The Appel Inn was built in 1765 by Hendrick
Appel, who served in the Albany County militia during the Revolutionary
War. He owned and ran the tavern, which was first known as Hank Appel's
Tap, although Appel's family also, apparently, lived there at the
same time. Appel's apple toddy was famous among weary travelers.
Located on the east side of Route 146
just past Guilderland Center, the Appel Inn with its three story Colonial
style and 6-pillared loggia sits on 6 acres of land. The original
home had no kitchen. Cooking was done in outbuildings by servants.
Large limestone fireplaces were the only sources of heat and the huge
andirons have been passed on to each new owner. Very old interior
plaster walls contain horsehair. The exterior walls are brick covered
with clapboard.
For most of its existence the building
has served as a tavern with rooms for teachers or transients. Also,
Guilderland's town fathers held a meeting here on April 5, 1803 to
establish a town government. The building was sold to an employee
of the F. W. Woolworth Co. who gave it a more Southern look by adding
porches and columns to the house front. The McChesney family owned
the place in the late 19th century and ran a farm there. At the turn
of the century, a semi-oval wing was placed on the living room by
Calvin Osborn, a lawyer for the Delaware and Hudson Railway. The Osborn
family used it as a summer home. Then, in the 1930s, the building
became a restaurant called the Hawthorne Inn. In the 1940s the inn
served a full lamb chop dinner for $1.00. Over the years, barns, tennis
courts, a stable, a greenhouse, and a pool have been added. The building
was occupied until the 1950s, but then fell into disrepair.
The current owners, the Beckmanns, bought
the house in 1980 and have been renovating it since then. For a while,
it was a bed and breakfast, but now it hosts special events, such
as weddings.
