dunfey became active in the emerging business, as Chairman of the
Board
of
Dunfey
Family
Hotels
(http://www.globalcitizenscircle.org/programs/awards/dunfey02.html).
The family established
insurance and real estate businesses in Hampton. In 1958, they helped found the Hampton Bank,
built a motor inn addition adjacent to Lamie’s, and the Hampton Plaza next door. The motor inn was
a garrison colonial in style with early American décor. It had a new lobby, restaurant and coffee
shop (Miller 1992). The Dunfey family began to acquire other hotels throughout New England.
They adopted the theme of “Good Old New England hospitality.” The Cracker Barrel Lounge
restaurants were standard, with their characteristic large round of Cheddar cheese and a barrel of
Westminster crackers by the door (Jervey 2004).
In 1959, the Dunfeys purchased the twelve-story Carpenter Hotel at 323 Franklin Street in
downtown Manchester (corner Franklin and West Merrimack streets, now Carpenter Center
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apartments) (Deed 1564:352). They built a parking garage nearby. The Carpenter Motor Hotel
Corporation president was John P. (“Jack”) Dunfey who lived in Hampton. Walter James Dunfey
(1932-1989) moved from Durham to 916 Chestnut Street in Manchester and was the General
Manager of the hotel. William Leo (“Bud”) Dunfey (1925-1991) headed the real estate and
insurance businesses in Hampton (Manchester Directory 1959, 1964; NH Profiles 1958). Robert J.
Dunfey (1928- ) was company treasurer and in charge of Lamie’s in Hampton and the Playland at
Hampton Beach. He moved to Maine when the Eastland Hotel in Portland was purchased in 1961.
Youngest brother, Gerald Dunfey (1935- ) ran the restaurant at the Beach. Richard P. Dunfey (19291991) was the family lawyer and later a judge in Exeter. One brother, Paul J. Dunfey remained in
Lowell. Roy F. Dunfey lived in Ohio. All four Dunfey sisters became Catholic nuns (NH Profiles
1958).
The Dunfey family played a role in New Hampshire and national politics, active in the Democratic
Party. William “Bud” Dunfey founded of the Young Democrats of New Hampshire. The family
connection with the Kennedys began as early as 1947, during John F. Kennedy’s run for Congress.
In 1960, Bud Dunfey was New England regional coordinator for Kennedy’s Presidential campaign,
and it was from Walter Dunfey’s office in the Carpenter Hotel in Manchester that JFK announced
his candidacy (http://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/11/obituaries/walter-james-dunfey-dies-at-57hotel-executive-active-in-politics.html).
Wayfarer Inn Construction, 1961-1962
The connection between the Woodbury and Dunfey families has not been identified, but they were
undoubtedly acquainted prior to the February 1961 deed. The Woodbury deed included an estimated
11.4 acres between South River Road/US 3 and the F.E. Everett Turnpike, with the mill building on
it. From Peter and Barbara Crafts, the Dunfey Realty Company purchased the nineteen acres land
(buildings not mentioned) to the north, which they had acquired from Charlotte Woodbury in 1948
(Deed 1634:266). Part of this became the northern edge of the Wayfarer, the rest is now site of the
Bedford Mall. The Dunfeys also bought the large tract of land to the south where Macy’s is now. In
October 1961, the Dunfey Land Corporation received a $500,000 SBA loan. The contractor was
Davison Construction of Manchester (Nashua Telegraph 10.02.1961). Davison was one of the
largest contractors in the region, in business from the 1930s. They built the South End Shopping
Plaza in Nashua in 1960 and the Terminal Building at the Manchester Airport in 1961. The Boston
architectural firm of Perry, Shaw, Hepburn and Dean, famous for their Colonial Williamsburg
restoration, was hired to design the motel (see architecture section for additional information). An
undated newspaper photograph recorded a site visit by Dunfey family members, George Woodbury,
and architects Robert C. Dean, George Lloyd, Roger Strassman, and Frederick Kubitz of Perry,
Shaw, Hepburn and Dean (NHDHR Bedford town file). George Woodbury, who lived in the area
throughout his life with his fourth wife Barbara Stephens, was to serve as consultant on the project
for a further three years, supervising further restoration of the mill (NHDHR Bedford town file).
Some of the mill machinery remained in place, though no longer in-use. This was removed to the
Bedford Historical Society when the property was vacated a few years ago.
Robert C. Dean drew up the plot plan for the project; junior partner Frederick Kubitz designed the
motel. According to one source, the family was influenced to hire Perry, Shaw, Hepburn and Dean
because of their connections to Robert Brush, a Vice President of Sheraton Hotels, and that
company’s use of the firm for their hotels (Anonymous n.d.:14). According to a firm history: … The
stream makes an S curve around the site which suggested the plan. The main dining room, bar
lounge and function rooms would occupy the bend of the stream with a splendid view of the
waterfall of the mill dam.
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Dean established the plot plan; Kubetz [sic] designed the motel based on hexagons. A huge stone
chimney with a great fireplace occupies the center of a great hexagon containing the dining room,
the lounge and the kitchens. Two wings of function rooms, front office and bedrooms flow from this
center following the stream. The style is constructivist; huge exposed wooden trusses are a feature
of the ceiling. All the walls of the main hexagon are glass. Ruth Dean decorated the building
choosing the furniture, draperies, carpets and colors.
The motel is a great success but the Dunfeys had in their hearts a colonial style building and never
admitted that they loved this one except for its revenue. Each bedroom cost about $16,000 to build,
but according to the firm history, they lost money on the job (Anonymous n.d.:14-15).
Construction began late in 1961. Plans for details and mechanicals were finalized in the winter and
spring of 1962 and updated to June. It was initially called the Manchester Motor Inn, and then the
Wayfarer Inn name was adopted. The official unveiling was on 6/26/62 and the Wayfarer opened
the following day (Nashua Telegraph 06.26.1962).
Wayfarer Inn Early Years, June 1962-1964
According to the paper, the inn combined “Early American and Shaker architecture in a manner
calculated to stop traffic on the neighboring superhighways” (Nashua Telegraph 07.01.1962).
Walter Dunfey was the manager of the Wayfarer along with the Carpenter Hotel (Nashua Telegraph
08.15.1963). The business was an immediate success. The motor inn served tourists and business
travelers, the restaurant and lounge were popular locally, and the function rooms were used for
meetings and wedding receptions. The original motel units contained sixty rooms. A twenty-fourroom motel building was added in the spring of 1964.
John Goffe’s Mill became John Goffe’s Country Store gift shop, immediately adjacent to the
covered bridge entrance and main lobby. Mill equipment remained in place but was no longer
operated. The restaurant advertised lunch and dinner in John Goffe’s Kitchen, the Brookside dining
room with its huge fireplace, beamed ceiling and picture windows overlooking the pool, waterfall
and country terrain. The lounge was a Cracker Barrel Lounge. The Club Caribe Terrace was on the
patio overlooking the pool. There was dinner dancing, as well as complete banquet and convention
facilities (Nashua Telegraph 06.26.1962, 06.16.1963; http://www.cardcow.com/298178/sheratonwayfarer-manchester-new-hampshire/). The Wayfarer operated as a Quality Courts motel according
to early postcards. Based on the success of John Goffe’s Store and the Flax Wheel Shop at Lamie’s,
the Dunfey family was chosen to sponsor a New England Country Store at the 1964-65 New York
World’s Fair, which was one of its most popular venues.
Occupying a central location in the southern part of the state, five minutes outside of Manchester,
near the Manchester Airport, twenty minutes from Concord or Nashua, the Wayfarer came to play a
major role in New Hampshire’s famed presidential primary season as a hub for politicians and the
media. The bridge, mill pond and waterfall were popular as back-drops for candidate interviews,
speeches and news stand-up shots. Letter from New Hampshire about the Presidential primaries
describes the Wayfarer Inn as the unofficial headquarters of the New Hampshire primary, noting its
rambling, confusing layout and easy-to-miss location, but the bar a political heaven (Herzberg 2000).
“I used to say it was the political equivalent of the ‘Star Wars’ bar,” said Tom Brokaw, the managing
editor and anchor of the NBC Nightly News. “You would see everybody there. You could do more
business with every campaign in 10 minutes at the Wayfarer bar. And the candidates would wander
in” (Jervey 2004). During this period, Bud Dunfey served on the Democratic National Committee,
as Northeastern regional manager of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1964 campaign, chairman of the
Democratic State Committee from 1965 to 1968 and northern New England coordinator for the
Presidential
bid
of
Robert
F.
Kennedy
in
1968
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(http://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/11/obituaries/william-l-dunfey-65-hotelier-anddemocrat.html?src=pm; http://www.nhbr.com/October-9-2009/2009-NHBR-Business-ExcellenceHall-of-Fame-Inductees/).
Sheraton-Wayfarer and Dunfey Hotels expansion, 1965-1986
In 1965, the Dunfey company obtained the exclusive Sheraton franchise in Maine and New
Hampshire (Nashua Telegraph 09.22.1965). The Dunfeys acquired several Sheraton hotels and
motor inns and renamed their existing ones. The Wayfarer became the Sheraton Wayfarer Motor
Inn or simply the Sheraton-Wayfarer. With a total of fourteen Sheratons, Dunfey Hotels
Corporation was, for a time, the largest hotel franchise holder in the world
(http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/omni-hotels-corp-history/). The operation of
Dunfey Hotels as a Sheraton franchise was typical of the hotel/motel industry of the mid-twentieth
century, which was the heyday of chain hotels. Sheraton, which originated in the late 1930s, became
the first publicly traded hotel chain in the 1940s. There were a total of one-hundred Sheraton motor
inns in the U.S. as of 1965. The Sheraton chain was purchased by multinational conglomerate ITT
in 1968 (http://www.ahla.com/content.aspx?id=4072).
On US 3 in Bedford, the Wayfarer was the first in a series of large-scale commercial developments.
Walter Dunfey is said to have played a key role in bringing Jordan Marsh (now Macy’s) to Bedford
in 1965. After Manchester rejected plans for a store downtown, Jordan Marsh VP and then
Governor John King were lunching at the Wayfarer with Dunfey who suggested the field south of
the motel as a prime site (http://www.nhbr.com/August-19-2005/From-turkeys-to-commerce/). The
Dunfeys sold the land to Alstores Realty Corp and retained the right-of-way across it as the motel
access drive (Deed 1841:410). John P. Dunfey and Harold Cohen owned the large tract of land
north of the Wayfarer that became the site of the Bedford Mall (ca. 1969). Out of that parcel, 3.664
acres on the north side of the brook, along with two houses (one extant and the other by the road,
now site of telephone building), were combined with the Wayfarer property (13.094 acres) to form
the existing 16+ acre parcel (Plan 3488).
Construction of the Wayfarer Convention Center on the northeast bank of the mill pond was begun
in the fall of 1966 (Nashua Telegraph 09.22.1965). In October, the Dunfeys mortgaged 16.578 acres
with buildings (existing and to be constructed thereon) for 1.3 million dollars (Deed 1902:171). The
facility opened in the fall of 1967. It included meeting and ballroom spaces and two floors of
waterfront guestrooms. The restaurant was updated as Dunfey’s Tavern in 1970 and was advertised
as “A new tavern in the old tradition,” with “Gourmet food for the soul” (Nashua Telegraph
05.22.1970). A 2.4 million mortgage in 1971 financed further expansion (Deed 2177:401). A new
three-story, eighty-four-unit building was built on the brook above the upper waterfall (Plan 05302).
The parking lot was expanded in the southwest corner of the property parallel to Route 3. At its
peak, the Sheraton Wayfarer had 194 guest rooms. The Wayfarer Convention Center could
accommodate 1,500 people and banquets of up to 600 guests. There were ten function rooms
(http://www.nhbr.com/Archive-2004/Wayfarer-Inn-aposideal-choice-apos-for-events/).
The
Democratic State Convention was held there in September 1968 (Nashua Telegraph 08.15.1968).
Dunfey Hotels had a reputation for innovation. In 1968, they started a “Wayfarers Club,” the first of
the now ubiquitous frequent traveler programs, with perks like free travel insurance, coffee and
newspapers. The “Colleen Club” was a secretaries club, with benefits to both the traveler and the
person making the booking (http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/omni-hotels-corphistory/). The purchase of the Parker House in Boston in 1969 began a strategy of targeting
struggling hotels in need of renovation that could be bought inexpensively
(http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/omni-hotels-corp-history/). To raise capital for
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additional projects, the eighteen hotels and motor inns were sold to Aetna Life Insurance Company
in 1971, while the Dunfeys continued to operate them. This was not uncommon in the business;
most hotel owners enter into agreements with hotel management chains to franchise hotels, manage
them or both (Miller 1992). In 1972, the Cape Cod Resort and Conference Center in Hyannis was
established as a Sheraton by the Dunfeys. They added 100 rooms to an existing inn and enlarged the
golf course (http://www.capecodresortandconference.com/history.html). By 1974, Dunfey Family
Hotel Corporation ran twenty-one hotels in ten states. The former First National Store in the
Hampton Plaza at 500 Lafayette Road in Hampton became the company headquarters for about 130
employees
(Miller
1992;
http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/history/business/1970s/
dunfeyfamilyhotelcorp HU19740403.htm). In 1974, Aer Lingus bought the Dunfey Hotels chain
from Aetna. Dunfey Hotels became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aer Lingus. In 1980, Jon Canas
took over as president and CEO (Miller 1992). The company focused increasingly on the upscale
downtown hotels. Between 1977 and 1983, Dunfey Hotels purchased the Ambassador East Hotel in
Chicago, followed by the Berkshire Place Hotel in New York, the Shoreham Hotel in Washington,
DC, the New Orleans’s Royal Orleans Hotel, the Biltmore Plaza Hotel in Providence and the
Netherland Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati (http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/omnihotels-corp-history/).
In 1983, name rights and three hotels (Atlanta, Norfolk, and Miami) were bought from Omni
International Hotels, Ltd. (Miller 1992). Aer Lingus reorganized the company into two operating
divisions: Omni International Hotels and Dunfey Hotels. The latter included fourteen hotels (the
Sheraton Wayfarer among them) owned and managed under various franchise names including the
Dunfey franchise. The company began divesting the older motor inns and motels to focus on the
upscale downtown hotels (http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/omni-hotels-corphistory/). The Sheraton Wayfarer and five other properties were sold in 1986, as was Lamie’s in
Hampton. The last Dunfey Hotel, the Dunfey San Mateo, was sold in 1992. The Dunfeys
themselves sold their interest in the company and formed the Dunfey Brothers Capital Group, a
venture capital firm in Portsmouth, oriented toward socially responsible companies (Miller 1992).
Sheraton- Wayfarer, Renovated as Quality Inn, 1986-present
In 1986, the Sheraton-Wayfarer was transferred by the Dunfey-Bedford Corporation to Thomas J.
Flatley (1932-2008) of the Flatley Company of Braintree, Massachusetts (Deed 3718:308), owner of
the Sheraton Tara in Massachusetts. Five other Dunfey Hotels were sold in the same deed – the
Dunfey Hyannis Resort, the Sheraton Lexington Inn, Howard Johnsons of Newton, the Sheraton
Towers in South Portland and the Sheraton Airport Inn in Warwick, Rhode Island (Miller 1992).
The 1980s were an era of explosive growth and new construction for the hotel industry. By the end
of the decade, more than three million hotel rooms existed in the United States, most of which had
been constructed since 1980 (http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/omni-hotels-corphistory/). In the Manchester area, hotels of nearly every chain were built downtown, near the airport
and on South Willow Street. The Wayfarer Inn was sold in 1997 to SLT Realty Limited Partnership
of Delaware and leased to SLC Operating Limited Partnership (Deed 5886:689; Deed 5851:719).
In 2003, the property was deeded to Wayfarer Hospitality LLC and then to HIR Realty, LLC - Jiten
Hotel Management (Deed 7076:2171). The Wayfarer Inn became a Quality Inn affiliate. Major
renovations costing $3.7 million were carried out in 2004. The 8000-square foot convention center
was completely remodeled, including the meeting rooms, ball room and guest rooms. All buildings
received new carpet, vinyl flooring, lighting and completely new bathrooms. The Wayfarer
Restaurant and “Quacker’s Lounge” received new interior room divisions. The indoor pool and
fitness center were updated. The exterior was vinyl sided and windows were replaced. New
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landscaping was introduced (http://www.nhbr.com/Archive-2004/Wayfarer-Inn-aposideal-choiceapos-for-events/). The hotel operated as “Quality Inn Manchester Airport” in its final years.
It was the second largest convention center in the Manchester Area (http://www.nhbr.com/Archive2004/Wayfarer-Inn-aposideal-choice-apos-for-events/), but the updates were not sufficient to bring it
up to modern standards. During the primary campaigns, media coverage was increasingly based
elsewhere. According to the New York Observer, “2008 will be remembered as the year the
Radisson (The Center For New Hampshire on Elm Street in downtown Manchester) took the title of
New Hampshire Primary Nerve Center from the Wayfarer Inn” (Koblin 2008). The Quality Inn
closed in 2010. The buildings have been vacant since that time. Artifacts from the mill building
were removed for storage in the Bedford Historical Society.
Despite the drastic change in function and setting of the historic John Goffe Mill, the site and the
structure have remained iconic in the Town of Bedford. Along with the First Church and the Town
Hall, John Goffe’s Mill appears as an element on the Bedford town seal (Garvin 2012).
20. Applicable NHDHR Historic Context(s)
22. Logging, lumbering and sawmills, 1620-present.
23. Wood products mills and shops in New Hampshire.
26. Small-scale furniture (cabinet) making.
53. Grain farming and grist milling, 1650-present.
83. Taverns, inns, hotels, motels, motor courts and bed and breakfasts, 1623-present.
88. Automobile highways and culture, 1900-present.
101. The service industries in New Hampshire.
21. Architectural Description and Comparative Evaluation
The Wayfarer Inn complex is set back from Route 3/South River Road on a large parcel. The motor
inn and conference center consists of multiple different connected buildings arranged
asymmetrically on the site. The property is vacant and abandoned, but the buildings remain extant,
though many windows are broken and the interiors vandalized. The current appearance of the
property with vinyl siding and new windows and doors dates from 2004. The layout and plan is
unchanged and fenestration and entry patterns are the same, evenly spaced simple windows and
glass doors. Cream-colored vinyl siding and trim covers nearly all surfaces. Decorative faux-wood
shingles in a fish scale pattern are used as accents. Historic postcards show that the original siding
was dark wood shingles with light trim. The buildings have poured concrete foundations. All roofs
are asphalt shingled in a tan color. The eaves overhang, with wooden fascia and soffit. Buildings
are set into the sloping terrain and range from one to three stories in height.
The Wayfarer Inn, designed in 1961 and built in 1962, is comprised of a series of attached hexagonal
structures with hip roofs. These include the lobby area and kitchen, restaurant, function room, four
connected motel buildings and one formerly detached motel and cabana building, plus the adjacent
hexagonal swimming pool. The 1939 water-powered mill and dam and 1962 covered pedestrian
bridge are attached. A second stone dam is upstream. The first addition of 1964 is attached to the
original motor inn and to the lobby. Large hotel and conference center additions were built in the
northern corners of the property in 1967 and 1971. Detached buildings and structures are an older
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cottage and a decorative gazebo north of the brook. The asphalt parking lots and access roads,
including one culvert, contribute to the 1962 site. One small modern utility building stands near the
road.
The front entrance and lobby face southwest toward the entrance off South River Road. The original
1962 motel units range to the southeast in a series of hexagonal hip roofed pods. The buildings are
one-story on the uphill side (west) and two-stories on the east. The lobby was renovated in the late
twentieth century and more recently a porte-cochere, modeled after a covered bridge, was added. A
central triangular block contains the lobby and passageways and the internal kitchen and service
area. Private dining rooms and a hexagonal function room are located to the west. The restaurant is
a distinctive hexagonal structure topped by a six-sided hip roof with a chimney rising from the
center. The large open dining room overlooks the brook on three sides. John Goffe’s Mill is
attached to the southeast corner of the restaurant block near the covered bridge entry. It is a two
story, cross-gabled building erected in 1939 and raised up and remodeled as part of the motel in
1962. The covered pedestrian bridge is a timber-frame structure spanning the brook. Corridors at
either end connect to the motor inn and the conference center to the northeast. The large convention
center is three stories on the water side and one story on the northeast elevation. Three stories of
balconies overlook the pond. To the west of the front entrance, a long one-story corridor connects
the lobby with the additional motel buildings. The 1964 addition is a rectangular building with hip
roof and two floors of guestrooms alongside the front parking lot. The hexagonal cabana and motel
building dates from 1962. It is two-stories with a hip roof, overlooking the pool to the east. The inground pool is also hexagonal. The northernmost motel building, known as the Upper Falls, is
attached at one end. The three-story building with flat roof has balconies on both sides overlooking
the brook below. The two stone dams span the brook above and below the mill pond. The
decorative gazebo on the shore is probably a recent introduction to the site. The 1½-story house
north of the pond has multiple gable dormers and a three-sided bay window. The building sits on a
high brick foundation.
The main entrance to the property from South River Road/US 3 is from the southwest via right-ofway through the Macy’s Parking lot. When the hotel was built, the driveway wound through open
field, but the Jordan Marsh store was erected only a few years later. Within the Wayfarer property,
the driveway runs northeast to the motel entrance where it widens into a turn-around and parking
area. Parking lots branch off in several directions. Parallel to the road is a curvilinear parking lot
filling the corner of the property. An L-shaped parking lot lines the west and south sides of the 1964
building. The access road turns around the east end of the motel and crosses the brook via a culvert,
to the upper parking area alongside the convention center. The large parking lot was original to the
1962 design, reconfigured when the convention center was constructed. There was a billboard
facing the F.E. Everett Turnpike. The property is surrounded by chain link fencing installed when it
closed ca. 2010. The landscaping is overgrown. There is a mix of evergreen trees and flowering
shrubs. The most recent plantings are from 2004. Mature trees grow along the brook.
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List of buildings and structures
Building section Construction date Motor Inn and Restaurant 1962 Porte cochere ca. 1990s John Goffe Mill 1939/1962 Mill Dam 1939 Covered Bridge 1962 Swimming Pool 1962 Cabana and Motel building 1964 motel addition 1962 1964 Upper Falls building 1971 Upper dam ca. 1830/1939 Cottage ca. 1840/1967 Gazebo unknown, moved to site 1967 Convention Center Culvert under eastern access road Telephone building 1962 1984 Contributing / Description noncontributing
contributing includes lobby (remodeled), building restaurant, lounge, kitchen, motel rooms noncontributing front entrance structure contributing water powered mill, now building offices contributing stone and concrete dam structure contributing pedestrian bridge from upper structure parking lot and conference center contributing in‐ground pool with concrete structure patio contributing Motel rooms above, ground building floor facing pool contributing 24‐rooms attached to Cabana building building noncontributing 3‐story hotel building building contributing stone and concrete dam structure contributing small dwelling, remodeled late building 19th century noncontributing decorative gazebo, probably structure relocated noncontributing 3‐story convention hall and building hotel rooms contributing pipe culvert structure noncontributing small utility building building Photo # 1‐18, 35‐43 1‐2 19‐28 29‐31 20, 20‐
34 44‐46 44‐47 48‐50 50‐52 17, 53 54‐62 54, 61‐
62 63‐71 72‐74 none Although most of the buildings are connected, some were built in a single campaign and counted as
one building, and others were added and counted separately. In total there are five contributing
historic buildings. These are: the 1962 motor inn and restaurant counted as a single building; the
1939 mill built separately and later attached; the 1964 motel addition connected but added to the
1962 buildings; the 1962 cabana and motel building, which was originally detached; and the
nineteenth century cottage. Five contributing structures are: the upper dam; 1939 mill dam; 1962
swimming pool; 1962 covered bridge; and 1962 culvert. Non-contributing buildings were built
separately and are less than fifty years old. They include the convention center built in 1967 and the
1971 Upper Falls building, as well as the 1984 telephone building. Non-contributing structures are
the entry porte-cochere and the small gazebo.
All buildings and structures are described below.
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Motor Inn and Restaurant 1962
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Contributing Building
The 1962 lobby, kitchen and dining room, and adjoining motel rooms were built in several discrete
blocks, but as one continuous attached building.
Lobby, remodeled late 1960s-70s
Photos 2-4
The existing front entrance to the lobby reflects the ongoing expansion of the property. The date of
the changes has not been identified, but it was after 1965 (www.historicaerials.com). When the
motel was built, this western entrance was Lobby B according to the plans. The original main lobby
beside the restaurant at the end of the covered bridge emphasized the upper parking lot as the main
entrance, but must have proved inconvenient for motel guests particular after additional motel rooms
were built in 1964. The lobby was enlarged with the removal of interior office spaces and the front
wall was shifted forward (southwest) with an added timber-framed space under hip roof. The stone
wall that forms the back wall of the room now, was originally the exterior front wall. The drive-up
entrance was recessed under the flat roof (Perry, Shaw, Hepburn & Dean plans 1962).
From the modern porte cochère, the entrance is through new double doors. The lobby is a large open
room with corridors off it in several directions. The wood-paneled front desk was added when the
space was renovated. The area features exposed beams and posts. The wood flooring is new. The
main corridor connects to the restaurant on the north. A brick wall divides the interior kitchen and
utility rooms. Large plate glass windows overlook the mill and brook. The public restrooms are
located on the east wall. To the south of the lobby is the motel room corridor. The original function
and private dining rooms were located off the west side of the lobby.
Motor Inn Units A-D, 1962
Photos 1, 35-43
The motor inn building in the southwest corner of the 1962 complex is comprised of four connected
hexagonal structures with hip roofs, staggered and offset in a curve. Each pod is the same size and
has the same interior floor plan. The motel is one-story on the front (southwest) side and two stories
on the northeast.
All exterior walls are vinyl sided. Originally they were wood shingled. The roofs are covered in
asphalt shingles. The projecting eaves are trimmed with wood fasciae and sloping soffits. The
windows and doors are all new. On the western elevations, the rooms are lit by evenly spaced pairs
of rectangular sliding windows with rectangular openings for air conditioner units below. Each of
the four sections has an exterior entrance, recessed in the corner between each section, with diagonal
walls and large plate glass windows. Asphalt walks cross the narrow lawn. Head in parking spaces
are located alongside the motel on the southwest and south sides. On the rear (northeast) side, twostory building overlooks the brook and mill. The walls are lined with large windows, either single
square plate glass windows or double sliding windows. An area of lawn separates the back service
driveway that runs parallel to the brook.
Each unit has four rooms on either side of a central hallway on the first floor and four rooms along
the eastern side of the lower level. The floor plan is unchanged from the original design (Perry,
Shaw, Hepburn and Dean 1962). Each room has a bathroom inside the door and a window on the
exterior wall. The end rooms are pentagonal. There are cathedral ceilings with exposed beams. The
room interiors and bathrooms were completely redone in 2004. The hallways, entries and stairwells
are unchanged. The walls retain rustic wooden shake shingles. The plain wooden stair railings and
balusters appear to be original.
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Kitchen, 1962
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Photo 9
The kitchen fills the central core between the lobby and restaurant. As designed in 1962, the kitchen
is an interior room, with passages one either side. The kitchen itself is a hexagonal room, opening to
the restaurant on the northeast and the function rooms on the southeast. The use of the space
remains the same, though without historic fixtures. The service entrance is on the southeast side
where the driveway opens into a broad turnaround. Additions have been made to the lower level of
this elevation.
Restaurant and Lounge, 1962
Photos 5-17
The restaurant and lounge are the most distinctive part of the property. The large interior space is
open to the timber framed roof. The building is hexagonal in a truncated, almost triangular shape,
with three longer sides and three shorter sides. The hip roof slopes on six sides from a triangular
pyramidal top. A central chimney rises through a triangular opening at the peak. The chimney stack
is triangular in plan, with a round clay pipe projecting from the top. The roof was originally wood
shingled with a shingled skirt at the eave line, which is now gone, leaving the rafter ends and
framing exposed below the roof. Each of the six corners is marked by a heavy masonry buttress.
The hexagonal tapering piers are built of rectangular concrete blocks, with exposed aggregate giving
it a granite face. The mortared blocks are laid in regular broken courses. Atop each pier, a short
metal post supports the end of the roof timber. This was designed to be covered by the roof skirt.
The three short sides of the building are four bays and the long sides are eight. The walls consist of
large rectangular plate glass windows with wooden trim and edge-and-center board wainscoting at
the bottom.
Inside, the entire structure is open to the roof framing, with dividing walls forming separate spaces
below. In the center is the large triangular chimney stack that rises through the roof with triangular
skylights around it. The hip roof rafters, tie beams and diagonal struts form a system of trusses that
are exposed in the cathedral ceiling. The timbers are circular sawn. The inner struts are supported
by the fireplace stack. Connections are bolts and metal plates. The ceiling between the exposed
heavy rafters is sheathed in dark stained boards.
The focal point of the dining room is the large stone fireplace on the northwest face of the chimney.
The fieldstone was designed to harmonize with the nearby dams. The chimney form was inspired by
iron smelters (Nashua Telegraph 06.16.1963) like the ones at the Saugus Iron Works restored by the
architects a decade earlier. The fireplace wall below ceiling height is fieldstone veneer. The upper
chimney stack is polished concrete blocks. The mantelshelf and screens of the fireplace are new.
The restaurant was designed with movable room dividers to create semi-private spaces (Perry, Shaw,
Hepburn and Dean 1962). The existing interior dividing walls that separate the lounge and dining
areas are new. Sheetrock walls have large multi-light windows, wooden trim and cornices. The
lounge is occupies the northeastern space, opening off the corridor by the covered bridge entrance,
where the original main lobby was located. The bar backs up to the central chimney. Historic
photos show the original interior walls were finished with rough board sheathing and wood shingled
awnings.
In the southwest wall of the dining room is a glass door opening onto the patio, which was an
outdoor dining area. The patio was originally paved with triangular concrete slabs like the pool
deck.
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Function Rooms, 1962
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Photo 18
The original function rooms and private dining room are southwest of the restaurant, along the patio
and overlooking the pool. The interior of this space has been remodeled, but the overall hexagonal
form and large windows are evident. The main room was known at one time as the Terrace Room.
The original design included movable room dividers (Perry, Shaw, Hepburn and Dean plans 1962).
This was the principal meeting space of the original Wayfarer before the Conference Center opened
in 1967. The narrow connecting hallway to the western motel buildings was added ca. 1964.
Porte Cochère, ca. 1990s
Photos 1-2
Noncontributing Structure
The front entrance is now defined by a covered drive-through drop-off point, a porte cochère
designed to resemble a covered bridge. The date of this addition has not been identified. It was
prior to the 2004 renovations, as it shows in 2003 aerial photographs (www.historicaerials.com). It
has a high gable roof sheathed in asphalt; the gable ends enclosed and sheathed in plastic saw tooth
shingles. The open sides have diagonally crossing struts of pressure treated lumber.
John Goffe’s Mill, 1939/1962
Photos 19-28
Contributing Building
The saw and grist mill built by George Woodbury in 1939 was incorporated into the motor inn
design in 1962. At the southeast corner of the restaurant and lounge, adjacent to the original main
lobby and covered bridge entrance, the mill served as a country store gift shop. 1962 plans for a
wooden waterwheel and flume were never built. Some of the mill machinery and equipment
remained in the building, although it was no longer in use, and materials were moved for storage in
the Bedford Historical Society when the Wayfarer closed.
“The frame and the wall and roof sheathing of the 1939 mill remain intact and as described by
Woodbury in 1948. But when the property was sold to the Dunfey family in 1962 and the new
Sheraton Wayfarer Hotel enveloped the site, the mill was adapted to the requirements of the hotel. It
was raised about four feet so that a new room could be framed below the grist mill wing. Its log
loading shed, formerly open on its west side, was enclosed by a new exterior wall. Its machinery
was largely removed and its interior was subdivided by lightly framed partitions, clad with gypsum
board, allowing the space to be used for offices and a gift shop. Primary access to the mill was
altered from the log loading shed on the west to a new glazed connection to the covered bridge that
was built over the millpond north of the mill. Eventually, the exterior, originally covered with
wooden shingles, was covered with vinyl siding, which remains in 2012” (Garvin 2012).
“John Goffe’s Mill is a wood-framed structure with a T-shaped floor plan. The head of the “T,” with
a north-south axis, was built to incorporate the sawmill’s open log loading shed and log rollway to
the south, and, in the enclosed northern section of the head of the “T,” the circular sawmill itself.
This portion of the building rests on mortared fieldstone foundations built on solid ground. The stem
of the “T” extends easterly from the sawmill section toward the spillway of the stone dam,
measuring about twenty-four feet in length and fourteen feet in breadth. This wing eventually
housed the gristmill equipment and a brick forge built into the mill’s chimney. The eastern end of
this wing sheltered the turbine, set into a wheel pit at the base of the dam. The northern wall of its
frame rests on the crest of the stone dam. Its southern wall rests on ledge at the base of the dam,
supported by high wooden posts. Woodbury added a small, shed-roofed extension of the mill to the
north of the gristmill wing shortly after the main structure was completed and put into operation.
Measuring ten by twenty-four feet, this addition rests partly on the broad top of the stone dam and is
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partly cantilevered over the millpond to the north of the dam. It housed a machinist’s lathe, a manual
wood-turning lathe, an automatic wood-turning lathe (said by Woodbury to be patented by Asa S.
Perkins of Goshen, NH), and a drill press” (Garvin 2012).
“The mill is heavily framed from sawn timbers that were cut from trees damaged by the hurricane of
September 1938. Because this wood was freely available and needed to be sawn before being
damaged by boring insect larvae in the summer of 1939, the timbers were cut to large dimensions
that were adapted to the requirements of a mill powered by heavy, vibrating steel shafts and leather
belting. Using a new, portable sawmill powered by a Studebaker engine, Woodbury sawed timbers
and planks for the mill on the site. These timbers were sawn oversized for a standard framed
building of the day: 10" or 12" square posts, 6" by 6" studs, 6" by 12" floor joists, and 3" plank
floors (Woodbury 1948:63). According to Woodbury’s book, the mill was framed by Henry Gookin
(probably an assumed name), a traditional carpenter who had framed a barn in Henniker, New
Hampshire, in 1901, almost forty years earlier. As described by Woodbury, the details of the
carpentry included mortise and tenon joints (Woodbury 1948:91, 94-95), but these features were
obscured by the addition of interior finish when the mill was adapted as office space in recent years.
The mill is covered by low-pitched gable roofs on both elements of the “T.” The rafters have nailed
lookouts at their feet, providing an ample overhang at the eaves” (Garvin 2012).
Mill Dam, 1939
Photos 29-31
Contributing Structure
A masonry dam, rebuilt on the ruins of an earlier Goffe dam in the fall and early winter of 1939,
spans the brook, nearly on an east-west axis. The stone dam is said to measure 70' long by 12' thick
by 14' high (Woodbury 1948:96; Garvin 2012). The 1939 structure was repaired in the Dunfey
renovations of 1962. The 1962 covered bridge crosses just upstream from and parallel to the dam.
The dam is located immediately east of the mill. Wooden steps down from the mill to the top of the
dam provide access to the gate lift.
Woodbury discussed reconstruction of the dam in his 1948 book.
“The previous dam, which he dated to 1845, had been provided with a footing of heavy timbers,
characteristic of masonry construction in water in the nineteenth century. Above the timber mat, the
dam was built of stones that were either laid dry or bedded in lime-sand mortar, the only cement
available at that period” (Garvin 2012).
According to Woodbury, some of the stones near the base of the dam extend through the full 12'
depth of the structure (Woodbury 1948:90). The stones were clamped with iron and bedded in
Portland cement mortar in 1939. The mat of timber below the masonry was retained intact, but a
dike of concrete was poured against it as insurance against water infiltration beneath the dam.
“The 1939 dam was provided with a spillway measuring three feet deep by twenty-two feet long,
fitted with four sockets for flashboard pins made from three-foot lengths of one-inch pipes. Below
the spillway is an apron of reinforced concrete. At its west end, the dam was provided with a sluice
made of two-foot sewer pipe bedded in concrete, with a wooden gate raised and lowered by a rack
and pinion, allowing the pond to be drained if necessary. All these features remain intact, although
the pond has accumulated a quantity of silt due to retarded flow through the mill since 1962. The
old metal turbine remains in place below the mill, though embedded in accumulated silt” (Woodbury
1948:74-77; Garvin 2012).
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Covered Bridge, 1962
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Photos 20, 30-34
Contributing Structure
Across the brook just above the mill and dam is a covered footbridge. With corridors at either end,
this connects the restaurant with the conference center on the other side of the brook. The covered
bridge was part of the original Wayfarer design of 1962. It was designed as the front entrance from
the main upper parking lot. It was said to be the first covered bridge built in the state since 1937
(Nashua Telegraph 07.01.1962).
The long narrow bridge has a gable roof. The modified multiple kingpost truss bridge consists of ten
truss panels by with exterior diagonal struts and crossing roof tie beams on the interior. The lower
level wall enclosures of vertical boards are original. The upper multi-pane windows were added
later to enclose the semi-open structure. The bottom chords of the bridge are supported by diagonal
braces and poured concrete abutments at either end.
Swimming pool, 1962
Photos 44-46
Contributing Structure
The pool is located west of the restaurant and the function room that overlooks the patio. On the
west side of the pool is the Cabana and motel building of 1962. Changing rooms and filter house are
located on the ground floor. The in-ground pool has an unusual elongated hexagonal shape designed
in 1962. The pool is Olympic-sized, 56' x 66+' at its widest points. The sides slope down to a deep
end at the northern end where there was a diving board according to the plans. Concrete patio
surrounds the pool on four sides. This is composed of triangular concrete pavers, as in the original
designs. On the north and northeast, the ground slopes down to the brook. The pool is damaged due
to flooding and on side has recently collapsed. There was small triangular wading pool in the
northwest corner of the patio, later filled in.
Cabana/Unit E Building, 1962
Photos 44-47
Contributing Building
The two-story building on the west side of the pool was original to the 1962 design. It was motel
unit E and contained the Club Caribe Cabanas. These changing room spaces in the lower level were
initially made available for rent by local residents, like a health club. The main floor of the building
had a central hallway with six rooms on either side (Perry, Shaw, Hepburn and Dean plans 1961).
The building was originally detached from the rest of the motel. The corridor to restaurant and
lobby was constructed along with the addition to the south in 1964. Like other parts of the complex,
this building is set into the slope. It is two stories on the east facing the pool, with overhanging
second floor, and one-story on the west toward the roadside. The elongated hexagonal building has
a hip roof. The walls are vinyl sided. All windows have been replaced. The fenestration pattern is
similar to the original according to a historic postcard. Off the northeast corner of the building at the
north end of the outdoor pool is a one-story solarium enclosing a small indoor pool. This was added
in the late twentieth century.
1964 addition, 1964
Photos 48-50
Contributing Building
Projecting south alongside the front parking lot west of the front entrance is a two-story motel
building erected in the spring of 1964, containing twenty-four guestrooms (Nashua Telegraph
03.27.1964). There are eight rooms on either side of the corridor on the upper floor and eight rooms
in the eastern half of the lower floor. The long rectangular building, one-story on the uphill (west)
side, has a hip roof with overhanging eaves. There are entrances centered on the front and rear
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elevations and evenly spaced pairs of sliding double windows. Parking lots with head-in spaces are
located on either side of the building.
Upper Falls building, ca. 1971
Photos 50-52
Noncontributing Building
The northwest portion of the complex is a three-story hotel building, spanning the brook, roughly
parallel to Route 3. It is attached to the cabana building by a glass enclosed corridor. The
construction date of the eighty-four-unit building was ca. 1971 (Plan 05302). The rectangular
building has a flat roof and curved stair towers at both ends. Rooms open off interior hallways.
Inset balconies line both elevations, with wooden slat dividers creating individual semi-private
spaces for each room. There are sliding glass doors. The walls of the building are sheathed in vinyl
simulated wood shingles from 2004. The balcony railings are wooden with slender vertical
balusters. The building was designed by New Hampshire architect Donald Jasinski (Plan 05302)
who did other work for the Dunfey family before and after.
Upper Dam, 1830/1939
Photos 17, 53
Contributing Structure
The upper dam is difficult to access due to the overgrown and flooded nature of the edge of the
brook. It is located across the brook below the three story hotel building and north of the swimming
pool. The masonry structure was originally built in the nineteenth century, repaired by Woodbury
ca. 1939 and again in 1962. It was a focal point of the Wayfarer Inn design, visible from the
restaurant, patio and pool. The dam is oriented southwest-northeast across the brook. Similar to the
lower dam, it is masonry with a lower spillway and bows slightly toward the downstream side. A
high stone retaining wall projects along the northern bank, at a right angle to the dam. It is built of
large rounded boulders, randomly coursed and dry-laid. This dam, the middle of three on Bowman’s
Brook, was erected sometime in the early 1800s. It powered a bark mill run by William Goffe
(1809-1897). This burned in 1845 along with the nearby mills downstream. The tanning vat was
filled in. The stone retaining wall may be remains of the sawmill that was built on the site by
George W. Goffe in the 1860s or so. It stood into the 1870s and was then removed (Town of
Bedford 1903:242).
Cottage, ca. 1840/1967
Photos 54-62
Contributing Building
A small nineteenth century house stands on the northern bank of the mill pond between the
conference center and the Upper Falls building. The form and rooflines of the building suggest it
may be an early to mid-1800s house, but it is much remodeled. Its origins are unknown. It was not
shown on the 1858 map, but neither was the nearby mill. The site was part of the large Goffe farm,
and later the Woodbury estate. According to the local history, when John McGaw built his house
across the road at 116 South River Road in 1859, he moved two older houses elsewhere on his
property, so possibly this was one of them. It was labeled Woodbury estate on the 1892 map.
Another house stood on the property to the west on the road just north of the brook until replaced by
the telephone building in the 1980s. When it became part of the Wayfarer complex in the 1960s, the
house was used as housing for employees and most recently as a rental suite.
The 1½-story house has a high brick foundation. The three-bay center-entry main block has a front
door on the west (WSW) elevation. A wing extends toward pond with a bay window on the south
end overlooking the water. The building was remodeled ca. 2004 with all new vinyl siding and trim,
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new roofing, new doors and new entry porch. All windows 1/1 replacements except wooden 6/6
window in the bay window foundation and 3/3 cellar windows. The gable rooms have multiple
gable dormers all added in the twentieth century. A brick chimney rises near the center of the ridge.
Another brick chimney is in the corner of the wing. The three-sided bay window has a high brick
foundation, new picture windows with vinyl dividers, and a hip roof. The porches on front and rear
elevations have arched spandrels and brick foundations with arched openings. The northern end of
the building was added ca.1967 (Plan 3488). The interior has exposed beams and diagonal board
walls. The interior of the cottage was renovated ca. 2004 with new sheetrock walls and ceilings,
new wood flooring, new kitchen and bathrooms. The upstairs is fully finished so the roof framing is
not visible.
The yard slopes down to the mill pond. A stone retaining wall projects from the southwest corner of
the building. The sloping lawn west of the cottage was used recently as a wedding site. A paved
walkway and steps lead down toward the water. The path was installed during the most recent
renovations. It is not visible in the 2005 aerial in the Bedford GIS maps. The building is accessed
from the northern end of the convention center parking lot. Historically, there was a driveway from
the road along the north side of the brook (1965 aerial).
Gazebo, date unknown, moved to site
Photos 54, 61, 62
Noncontributing Structure
On the north shore of the pond opposite the restaurant and south of the cottage is a wooden gazebo.
This is a “folly;” non-functional for scenic purposes. It served as a backdrop for outdoor wedding
ceremonies on the north shore of the pond. The painted wooden structure is old, but appears to have
been a recent introduction to this site. The yard near the cottage was only adapted for weddings in
the Wayfarer’s final years.
The site was still heavily wooded as late as 2003
(www.historicaerials.com). The gazebo is square with a hip roof. The sides are enclosed with
elaborate wooden screens filling round arched openings between Corinthian columns.
Convention Center, 1967
Photos 63-71
Noncontributing Building
The large convention center lines the northeast shore of the mill pond in the northeast corner of the
Wayfarer property. It was built in 1966-67 (Nashua Telegraph 09.22.1965, 07.07.1967). The most
recent remodeling was in 2004. The long rectangular building is built into the slope, projecting out
over the water. It is three-stories high on the water side (southwest) and a single story on the
northeast, facing the parking lot. The southwest elevation is lined by three stories of balconies. The
first two levels are divided into individual spaces by partial walls. The balcony walls are sheathed in
diagonal boards. Across the top level is an open balcony the length of the convention hall lobby.
The major changes to the building since it opened (Portsmouth Herald 03.29.1968) were the vinyl
siding and new balcony railings, and the new roofline with added solarium. On the parking lot size,
the façade is textured concrete. Three pyramidal hip roofs top the meeting and banquet halls within,
which are open to cathedral ceilings. The service entrance is located on the northwest end of the
building. The interior was completely updated in 2004. The layout is the same. Some exposed
beams and wooden staircases suggest the original design.
The covered bridge connects convention center with the hotel lobby and restaurant. The main
entrance is adjacent to the bridge at the south end of the building. The access drive turns into a
circular drop-off zone at the southwest corner of the parking lot. The parking lot fills the northeast
corner of the parcel, bordered on the east by the F.E. Everett Turnpike and on the north by the
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Bedford Mall parking lot. The property has long included a two-sided billboard on the F.E. Everett
Turnpike.
Culvert, 1962
Photos 72-74
Contributing Structure
The eastern access road between the Macy’s parking lot and the convention center parking lot
crosses Bowman’s Brook. The pipe culvert is buried in rip rap and rubble. The road was established
when the site was developed in 1962 as the entrance to the upper parking lot. The culvert has been
repaired, but not replaced. The west (upstream) end of the culvert is reinforced concrete pipe. The
eastern downstream outlet has corrugated metal pipe inserted. The roadway is built up on top of the
culvert. The stream bank on either side is overgrown.
Telephone Company Building, 1984
Noncontributing Building
There is a utility easement along the edge of South River Road. A small telephone company
building stands immediately north of the brook on the east side of the road. This was erected in
1984 (Plan 16666). Prior to that, a nineteenth century dwelling was on the site. The small
rectangular building has a flat roof. There is a paved driveway from the parking lot on the north.
Comparative Evaluation – Wayfarer Inn
New Hampshire Motor Inns and Conference Centers
There is nothing directly comparable to the Wayfarer Inn in New Hampshire. It is unique for
combining a historic site, a motor inn with motel units, restaurant, lounge and gift shop, and a
conference center.
In southern New Hampshire, the most closely comparable property was the New Hampshire
Highway Hotel in Concord, located near the junction of Route 9, I-93, 4 and 202. Before it was
demolished in 1988, it was a Colonial Revival style motel built in the early 1950s, with a large
restaurant and function rooms.
The most directly related extant property in New Hampshire is Lamie’s Tavern and Motor Inn in
Hampton, which retains integrity for its period of ownership by Dunfey Hotels from 1954 to 1986.
It includes an older restaurant and inn and motor inn section added in 1958, with gift shop,
restaurant, etc. The Meadowbrook Motor Inn, built ca. 1957 at the Portsmouth Traffic Circle and
owned and renovated by the Dunfey in the late 1960s, was demolished in 2008. The Carpenter
Hotel in Manchester is a historic hotel refurbished by the Dunfeys in 1959. Historic Dunfey hotels
elsewhere in New England included the Parker House in Boston, purchased in 1969 and still
operated by Omni Hotels. The Eastland Hotel in Portland, Maine, owned by the Dunfeys from 1961
to 1980, was renovated in 2013 as the Westin Portland Harborview. The first Sheraton Tower in
South Portland was built in 1973, the second in 1983, and operated as a Sheraton Tara after 1986. In
Massachusetts, the Dunfey hotel and conference center in Hyannis dates from 1972. The hotel and
golf course remain in operation. The Lexington Sheraton, which closed in 2006, was a Colonial
Revival style property.
There are many other mid-twentieth century historic motels and motor inns in New Hampshire,
particularly in the mountains and on the beaches, but these tend to be smaller motels without the
complement of restaurants, function rooms and other buildings.
Other New Hampshire conference centers include The New England Center, built at the University
of New Hampshire in 1969. It was designed by William Pereira, who built the Transamerica
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Pyramid in San Francisco, and was built with a grant from the Kellogg Foundation. When it first
opened, there were fifty-four hotel rooms and a dining room for 300 people
(http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2010/mar/em26nec.cfm). It closed in 2010. The Center of New
Hampshire, which replaced the Wayfarer as the largest Manchester conference facility, opened in
downtown Manchester in the early 1970s. It is now part of the Radisson Hotel.
Modern Architecture Context
The Wayfarer Inn does not represent a particular, specific style; rather it employs a number of
features characteristic of modern architecture of the period. Modernism is a term with a broad
definition but when applied to the built environment it most frequently applies to a group of
buildings designed and erected in the several decades after the Second World War. The aesthetic
emerges in the two decades after the First World War initially in Europe when architects and other
designers moved away from historical architectural language in architectural design. In the United
States this new architectural movement emerged predominantly after the Second World War in
concert with a rapid expansion of commercial centers, suburban neighborhoods, schools, universities
and other institutions including churches, hospitals, and medical facilities. This development was in
direct correlation with the population increase in those decades.
The modernism term is applicable to a group of buildings with several essential identifiable
characteristics. The features include an absence of historical stylistic elements or styles, the
adoption of new construction materials, and an emphasis of building form with the incorporation of
ornamentation or non-functional decorative elements. The buildings feature new forms and details
and frequently employ new construction methods and materials, such as curtain-wall construction,
lift slab construction, or thin-shell concrete construction. The buildings incorporate new ideas about
space and its use, the relationship of the building to its setting, and interior and exterior interactions.
These identifying features derive from the reassessment in the post-war period of the relationship
and interaction between buildings and people, their use, and meaning. The new building types also
reflect changing ideas about communities and organizations, the role of the built environment in
society, and how buildings shape, suggest, and reflect those ideas.
In the case of the Wayfarer Inn, on the one hand the design represents the architect’s interpretation
of form, design, and meaning of architecture while employing modern materials yet it also
incorporates some more traditional elements that likely addressed the client’s preferences, such as
the shingle exterior cladding and some rustic finishes on the interior in the public spaces. The
placement of the building and its configuration was specific to the site but also to the intended uses
of the motel, an atypical combination of a high proportion of public function spaces in addition to
guestrooms. Modern elements included staggered geometric building sections, ribbons of picture
windows (albeit with wood rather than aluminum sash), and laminate wall surfaces, and exposed
building parts. The interior of the restaurant in particular displayed this duality of modern and
traditional, with the exposed framing, massive stone fireplace, and exposed concrete flue.
Architects – Perry, Shaw, Hepburn and Dean
The firm, established in 1923 as Perry, Shaw and Hepburn, was well-known as the architects of the
restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, a project that extended over a twenty-year period. William
Graves Perry (1883-1975), Thomas Mott Shaw (1878-1965) and Andrew Hepburn (1880-1967) were
the founding partners. Shaw is considered directly responsible for the restoration of the Wren
Building and Governor’s Palace and the design of the Williamsburg Inn. In 1940 the firm oversaw
the restoration of University Hall at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, which is a
National Historic Landmark. The firm was also responsible for the Saugus Ironworks restoration in
Massachusetts in the early 1950s. Late in life William Perry consulted on the restoration of
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Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth and construction of the Dunaway Store. Over the course of the
twentieth century, the firm underwent multiple name changes as partners were added and/or
departed. Robert C. Dean (1903-1997), who joined the firm in late 1920s, became a partner in 1946.
The firm is still in business as Perry, Dean, Rogers Partners Architects in Boston. The firm’s
extensive practice, largely on the East Coast, has included athletic facilities, banks, civic, municipal,
and governmental buildings; clubs, college and university buildings, commercial and office
buildings, dining halls and restaurants, dormitories, elementary and secondary schools, health
facilities, hotels, churches, and residences.
The early work of the 1920s to 1940s was traditional in style and concentrated in Massachusetts,
Connecticut, and at Williamsburg in Virginia. The best-known institutional buildings in
Massachusetts included the Harvard Coop (1924), the Houghton Rare Book Library at Harvard
(1941), Kresge and Aldrich halls at the Harvard Business School (1953), and the Boston Museum of
Science (1959). The firm was the associate architect on Baker House (1949), the internationally
renowned dormitory at MIT designed by the internationally acclaimed Finish architect Alvar Aalto.
One of the more modernist buildings was the Wellesley Senior High School (1938), designed by
Robert C. Dean (Anonymous n.d.:2). By the 1950s the Perry, Shaw, Hepburn and Dean had
expanded its aesthetic to include more mid-century modern elements in its designs. The firm did
comparatively little work in New Hampshire before the 1950s. One of the larger projects was the
Basic Life Science Building at UNH in Durham (1958). In the 1960s, the firm had an increasing
presence in the state and designed physical education facilities for several campuses including UNH
Durham, Keene State College, and Plymouth State College.
The Wayfarer Inn was the firm’s only motel project of the 1960s, but they had been designing hotels
for nearly ten years by the time of the Dunfey commission. Beginning in 1953, Perry, Shaw,
Hepburn and Dean designed several hotels for the Sheraton Corporation. For the first one they
initially prepared two different schemes after identifying what they believed to be the problem with
the many failing downtown hotels, the absence of guest parking. Robert C. Dean became the lead
designer. A version of the scheme that was eventually selected sandwiched the garage parking
between the public spaces, such as reception and function rooms on lower two floors and the guest
rooms on the upper floors (Anonymous n.d., 11). The Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia (not extant),
completed in 1957, was a modern paneled curtain-wall building. A decade later, with the Wayfarer
Inn design, the importance of the automobile for the building’s users was well understood.
The lead architect of the motel, Frederick Kubitz (born 1928), was with the firm for just four years,
from 1960-1964, before establishing his own firm, the regionally known firm Kubitz and Pepi
Architects in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Prior to joining Perry, Shaw, Hepburn and Dean, he worked
for Eero Saarinen & Associates, the nationally and internationally recognized Detroit-area-based
architectural firm. During his time with that firm, Kubitz participated in the designs for the London
Embassy competition, the TWA Flight Center at Dulles International Airport, and the IBM
Manufacturing Facility in Rochester, Minnesota (www.saunderschultz.com). His interest in
staggered building section placement and modernist language is evident in his graduate thesis work,
which included housing for the hypothetical redevelopment of the Springfield Armory area (Kubitz
1955, 33-34). His interest in geometric forms may have also evolved during his four years with
Saarinen’s practice. After leaving the firm, Kubitz established a partnership, Kubitz and Pepi, in
Wellesley, Massachusetts, which did work throughout New England, largely institutional including
some airport terminals.
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Convention Center Architect – Donald Jasinski
The Upper Falls Building of 1971 and probably the 1967 convention center as well, were designed
by New Hampshire architect Donald A. Jasinski (1929-2011) (Plan 05302). He was a resident of
Rye and had an office in Hampton Falls. In 1966, he was the architect for Dunfey additions to the
Meadowbrook Motor Inn in Portsmouth (Portsmouth Herald 07.10.1967). Jasinski was the architect
of the 1973 Sheraton Tower in South Portland. His other work included Saint Nicholas Greek
Orthodox Church in Portsmouth. He designed residences throughout the United States, Europe, and
Mexico, including “earth sheltered structures” like his own home in Waterville Valley, a community
where the Dunfey family also vacationed (http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/
obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid =147769605#sthash.5H54LDoJ.dpuf).
Comparative Evaluation – John Goffe’s Mill
“The mill built by George Woodbury was apparently unique in New Hampshire in the 1940s in
being a new structure built to carry out water-powered manufacturing. In his book, John Goffe’s
Mill, Woodbury several times alludes to the fact that his enterprise was an anomaly and an
anachronism. Inasmuch as few if any other such mills were built subsequently, John Goffe’s Mill
remains as apparently the last water-powered commercial saw and grist mill to be built in New
Hampshire within the fifty-year-plus period of National Register significance” (Garvin 2012).
In 1939, there were a few other defunct or ruinous water-powered mills in New Hampshire (now
gone), some of them having been recorded as historic structures by the Historic American Buildings
Survey shortly before Woodbury began his project. Among these were the Nichols-Colby sawmill
in Bow (HABS NH,7-BOWMIL.V-1.); the James sawmill in Northwood Narrows (HABS NH,8NORNA,1); the Weare saw and grist mill in Hampton Falls (HABS NH,8-HAMTOF,2); and the
Winnicut grist mill in Stratham (HABS NH,8-STRAT,1) (Garvin 2012).
Other older water-powered mills that are still extant include the Ashland Grist Mill and Dam
(National Register of Historic Places listed 1979); the Daniel Cragin mill in Wilton, today Frye’s
Measure Mill (National Register listed 1982); the Garland sawmill in Lancaster (National Register
listed 1982); the Sanborn sawmill and grist mill in Loudon; the Heman Chase mill in East Alstead;
the Daloz mill in Hancock; the Smart sash and blind mill in Center Ossipee, today Beech River
Mills; and the Judkins grist mill in Kingston (Garvin 2012).
“One other water-powered mill that was largely a reproduction, with older machinery, and thus
perhaps the closest equivalent to John Goffe’s Mill, is the Taylor sawmill in Derry. The original mill
on this site, for the most part, had been sold for scrap when Ernest R. Ballard purchased the land in
1939. Ballard searched extensively over much of New England for an "up and down" sawmill and
finally found one in Sandown, New Hampshire owned by Dan Hoit. The mill had been
disassembled fifty years earlier and was stored under a barn; Ballard paid $180 for it. He and his
wife spent two years assembling it and finding the necessary parts to put it in operating condition.
Their effort paralleled that of George Woodbury, except that the Ballards apparently pursued their
project more as a hobby than as a means of livelihood. The Taylor sawmill thus appears to be the
closest equivalent to John Goffe’s Mill. Taylor Mill is now owned by the State of New Hampshire
and operated as a historic site by the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands” (Garvin 2012).
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22. Statement of Significance
Wayfarer Inn Historic District
The Wayfarer Inn was one of New Hampshire’s most significant businesses from its construction in
1962 until after its sale by the Dunfey family in the 1980s. The property has suffered a considerable
loss of integrity due to remodeling (2004) and subsequent abandonment (2010). However, the motor
inn complex retains all of its original components. The structures, forms and overall layout are
unchanged. The property still conveys a visual sense of its historic environment and retains the
identity for which it was significant. The convention center and additional hotel buildings (1967,
1971) were built within the last fifty years, but they reflect the ongoing significance of the facility
and the expansion of the Dunfey Hotels business. The Wayfarer Inn is eligible for the National
Register of Historic Places as a historic district, comprised of multiple buildings, mostly connected,
but built in discrete phases, all on a single property. The various components lack distinction, but
contribute to the overall property. Within the Wayfarer complex, John Goffe’s Mill would be
individually eligible for the National Register of Historic Places along with the adjacent dam.
Despite its poor condition, the Wayfarer property has not lost the ability to convey its historic
associations with important contexts in New Hampshire history. It appears to have significance
under National Register Criteria A and C, and possibly B. The motel and conference center district
relates to the areas of architecture, commerce, entertainment and recreation, and
politics/governments. Specific contexts include automobile culture, the service industries, and
taverns, inns, hotels, motels and motor courts. Enough of the overall design intent and individual
features remain, that the buildings also have architectural significance as an example of midtwentieth century modern architecture.
Under Criterion A, the Wayfarer Inn reflects important trends and patterns of just over fifty years
ago. It was built during a boom in automobile travel on new multi-lane highways, as the first in a
series of large commercial properties that define Route 3 in Bedford today. The Wayfarer reflects
the popularity of auto touring in the 1950s-60s. The inn also catered to business travelers and filled
a unique niche as one of the original convention and function facilities in the state. It has the
characteristic elements that make it a good representative of the type, including: the guest rooms,
restaurant and lounge, function rooms, lobby entrance, gift shop, pool and patios, landscaped
grounds, access roads and parking lots. The Wayfarer Inn was the principal meeting place and
function hall in the Manchester area for over a decade. It was eventually superseded by the Center
of NH (now the Radisson) hotel and conference center, built downtown in 1972.
The Wayfarer has significance in the area of politics, much of which takes place on the campaign
trail rather than in the capitol buildings. Due to New Hampshire’s “First in the Nation” status in
presidential primary elections, it received considerable media and political attention. As one of the
larger and more complete hotel and meeting facilities in the state, the Wayfarer Inn was a hub of
campaigning activity and the related media coverage. The Wayfarer was dubbed the unofficial
headquarters of the New Hampshire primary. The scenic property was used as a backdrop for
speeches and newscasts.
The Wayfarer Inn is arguably eligible for the National Register under Criterion B for its
associations with the Dunfey family who played a major role in New Hampshire business and
politics from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their specific contributions to the New Hampshire business
community, the Democratic Party, and the chain hotel industry can be identified and documented. In
New Hampshire, the Wayfarer Inn is the largest extant facility that the Dunfey brothers built and
operated. Only Lamie’s Tavern and Motor Inn in Hampton has arguably stronger ties to the family,
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as the original motel site to be developed. The Carpenter Hotel in downtown Manchester was a
historic hotel operated by the Dunfeys rather than created by them.
The Wayfarer Inn has significance under Criterion C for the architecture of the 1962 buildings,
which remains evident although in poor condition. The property embodies the distinctive
characteristics of the motor inn and conference center type and the mid-twentieth century modern
period. As the work of a lesser-known junior partner of a renowned eastern United States
architectural firm, it incorporates modern design elements that are unique in New Hampshire. The
distinctive defining features are the hexagonal forms, hip roofs, low horizontal emphasis and
asymmetrical layout, naturalized setting, natural materials and exposed timber framing. The
Colonial Revival, actually preferred by the hotel-owners over the modern style, is reflected in the
focus on the historic mill site and stone dams, the construction of the covered bridge, the exposed
framing, stone, shingle and brick features. Exposed timber framing was used in the restaurant,
lobby, covered bridge and motel rooms, and in the renovated mill.
The new siding, roofing, windows and doors altered the design and materials, substantially
diminishing they property’s integrity, which was further impacted by deteriorating conditions.
However, the underlying parts of the buildings are all there, under new surfaces and finishes. The
property retains the features necessary to convey its significance. The footprints and forms of the
1962-1964 buildings are unchanged, except for the later attached additions. Despite the change in
materials, enough of the original fenestration and entry patterns remain to convey the basic
appearance of the buildings. The architecture was always minimally detailed. The geometric forms
and shapes are the defining characteristics. Despite the modern interior finishes, the floor plans are
the same. The layouts and spatial functions of the building sections are unchanged. The setting is a
key element, including the topography and the relationships between buildings and features. The
new additions were introduced at the edges of the property.
The Wayfarer Inn played a key role in Bedford’s twentieth century historical development, but it
could also be considered significant on a statewide level, one of few properties of its type in the
state. There are no other properties to directly compare it to. Many motels of the same 1950s-60s
period remain in the White Mountains and on the coast. Elsewhere in the Manchester and Concord
area, there are a few very small older motels and motor courts on Route 3 in Hooksett and in
Boscawen. However, these are all smaller, tourist facilities, without the restaurant, function halls
and other features of the Wayfarer Inn. The most comparable motor inns and meeting facilities are
no longer extant. Concord’s New Hampshire Highway Hotel was located on Fort Eddy Road (site of
Pizzaria Uno). Like the Wayfarer, the Highway Hotel was a major political meeting spot in
Concord, the site of press conferences and dinners, particularly in primary years. Built in 1951, it
closed and was demolished in 1988 (Mausolf 2012:28). The Meadowbrook Motor Inn in
Portsmouth, built in the 1950s and owned and expanded by the Dunfey family in the 1960s, to
include meeting and function rooms, was demolished in 2008.
The Wayfarer Inn Historic District is a definable geographic area on a single large parcel. As a
district, it is a unified entity of interrelated resources reflecting a one principal activity. It is
significant concentration of buildings and structures, united by plan and physical development. The
Wayfarer includes some non-contributing buildings, not yet fifty years old, within its boundaries.
John Goffe’s Mill
The mill building contributes to the Wayfarer Inn Historic District, but also has individual
significance. John Goffe’s Mill is eligible for the National Register under
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“Criterion A as an example of the “back to the land” movement of twentieth-century New England
and as a literary landmark connected with that movement; and under Criterion C as perhaps the last
water-powered commercial saw and grist mill to be built in New Hampshire within the fifty-yearplus period of National Register significance, and as a building that was deliberately constructed
using ancient framing practices that were then generally forgotten, but have since been revived”
(Garvin 2012).
In addition to the “back to the land” associations, the mill relates to the contexts: logging, lumbering
and sawmills; wood products mills and shops in New Hampshire; grain farming and grist milling.
“John Goffe’s Mill represents the systematic application of nineteenth-century hydropower
technology to a site that had supported two previous mills. The result of this effort was a
functioning, commercial water-powered saw and grist mill that was capable of producing circularsawn boards and timbers, wide cabinet woods sawn on an up-and-down sawmill, stools and other
utilitarian items fabricated with the use of an automatic lathe, and whole-grain flour that commanded
a good mail-order market until difficulties in obtaining grist and in handling food products made the
grist mill operation impractical (Woodbury 1955:23). While the machinery in such a mill might
evolve and change, the relationship of the structure to its source of power remained fixed. The
current mill stands on the foundations of the second, and while operating employed the turbine of the
second mill of 1845 in the same wheel pit” (Garvin 2012).
“John Goffe’s Mill embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period and method of
construction. The mill was deliberately framed as a heavy timber structure (Woodbury 1948:92). In
1939, the mill was a rare example of this kind of construction, utilizing heavy timbers connected to
one another by mortise-and-tenon joints and assembled according to methods that had been
uncommon even in 1900, except in heavy barn frames. Such construction was virtually unknown in
the 1930s, when light, nailed balloon construction was universal for wooden buildings. Only during
the 1970s did the art of heavy timber framing begin to enjoy a revival. John Goffe’s Mill thus serves
as a physical link between the heavy timber structures of the 1800s and the similar structures that
reappeared during the last quarter of the twentieth century” (Garvin 2012).
23. Periods(s) of Significance
Wayfarer Inn Historic District, 1962-1964: The period of significance begins with construction of
the motor inn and restaurant in 1962 and ends with the fifty year cut-off date for National Register
eligibility. The 1967 and 1971 sections might contribute if they were to become fifty years old.
John Goffe’s Mill, 1939-1961: The mill and dam are significant for construction in 1939 and for
their use as a water-powered industry by George Woodbury for two decades.
24. Statement of Integrity
Wayfarer Inn
The Wayfarer Inn property retains integrity of location. All of the components of the 1962 design
are extant. The additions made within the past fifty years reflect the ongoing expansion of the
business. Although they changed the original 1962 site, the additions are discrete sections adjacent
to the earlier buildings. Their construction contributed to the historic associations of the property as
a motor inn and function facility. The added buildings changed the original setting, but are now
integral to the property. The site retains its distinctive topography, brook, pond and waterfalls. The
mill, dams and historic cottage contribute to the scenic setting that was the focus of the Wayfarer
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design. The wooded and landscaped property is set apart from the adjacent large plazas and parking
lots. It retains some sense of the isolated setting. During the historic period of 1962-64, the setting
of the surrounding area was rural and undeveloped. This changed beginning in 1965 with adjacent
development. Most of the landscape plantings are modern. The parking lots were expanded, but the
original layout remains.
The Wayfarer Inn has suffered considerable recent damage, which reduced integrity of design,
materials and workmanship. However, all of the buildings remain standing and structurally intact.
The overall design of 1962 is evident. The 2004 remodeling of the property involved all new surface
finishes, but the structures and plans of the buildings were not changed. The exterior walls have all
new vinyl siding and trim, except for some areas of surviving diagonal boarding. Windows and
doors have all been replaced. However, the fenestration patterns and opening sizes are the same.
Similarly, the roof sheathing is new, but the roof shapes and overhangs are unchanged, the only
alterations being at the eave lines.
The interiors of the building also lost integrity of materials to remodeling and damage. The
workmanship of the exposed framing and masonry remains evident. The design of the existing
floor-plan is nearly the same as the original. The layout of rooms and spaces is unchanged. The one
alteration was the enlarging of the lobby sometime in the late twentieth century. The layout of the
grounds, roads and parking lots is similar to the 1962 design. Additional parking was added along
Route 3. The upper parking lot was enlarged.
The overall complex retains integrity of feeling as a sprawling site of interconnected buildings and
structures. It expresses a sense of the 1960s historic period. The degree of feeling of the individual
buildings was reduced by the modern siding and trim, which eliminated the rustic quality of the
architecture. The Wayfarer Inn conveys its historic associations as a motel and conference center. It
operated for fifty-two years. The additions to the original motor inn reflect the growth of the
business in the late 1960s-early 1970s period at the height of its success.
John Goffe’s Mill
Individually, the mill of 1939 retains integrity of location, materials, and workmanship. As a oncefreestanding structure that has been enveloped within a sprawling hotel complex, the mill does not
retain integrity of setting, feeling, or association. It can be argued that the mill retains integrity of
design since the geometry of the original structure remains unimpaired, but the juxtaposition of
elements of the hotel complex, including the covered bridge, diminishes the clarity of the original
design when the mill is seen from several vantage points. The raising of the building in 1962 also
reduced integrity of design for the earlier period. Despite the diminution of the building’s integrity
of setting, feeling, and association, the mill structure is intact and the geometry of the building and
dam is unchanged, leaving the structure capable of expressing its original character. Construction of
the adjacent structures in 1962 had little physical effect upon the mill and none on the dam. Their
careful removal could restore integrity of setting and feeling to the mill (Garvin 2012).
25. Boundary Justification
The boundary of the Wayfarer Inn Historic District is defined by the legally recorded lot lines of the
parcel on which the buildings are located. The property contains 16.14 acres according to the tax
assessment, or 16.1674 according to site survey.
The current property lines have been in place since 1968 when land and buildings north of the brook
(3.6± acres) was combined with the motor inn and mill property (13± acres) to the south. The
Bedford Mall has formed the northern edge of the Wayfarer property since that time. The southern
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boundary is the lot line established when the Jordan Marsh/Macy’s property was divided in 1965.
The right-of-way through the Macy’s parking lot to the Wayfarer entrance is not included in the
district boundary, because it is enveloped by and integral to the surrounding parking lot. The
Wayfarer property is clearly defined on the south by chain link fence, tree line and the edge of the
adjacent paved parking lot. The western edge is the overgrown edge of the main road. The northern
property line is the edge of the grassy Wayfarer site and the Bedford Mall asphalt parking lot. The
eastern border is wooded along the southbound lanes of the F.E. Everett Turnpike/I-293 highway.
All of the Wayfarer land was owned by the same family in the nineteenth century and several
adjoining tracts were purchased by the Dunfeys in 1961. The buildings are connected and
interrelated, all within the same parcel, so all parts are included in the eligible property, including
non-contributing buildings.
26. Boundary Description
The Wayfarer is located at 121 South River Road (US 3). Tax map 12-Lot 32 is bounded on the
west by Route 3 and on the east by I-293, the F.E. Everett Turnpike. The northern boundary is the
southern lot line of the Bedford Mall property (Map 12-Parcel 26). The southern lot line borders
Macy’s (12-32).
The boundary of the National Register eligible historic district is defined by the property lines of the
parcel, which contains about 16.15 acres. From the southwest corner of the property, the boundary
runs north-northwest on South River Road 697.76' to the northwest corner of the parcel. The
boundary runs north-northeast 928.46' to the F.E. Everett Turnpike (I-293), 860.30' south-southeast
on the west side of the turnpike, the 948.05' west to South River Road. The boundary includes 5
contributing buildings, erected separately and now attached, three non-contributing buildings, two of
which are attached, five contributing structures and two non-contributing structures.
The boundary of the Wayfarer Inn Historic District is shown on the Town of Bedford GIS map
below.
N
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27. Bibliography and/or References
Bangor Daily News
1982 Catherine Dunfey obituary. Bangor Daily News, 3.26.1982
(http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19820326&id=k8szAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TC
MIAAAAIBAJ&pg=1340,3639346).
Bedford Historical Society Collections – undated (late 1940s), unsourced (Boston Sunday Globe?)
article about Woodbury and John Goffe’s Mill.
Bedford Historical Society
1972 History of Bedford, N. H., 1737-1971. Somersworth, NH: New Hampshire Publishing
Company.
Bedford, Town of
1903 History of Bedford, New Hampshire, from 1737: Being Statistics Compiled on the Occasion of
the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town, May 15, 1900.
Concord, NH: Rumford Press
(https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=43epVZYOew8C&printsec=frontcover&output=reade
r&authuser=0&hl=en&pg=GBS.PP6).
Bird, William
2011 Edge and corner wear http://www.flickr.com/photos/edge_and_corner_wear/5718688857/in/set72157628813683193/
Boston Globe
1959 “Dunfey Family Enterprises,” 6.27.1959
(http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/history/business/1970s/lamiestavernBG19790627.htm).
Brereton, Charles (ed.)
1986 New Hampshire Notables. Concord, NH: New Hampshire Historical Society. see pp. 56-7. For
Dunfey brothers
Brown, Dona
2011 Back to the Land: The Enduring Dream of Self-Sufficiency in Modern America. Madison, WI:
University of Wisconsin Press.
Brown, Janet Webster
2005 “Goffe (Goff) Family Tree,” Manchester, Hillsborough County, NH History and Genealogy at
Searchroots (http://www.nh.searchroots.com/HillsboroughCo/Manchester/goffe.html).
City Directory
1932 Lowell, Massachusetts City Directory
(http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2469&path=).
City Directory
1957-1964 Manchester, New Hampshire City Directory
(http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2469&path=).
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Feingold, Jeff
2009 “2009 NHBR Business Excellence Hall of Fame Inductees,” New Hampshire Business Review,
10.12.09 (http://www.nhbr.com/October-9-2009/2009-NHBR-Business-Excellence-Hall-ofFame-Inductees/).
Garvin, James and Donna Belle
1985 Instruments of Change: New Hampshire Hand Tools and Their Makers, 1800-1900. Concord,
NH: New Hampshire Historical Society.
Garvin, James L.
2006 “New Hampshire’s Cultural Landscape,” The Old Stone Wall, Vol. XIV, Number 2, Fall 2006
(http://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/publications/stonewall/documents/fall2006.pdf).
Garvin, James L.
2012 Draft NHDHR Inventory Form for John Goffe’s Mill, un-submitted, in the collection of the
author.
Hack, Nadine B.
2009 “The Lion and the Friend: Senator Edward M. Kennedy,” beCause Blog, 8.26.2009
(http://www.because.net/the-lion-and-the-friend/).
Herzberg, Hendrik
2000 “Letter from New Hampshire: This Must Be the Place,” The New Yorker, 01.31.2000.
(http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2000/01/31/2000_01_31_036_TNY_LIBRY_000020103).
Hertzberg, Hendrik
2004 Politics: Observations and Arguments, 1966-2004. New York: The Penguin Press
(http://books.google.com/books?id=ukUAyBi6lGgC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=fal
se).
Hotels and Restaurants International
1984 Vol. 18 No. 3 pp. 46-53.
International Directory of Company Histories
1996 International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 12. St. James Press
(http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/omni-hotels-corp-history/).
Jervey, Gay
2004 “Rituals; Every Four Years A Star is Reborn,” New York Times, 01.23.2004
(http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/23/travel/rituals-every-four-years-a-star-isreborn.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm).
Koblin, John
2008 “Wayfarer, Once N.H. Nerve Center, Loses Heat; Fox and NBC Pack Radisson,” The New York
Observer (http://observer.com/2008/01/wayfarer-once-nh-nerve-center-loses-heat-fox-and-nbcpack-radisson/).
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Kubitz, Frederick T.
1955 “A Design Study for Springfield Armory, Springfield, Massachusetts.” M.A. Thesis:
Massachusetts Institute of Architecture, 1955.
Landry, Linda
2003 Classic New Hampshire: Preserving the Granite State in Changing Times. University Press of
New England.
Manchester Union Leader, November 26, 1973 – George Woodbury obituary.
Mausolf, Lisa
2012 Mid 20th Century Architecture in NH: 1945-1975,” prepared for NH Employment Security,
December 2012
(http://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/publications/documents/mid_20th_century_architecture_nh.pdf).
Miller, Leslie
1992 “Dunfey’s Wanted Chain’s Headquarters to Remain in Hampton,” New Hampshire Business
Review, August 7 - 30, 1992
(http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/history/business/1990s/omnihotelsNHBR19920807.htm)
Nashua Telegraph, www.ancestry.com.
New Hampshire Business Review
2005 “From Turkeys to Commerce” (http://www.nhbr.com/August-19-2005/From-turkeys-tocommerce/).
New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, Bedford Town File – news clippings.
New Hampshire Profiles
1958 Meet the Dunfey Family,” New Hampshire Profiles, Vol. 30, July 1958.
New York Times
1989 “Walter James Dunfey Dies at 57; Hotel Executive Active in Politics”
(http://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/11/obituaries/walter-james-dunfey-dies-at-57-hotelexecutive-active-in-politics.html).
New York Times
1991 “William L. Dunfey, 65, Hotelier and Democrat,” New York Times
(http://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/11/obituaries/william-l-dunfey-65-hotelier-anddemocrat.html?src=pm).
Omni Hotels company history
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/omni-hotels-corp-history/
Perry Dean Rogers & Partners, Architects
n.d.
“Early Perry Shaw Hepburn History.” Perry Dean Rogers & Partners Archives.
Portsmouth Herald, www.ancestry.com.
New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources
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Schultz, Saunders
2010 “Response to Susan Saarinen, Eero’s Daughter.” 27 December, 2010.
<http://www.saundersschultz.com/Saunders_Schultz_Site_Specific_Sculptor/Response_to_Susa
n_Saarinen,_Eeros_Daughter.html >
Squires, J. Duane
1956 The Granite State of the United States: A History of New Hampshire from 1623 to the Present.
New York: The American Historical Company, Inc.
Testa, Keith
2012 “A Slice of History – Remembering the New Hampshire Highway Hotel,” The Concord Insider
(http://www.theconcordinsider.com/article/remembering-the-new-hampshire-highway-hotel).
U.S. Census
1940 U.S. Federal Census Collection, Ancestry.com.
(http://search.ancestry.com/search/group/usfedcen).
Woodbury, George
1948 John Goffe’s Mill. New York: W. W. Norton & Company .
Woodbury, George
1955 John Goffe’s Legacy. New York: W. W. Norton & Company .
Historic Photographs
Collection of David Woodbury.
Historic Maps
J. Chace Jr.
1858 Map of Hillsboro County, New Hampshire (http://www.loc.gov/resource/g3743h.la000430/).
Hurd, D.H.
1892 Town and City Atlas of the State of New Hampshire
(http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~30876~1150810).
USGS
1941 Manchester quadrangle (surveyed 1931) (http://docs.unh.edu/NH/mnch41nw.jpg).
USGS
1953 Manchester quadrangle (http://docs.unh.edu/NH/mnch53nw.jpg).
Historic Plans
1962 construction plans, Perry Dean Rogers company archives, 177 Milk Street, Boston, MA.
Deeds – Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds
1909 Book 665, Page 141.
1961
1959 Book 1564, Page 352.
1965
1961 Book 1634, Page 266.
1965
Book 1659, Page 66
Book 1832, Page 7.
Book 1841, Pages 408, 410.
New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources
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1966
1971
1973
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WAYFARER INN/JOHN GOFFE’S MILL
Book 1902, Page 171.
Book 2177, Page 401.
Book 2289, Page 414.
1976
1986
Book 2470, Page 285.
Book 3599, Page 517.
Plans – Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds
1968 Plan 03488
1969 Plan 04976
1971 Plan 05302
1984 Plan 16666
28. Surveyor’s Evaluation
NR listed: district
individuals
within district
Integrity: yes
no
NR eligible:
district
not eligible
more info needed
NR Criteria:
A
B
C
D
E
If this Area Form is for a Historic District: # of contributing resources:
5 buildings, 5 structures*
# of noncontributing resources: 3 buildings, 2 structures**
* Contributing buildings:
Motor Inn and Restaurant (includes lobby, restaurant, lounge, kitchen, motel rooms), 1962
John Goffe Mill, 1939/1962
Cabana and Motel building, 1962
1964 motel addition
Cottage, ca. 1840/1967
* Contributing structures:
Mill Dam, 1939
Covered Bridge, 1962
Swimming Pool, 1962
Upper dam, ca. 1830/1939
Culvert, 1962
**Noncontributing buildings:
Upper Falls building, 1971
Convention Center, 1967
Telephone building, 1984
**Non contributing structures:
Porte cochère, ca. 1990s
Gazebo
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Map of Contributing and Noncontributing Buildings and Structures
CONTRIBUTING
NONCONTRIBUTING
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Historic Maps
N
Excerpt from J. Chace Jr. 1858 Map of Hillsboro County, New Hampshire. (Shows saw and shingle
mill west of road, but not the mill on this site) (http://www.loc.gov/resource/g3743h.la000430/)
N
Hurd 1892 detail, showing cottage owned by Woodbury Estate. “Laundry” beside the road north of the
brook was part of the estate. Few if any of the houses to north on South River Road are now extant
(http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~30876~1150810).
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N
1941 USGS, surveyed 1931 shows cottage (http://docs.unh.edu/NH/mnch41nw.jpg)
N
1953 USGS map shows cottage and mill (http://docs.unh.edu/NH/mnch53nw.jpg)
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Current Aerial and Bird’s-Eye Views
Overview of location, facing north. Former Woodbury houses and Kilton Road at left, Wayfarer Inn
right (Bing Maps).
Former Woodbury houses and Kilton Road at left, Macy’s, Wayfarer Inn and Bedford Mall right
(Google Maps).
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Facing west, showing historic Woodbury houses on west side of US 3 (Bing Bird’s Eye).
Facing north, South River Rd. (US 3) at left (Google maps)
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Facing east, with South River Rd.(US 3) at bottom (Bing Maps Bird’s eye).
Facing east - restaurant, kitchen, function rooms, lobby, pool (Bing maps).
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Facing south, covered bridge (left), John Goffe’s Mill, restaurant, kitchen and service area (upper right)
(Bing Maps).
Facing north - Mill, dam and covered bridge (Bing maps).
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1962 Motel Units A-D, front entrance upper left (Google maps).
Motel Units D-A, facing south (Google maps).
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Facing north - Upper Falls Building (ca. 1971), Cabana building (1962) and 1964 addition, pool (1962)
at right, telephone building (1984) at upper left (Bing maps Bird’s eye).
Noncontributing Telephone building located on easement in northwest corner of parcel (Google maps)
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Upper Falls, facing east. US 3 at bottom. Showing telephone utility building bottom center. Cottage
left rear, Upper Dam and swimming pool in upper right (Google maps).
Upper Falls, facing west. Upper Dam waterfall in center, cottage lower right (Bing bird's eye).
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Convention center (1967) facing west (Bing bird's eye)
Convention center, waterside elevation, facing east (Google earth)
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Upper dam, cottage and gazebo, facing north (Google maps).
Upper dam, gazebo and cottage, facing west (Google Maps).
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Historic Images
Artist’s sketch of original Goffe Mill (Woodbury 1955).
New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources
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ca. 1897 photograph of second mill on site and dam, facing northwest (Collection of D. Woodbury).
ca. 1897 photograph of second mill on site, facing northeast (Collection of D. Woodbury)
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Early 1930s, before dams rebuilt. Site of Upper Falls Building facing east toward upper dam and small
house (Collection D. Woodbury).
Mill and dam under construction, ca. 1938-39 (Collection of D. Woodbury).
New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources
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John Goffe’s Mill frontispiece (Woodbury 1948).
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John Goffe’s Mill floor plan as of 1940, based on Woodbury 1948 (James L. Garvin 2012).
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From late 1940s article, George Woodbury overlooking dam (Collection of Bedford Historical Society
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Mill interiors from late 1940s article (Collection of Bedford Historical Society)
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“John Goffe’s Mill ca. 1948, facing southwest from NH Troubadour 1948 (Garvin 2006).
ca. 1958 view of John Goffe’s Mill, facing east-northeast (Collection of David Woodbury).
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Wayfarer Inn Construction Plans
Perry, Shaw, Hepburn and Dean, 1961-1962 (Files of Perry, Dean, Rogers, Boston)
Detail from 1961 site plan, showing mill and dams
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Utility plan
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Electrical Plan
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Lobby and Function Room plan
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Kitchen and Dining Room plan
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Lobby plan
Lobby details
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Restaurant fireplace and chimney elevations and details
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Wall Sections
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Mill and Covered Bridge, showing wooden water wheel not built
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Motel Units A-B
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Motel Units B-D
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Swimming pool and patio
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Cabana Unit E - Ground Floor Plan
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Cabana Unit E - First Floor plumbing plan
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Plans and Aerial Views
1965 Aerial view (www.historicaerials.com)
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Plan 03488, 1968 Showing changes in lot lines (Motor inn not show)
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Plan 04976, 1969 Highway work, showing motor inn and convention hall (mill and cottage not shown)
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Historic Advertisements
The Wayfarer advertisement. “Lunch and dinner in John Goffe’s Kitchen or on the Club Caribe
Terrace. Dinner dancing ‘neath the stars. John Goffe’s Country Store, swimming pool and cabanas,
luxurious rooms and suites. Complete banquet and convention facilities” (Nashua Telegraph 6.26.1962,
www.ancestry.com).
Dunfey’s Tavern: “The new tavern in the old tradition. “An authentic tavern with a covered bridge
overlooking a waterfall. Cool” (Nashua Telegraph 5.22.1970, www.ancestry.com).
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Historic Postcards
The Wayfarer, Manchester NH, a Quality Courts Motel, ca. 1962-64 before Sheraton name adopted,
facing northeast ( http://www.cardcow.com/247941/wayfarer-manchester-newhampshire/?gcsct=0ChMIgLXWnM3iuwIVjvfnCh1HIgAAGAMgACgA).
Postcard “The Wayfarer” facing west-northwest. “Swimming pool - Carib Terrace - Dinner dancing Elegant dining in John Goffe’s Kitchen - Spacious rooms and suites - John Goffe’s Country Store Excellent facilities for banquets and conventions” (http://www.ebay.com/itm/1950s-PC-WayfarerHotel-Manchester-New-Hampshire-NH-/370518529991?_trksid=p2054897.l4276).
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ca. 1964-65 Sheraton Wayfarer, facing south. (After Sheraton name adopted 1964, before Jordan Marsh built in 1965)
(http://www.cardcow.com/352702/sheraton-wayfarer-manchester-new-hampshire/).
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The Wayfarer (Quality Courts), pre-1964 postcard of dam and covered bridge, facing north
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Unused-Pre-1980-COVERED-BRIDGE-Bedford-New-Hampshire-NH-t7504/331097801978
Sheraton-Wayfarer post-1964 postcard, covered bridge and mill, facing west-northwest
(http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/200737640634?lpid=82)
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The Wayfarer, pre-1964 postcard view of restaurant
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/edge_and_corner_wear/sets/72157628813683193/).
Sheraton-Wayfarer mid-1960s postcard “The spacious beamed ceiling dining room radiates warmth and
charm. A huge fireplace, picture windows from which guests enjoy the pool activity, the natural
waterfall, or view the quiet country terrain. Food and drink in the tradition of the early American
innkeeper” (http://www.cardcow.com/298178/sheraton-wayfarer-manchester-new-hampshire/)
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The Wayfarer, pre-1964 postcard, showing guest room with view of dam and bridge
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/edge_and_corner_wear/sets/72157628813683193/).
The Wayfarer, pre-1964, showing guest room
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/edge_and_corner_wear/sets/72157628813683193/).
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View of upper dam from restaurant, pre-1964 postcard
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/edge_and_corner_wear/sets/72157628813683193/)
Fireplace detail (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Unused-pre-1980-WAYFARER-RESTAURANTManchester-New-Hampshire-NH-postcard)
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The Wayfarer (Quality Courts) pre-1964 postcard, showing restaurant deck, facing east.
“Poolside at the Inn, where food and drink may be enjoyed, provides a delightful "under the sun"
meeting place for guests and friends. Also the location of the Club Carib Cabanas”
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Unused-pre-1980-WAYFARER-RESTAURANT-Manchester-NewHampshire-NH-postcard-y2997-/331097788626?_trksid=p2054897.l4276
The Wayfarer swimming pool, facing west
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/94207108@N02/8605969311/in/photostream/).
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Other Dunfey Hotel Properties
Lamie’s Tavern and Sheraton, Hampton, postcard
(http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/history/holman/lamies.htm)
Lamie’s,
Lamie’s current view (Google street view)
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Sheraton Towers, later Sheraton Tara, Portland, Maine, designed by Donald Jasinski for Dunfey Hotels,
still extant (http://www.climateseal.com/projects/index.htm).
Sheraton Lexington, Massachusetts, closed 2006 (not extant)
(http://wiki.whitneygen.org/wrg/index.php/Reunion_2002,_Snapshots)
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Cape Cod Resort and Conference Center, Hyannis, Massachusetts, expanded by Dunfey Hotels 1972,
still extant (www.cardcow.com)
Newton, Massachusetts, Howard Johnsons, now Sheraton, built 1969
(http://www.highwayhost.org/Massachusetts/Boston/Newton/newton1.html).
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Meadowbrook Motor Inn, Portsmouth, New Hampshire (demolished 2008). Owned by Dunfey Hotels
from 1966 (ebay postcards)
Meadowbrook Motor Inn, Portsmouth, New Hampshire (demolished 2008). Owned by Dunfey Hotels
from 1966 (ebay postcards)
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Other Comparables (not owned by Dunfey)
New Hampshire Highway Hotel, Concord, New Hampshire. Demolished 1988, now site of Pizzeria
Uno, Fort Eddy Road (http://www.theconcordinsider.com/article/remembering-the-new-hampshirehighway-hotel)
New Hampshire Highway Hotel, Concord
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/edge_and_corner_wear/8442343779/in/photostream/).
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Digital Photography Statement
I, the undersigned, confirm that the photos in this inventory form have not been digitally
manipulated and that they conform to the standards set forth in the NHDHR Draft Digital Photo
Policy (3/1/09-1/31/10). My camera was set to the following specifications: “fine” image quality
(compression ratio 1:4) and “large” image size (3008 x 2000 pixels). These photos were printed
using the following: HP Photosmart Pro B9280 printer using HP Vivera pigment inks on HP
Premium Photo Paper, glossy. The digital files are housed with Preservation Company in
Kensington, NH.
Lynne Emerson Monroe, Preservation Company
Digital Photo Log
The photos for this project are named: Wayfarer_Bedford_01 through Wayfarer_Bedford _74 where the
last two digits are the photo number.
New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources
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Photo Key
66
58
N
65
Cottage
57
Upper Falls
Convention Center
59-60
56
52
68-71
6
55
64
61
54
Gazebo
53
Upper Dam
5
62
51
32
17
47
Pool
Cabana Units
63
10-16
19
7 8
46
45
44 18
31
38
72
74
37
B
50
35
C
D
36
1
Exterior Photos: pointing in direction of view
3, 4
Culvert
39
48
Interior Photos:
73
Restaurant and
Motor Inn
A
2
Mill
and
Dam
30
20
40-43
49
29
21
9
1964
Motel Addition
67
33-34 23
22 24-28
3, 4
Bridge
1
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Current Photographs
Date taken: January 2014
Photo 1) Front entrance and motor inn units
Photo 2) Front lobby entrance
Direction: NNE
Direction: NE
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Photo 3) Lobby interior Field Photo_0172
Photo 4) Lobby interior, passage to restaurant at right Field Photo_0173
Direction: NNW
Direction: NE
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Photo 5) Restaurant from across pond, mill and bridge at left
Direction: SW
Photo 6) Restaurant (at right) from across mill pond, bridge and Convention center at left Direction: SE
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Photo 7) Restaurant from patio
Direction: ENE
Photo 8) Restaurant detail – corner post, window, wall and framing details
Direction: ENE
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Photo 9) Kitchen and service entrance, mill far right
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Direction: NNW
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Photo 10) Restaurant interior, main dining room
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Direction: NE
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Photo 11) Restaurant interior, fireplace detail
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Direction: SSE
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Photo 12) Restaurant interior, roof framing
Direction: ENE
Photo 13) Restaurant interior, roof framing
Direction: WNW
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Photo 14) Restaurant interior, lounge roof framing
Direction: NW
Photo 15) Restaurant interior, lounge
Direction: SW
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Photo 16) Restaurant interior, lounge
Photo 17) Restaurant interior, view of upper dam
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Direction: WSW
Direction: NW
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Photo 18) Function room, interior
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Direction: NW
Photo 19) Restaurant interior, walkway from restaurant, looking toward mill and covered bridge
Direction: E
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Photo 20) Mill and bridge, kitchen service entrance
Photo 21) John Goffe’s Mill
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Direction: NE
Direction: NW
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Photo 22) Mill west elevation, sawmill
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Direction: SE
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Photo 23) Mill and dam from covered bridge
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Direction: SW
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Photo 24) Mill interior basement
Direction: NE
Photo 25) Mill interior, gristmill framing
Direction: NE
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Photo 26) Mill interior, sawmill
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Direction: SW
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Photo 27) Mill interior, gristmill, chimney
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Direction: NNW
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Photo 28) Mill interior, lathe room
Direction: SE
Photo 29) Dam abutment and gate hoist
Direction: NE
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Photo 30) Dam and bridge
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Direction: ENE
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Photo 31) Dam and bridge
Direction: NNE
Photo 32) Covered bridge, restaurant entrance at right
Direction: SSW
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Photo 33) Covered bridge interior showing truss roof framing
Direction: E
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Photo 34) Covered bridge interior, looking toward restaurant and lobby
Direction: WSW
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Photo 35) Motel units (B, C, D) from parking lot
Photo 36) Motel units, C and D
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Direction: ESE
Direction: NE
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Photo 37) Motel units (D), southeast end
Photo 38) Motel units (D, C, B, A) brook side elevation
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Direction: WSW
Direction: SW
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Photo 39) Motel interior entry hall
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Direction: NNW
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Photo 40) Motel interior, stairwell
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Direction: N
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Photo 41) Motel interior guest room
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Direction: SW
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Photo 42) Motel interior guest room
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Direction: SW
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Photo 43) Motel interior guest room
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Direction: NW
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Photo 44) Swimming pool and Cabana building
Photo 45) Swimming pool and Cabana and Unit E building, lobby connection at left
Direction: NW
Direction: WNW
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Photo 46) Swimming pool, showing flood damage
Photo 47) Cabana Unit E building, from outer parking lot
Direction: NW
Direction: SE
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Photo 48) 1964 motel addition at left, front entry right
Photo 49) 1964 motel addition, main elevation from front entrance
Direction: NW
Direction: WNW
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Photo 50) Upper Falls building, Cabana and 1964 building
Photo 51) Upper Falls building, roadside elevation
Direction: NNE
Direction: NE
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Photo 52) Upper Falls building
Photo 53) Upper dam retaining wall
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Direction: WNW
Direction: NW
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Photo 54) Mill pond, view from convention center, restaurant, gazebo, cottage, upper falls in rear
Direction: WNW
Photo 55) Cottage, west and south elevations
Direction: NE
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Photo 56) Cottage west elevation
Direction: E
Photo 57) Cottage east elevation
Direction: SW
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Photo 58) Cottage west and north elevations
Photo 59) cottage interior, kitchen and living room
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Direction: SW
Direction: SE
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Photo 60) cottage interior
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Direction: SSW
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Photo 61) Gazebo
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Direction: S
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Photo 62) Mill pond, gazebo and cottage from restaurant, Convention Center far right
Direction: N
Photo 63) Convention Center, water side
Direction: N
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Photo 64) Convention Center from parking lot
Direction: NW
Photo 65) Convention center, parking lot side
Direction: SW
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Photo 66) Convention center service entrance
Photo 67) Convention center, covered bridge entrance at left
Direction: SE
Direction: WNW
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Photo 68) Convention Center interior, hallway
Direction: SW
Photo 69) Convention Center interior, ballroom
Direction: NNE
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Photo 70) Convention Center interior, ballroom remodeled 2004
Direction: NE
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Photo 71) Convention Center interior stairway to guest rooms
Direction: NNW
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Photo 72) Culvert from upstream
Direction: ESE
Photo 73) Culvert inlet, reinforced concrete pipe
Direction: ESE
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Photo 74) Culvert outlet, corrugated metal pipe
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WAYFARER INN/JOHN GOFFE’S MILL
Direction: NW