The Inn at White Gate Farm is available for rent year round and is listed on VRBO at https://www.vrbo.com/1713403
History: The White Gate farm house was built in 1765 and displays the original massive fireplace, wide oak floor boards and thick outer walls. It was used as a “pest house” for smallpox patients when there was a local outbreak in 1778. The house and farm have changed hands many times. A famous owner from 1934 until her death in 1961 was Elsie Ferguson, star of silent films. During her tenure and others, White Gate was a dairy farm.
In 1974 Ruth Lord, daughter of HF duPont of Winterthur, purchased the house and farmland from William Mosle. Ruth liked the house and loved the land, spending all her free time weeding or liberating brooks in the woods. This activity was de rigueur for her many house guests.
The Inn retains elements from Ruth’s life — a stunning spatterware collection from HF; framed prints by her friend Andrew Wyeth and her cousin George “Frolic” Weymouth, and books and paintings by her friend James Stevenson.
In 2014 farm and farmhouse passed on to Ruth’s daughter Pauline, who had been running the farm since 2000. Immediately she set about removing heavy curtains, valances and wall-to-wall carpeting. The seven bedrooms were re-painted, the six bathrooms re-modeled, and it is now a venue for family reunions, corporate retreats, house guest overflow, farm-to-table dinners, birthday parties, yoga classes, and almost anything else one can imagine.
To inquire about private parties, retreats or lodging at the farm, please email us at info@whitegatefarm.net
