Historical Hotel in Basking Ridge

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In 1768, Samuel Lewis, a miller from Franklin Corners in Basking Ridge, built a water-powered gristmill and a barn on the Passaic River on land originally acquired from William Penn. His grandson, Richard Southard, bought the property in 1777 and soon found that the convenient location along a major thoroughfare between New York and Philadelphia, so practical for commerce, placed him smack in the middle of the Revolutionary War.

After passing through several hands in the ensuing years, famous restaurateur William Childs saw intriguing possibilities in the barn standing near the old mill and bought the entire property in 1929. He moved the barn to the other side of Route 202 the following year and began converting it to a hotel in Basking Ridge. Rather than gut the inside, however, Childs chose to preserve the classic old structure’s unique spirit through a painstaking restoration. Not a beam was touched in the barn’s solid frame, and the hotel in Basking Ridge remains to this day as it was more than two centuries ago.

Today The Bocina Group maintains The Olde Mill Inn’s long tradition of affordable elegance and the Grain House continues to be a local favorite. Discover a charming and historical setting at one of the best Somerset, NJ hotels today.

See "The History of the Grain House"