Ingleside Hotel

If you are interested in a hilltop summer resort in Holyoke, built a few years after the end of the Civil War, you have arrived at your destination.

The Ingleside Hotel, also referred to as the Ingleside Resort Hotel, was the vision of Jones Sherwin Davis, the longtime agent for the Hampden and Lyman Mills. He was born in Holden, Massachusetts, on October 29, 1817, and his life and contributions to Holyoke are a story unto themselves and will be developed in a future edition. 

Agents worked on behalf of the manufacturer, usually on a commission basis generated from sales. Having promoted products to buyers, cultivated future prospects, and managed the financial underpinnings of sales transactions, Mr. Davis was considered an experienced and successful businessperson.

While working as an Agent for Lyman Mills, Mr. Davis envisioned constructing a hotel and resort in the Ingleside section of Holyoke. It would be located near the Ingleside train stop, where travelers could either walk up a long staircase to the hotel or choose a five-minute ride down the county road and up a private road to the hotel. Several maps below show the layout.

On August 1, 1867, Jones S. Davis purchased two parcels of land, a total of about 10 acres, from the Munger and Mosely families. The land was situated on the west side of the old county road. 

Also, on that day, he purchased 2 additional parcels totaling 15 acres from Linus Day. Five acres were located east of the old county road bordering the Connecticut River, and the remaining 10 acres were west of the county road.

In all, including additional transactions, Mr. Davis owned approximately 50 acres of land.

The 1870 Beers map (shown below) shows the hotel's location at Ingleside. In the chapter that follows, for Mount St. Vincent Orphanage and later nursing home, a more precise location was identified on Google Maps.

The hotel was built on a terraced hill facing the river. The main building was 46 feet across and 3.5 stories tall. The north and south wings were also 46 feet across, 26 feet deep, and 2 and a half stories. There was a large barn to the north. The main building and barn were completed in April 1868, and a grand opening celebration was held on July 4, 1868.

To the south of the hotel's rear was a large 3-story pavilion, 80 feet by 40 feet. This was built in 1870.

Behind the main building was a large dining hall, 60 feet by 60 feet. This also had wings, smaller than the front at 36 feet by 25 feet. The dining hall was completed in 1871.

The hotel had 90 rooms, spread across the main building, the pavilion, and the rear hall. It produced its own gas to power 250 burners and served as a telegraph station.

The hillside was turfed and adequately maintained, with a wide staircase leading to the hotel entrance.

The investment was enormous for the times. The land and buildings cost over $126,000, and personal property and contents over $31,000. This proved to be a financial anchor that hampered the venture's chances of success.

At the outset, the hotel received publicity when the Brown University and Amherst College crew teams stayed there. A regatta began on the Connecticut River opposite the hotel and finished at the Chicopee Bridge. One additional college joined the event in 1872, and all were part of the National Rowing Association of American Colleges. 

In February 1874, Jones S. Davis abandoned the hotel and moved to Canada. The following month, legal notices appeared in the newspaper regarding a secured-party auction of the real estate and its contents. The mortgagee was C. H. Heywood, who was owed money on the loan.

The day after the March 18, 1874, foreclosure notice, Mr. Davis wrote that he needed to get away for his own sake and that he would return to pay the claims due to others. He later returned to Holyoke and continued with his other good works for the community.

In April 1874, the auction was held, and N. S. Nickerson, J. D. Safford, and Stephen Holman were the successful bidders at $30,000. The hotel never did reopen. The investors expected to put the property up for sale soon to realize a profit. However, the demand for the property was not there.

On July 25, 1875, a suspicious fire destroyed the buildings. Between 60 and 80 tons of recently harvested hay were destroyed in the barn, but the horses were rescued. Details of the fire are included in the news articles below.

The Mt. St. Vincent Orphanage and home for the elderly was constructed and dedicated on the site in 1881. The story continues in the following chapters.

Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.

Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories

Hampden County Registry of Deeds, Springfield, Massachusetts

Holyoke, Atlas of Hampden County, 1870, F. W. Beers, Ellis & Soule

Segment of Map of Holyoke, Massachusetts, 1903, James L. Tighe, Civil Engineer

Assessors' Office, Holyoke, Massachusetts

(Above) The red pointer sits on the now-discontinued portion of Northampton Street

at the street's former underpass.

Immediately beneath the pointer, outlined in blue, is the northerly property line 

of the Ingleside Hotel, and the site of its access from Northampton Street.

The Mount St. Vincent Orphanage (red pointer) was built on the site of the former Ingleside Hotel. 

This 1903 map shows its location, along with the access road (beginning at the blue pointer) from 

Northampton Street at the train overpass.

The orange pointer illustrates the area of the steep walkway leading from Ingleside Street. 

Attempting to capture a photo of  the access road, I took this photo in a southerly direction at the 

former Northampton Street underpass in 2016. 

The area was greatly overgrown and not easily accessible.

Above: The 1884 Holyoke, Massachusetts, Atlas shows the Mt. St. Vincent Orphanage 

(Convent) on the former site of the Ingleside Hotel