Halfway to Ellsworth: Why the Historic Lucerne Inn in Dedham Is Still the Place for Weary Travelers

The Lucerne Inn

Little did Private John Phillips realize showing up for the march to Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, in 1775 would result in him acquiring a Maine property that’s still a resting spot for travelers today.

John served in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to late 1776 and was present in Lexington the day the war began. Married to the former Sarah Pond, John and his family continued living in Bellingham, MA—next to Dedham—until about 1790 when the US census recorded him in the Maine settlement of Eddington, just east of Bangor. Around 1800, the federal government granted John 100 acres for his military service in the area south of Eddington, which was later called Dedham.

John died in 1834, but not before his son Nathan had established their family home. In addition to being a working farm, the Philips residence became a halfway stop for a stagecoach run from Bangor to Ellsworth. Travelers were served food and drink, horse were fed, and overnight accommodations met for those who wished to stay.

In 1850, Nathan, 75, still was the head of the homestead property with his son, John, and family helping out. The census in 1860 listed their real estate valued at $4,000 —double or more than what surrounding farms were worth. Nathan died in 1861, and John continued the farming operation and inn.

By 1880, John and Olive had a full house with one married son farming there, two daughters still unmarried, and another daughter, Lydia, with her children and husband, Arno Hooper. Arno, a former stagecoach driver, was a “hostler”—a person who takes care of horses at an inn.

Throughout the 1800s, the farm also included milk cows and other cattle, sheep, and pigs, and produced wheat, Indian corn, potatoes, buckwheat, butter, hay, and up to 300 bushels of oats—a much larger amount of oats than neighboring farms produced. Perhaps that amount was needed to feed the visiting horses.

The inn became known as the Lake House. Its grounds overlook Phillips Lake where salmon, trout, and small mouth bass still inhabit. The property also has a great view of Bald Mountain, which is about 1,261 feet high, and a number of smaller mountains and hills.

By the mid-1920s, the house and surrounding property was bought by Harold Saddlemire, a New York investor, to be developed into an early resort called Lucerne-in-Maine. Lucerne, Switzerland, is a popular city located next to a lake and mountains, and Lucerne-in-Maine was named the “Switzerland of America.” The resort idea, however, didn’t pan out for long due to mismanagement of funds and the economic woes of the Great Depression.

During that time, the inn was transformed into its present and larger Colonial Revival style. But the building still incorporates the original Phillips home.

As you enter the front door into some of the original rooms, you will notice the ceilings are low and the floor boards seem like they could be walked on for centuries. The inn offers a total of 31 rooms for overnight guests and dining areas overlooking the lake and mountains.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Lucerne is currently owned by David and Jayne Silverman. The restaurant’s executive chef is Arturo Montes—renown for his seasonal and seafood delights, desserts, and blueberry butter with fresh rolls.

You can almost hear the clip clop of horses stopping outside and tired travelers filing into the welcoming home. The Lucerne Inn, an historic inn in beautiful surroundings—Private John Phillips could hardly have imagined it.

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