The Griswold Inn is the most famous landmark building in Essex. A sign at the Inn states that the Griswold House was built by Sala Griswold in 1776. It originally stood near the shipyard and was moved to its current location on Main Street to become part of the house constructed by Richard Hayden in 1801. Hayden’s house was the first three-story building in the lower Connecticut River Valley. Around the same time, Richard’s two brothers, John G. and Amasa Hayden, built houses on either side (they are now part of the Griswold Inn complex, the Amasa Hayden House being the Inn’s annex). Hayden sold his house to Ethan Bushnell in 1806, moving to a new brick house nearby. Ethan Bushnell turned his home into a tavern. A former schoolhouse on the property, built in 1738, was attached to the house, possibly to serve as a kitchen (it is now the taproom). The Tavern was inherited by Bushnell’s children in 1849 and passed through a variety of owners over the years, probably acquiring the name Griswold House during the period it was owned by Emory Morse of Wallingford in the 1870s and 1880s. The Griswold Inn continues in business today. See Below for more images.
I never knew the building had been moved.
I learn new things on here with every visit.
As german student I have spent unforgettable 2 months in 1969 at Griswold Inn as a German student. I worked there as a bus boy and later as a waiter. Once I met there Frank Sinatra on Labor Day and we talked about my country. I got 100 $ tip from him. He was impressed from a german student working in the Griswold.
Never I will forget this evening in the Griswold Inn. Also I remember with deeply respect all the women and men employed in the Griswold.