Historic Anthony Dobbin’s Stagecoach Inn has been sold

By Ginny Privitar
GOSHEN — The Anthony Dobbin’s Stagecoach Inn, at 268 Main St. in Goshen, has offered respite to travelers since 1801. Now a contract has been signed for its sale, and treasures from the historic inn will be sold at auction on the premises at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 19.

The new owners expect to continue to run the inn as a bed and breakfast, which is welcome news to many. The history of this inn reaches back even to the 18th century.

The original structure at the center of the house dates to 1747 and was built with materials from the land. Anthony Dobbin purchased the property in 1791 and raised sheep there. He seems to have been an astute businessman: he observed that coaches were cutting through his property on the way to the Albany Post Road and soon opened an inn that became a popular stopping place. Governor George Clinton, when he reviewed the militia, stopped there. Justices from the local early stone courthouse took dinner breaks there, still wearing their judicial robes, some say. By 1801, Dobbin was the host of a thriving business.

Later that year, the inn advertised the stud services of the famous English thoroughbred, Imported Messenger, for a season in the stables in the back of the property. It was here that Imported Messenger's son Abdallah was sired. Abdallah became the sire of the famous Rysdyk’s Hambletonian, who in turn is sire of all Standardbreds. Hambletonian was actually born in Sugar Loaf, bought by William Rysdyk and eventually stabled at Chester, where he made his owner wealthy from stud fees.

Hambletonian and his offspring helped establish Goshen as a "trotting horse Mecca,” according to the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame. These horses attracted international recognition. In 1838, the Goshen Historic Track, still in operation today, was established just down the street from the Dobbin's Inn. At one time the acreage of the inn and farm extended right up to the Historic Track. As time went on, Dobbin sold some of his land to pay taxes, according to some sources.

Historian Mildred Parker Seese said Anthony Dobbin also “associated in the purchase of a plot for a cemetery from the Jacksons, his first wife’s people.” That plot later became Slate Hill Cemetery. Many of those resting in early graves, in land that later became the site of the Presbyterian Church, were re-interred at Slate Hill.

An unbroken history
Dobbin had no descendants. In 1857, Dobbin’s second wife and widow, Nancy, bequeathed the property to her nephew, John J. Heard, who had also lived there with his widowed mother, Nancy’s sister, since 1812. Heard is reputed to have combined the original brick inn with a wooden addition when he enlarged it.

After Heard, the property was bought by Nicholas Franchot as an investment. He would later sell the home to his daughter Janet and her first husband, William Hickok IV — a descendant of the same family line as James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok. They owned the house as a private residence and enlarged and restored it.

Janet divorced Hickok and later married Don Wilder, a hunting and sports enthusiast. She lived in the house until her death in 1965. She was a great philanthropist and gave generously to many causes, including the Cerebral Palsy Center, now known as Inspire. After her death, William Hickok V, Janet’s son by her first marriage, and his wife, Marjorie (“Margo”) Miller George Hickok, took up residence there.

Margo was a New York City model and modeling agency owner who had once appeared on the Johnny Carson show offering fitness tips. She first came to Goshen to attend a party at the old Westinghouse Estate, then owned by the Gabor sisters, who opened a spa there. She met her future husband, William, at that party. Later she briefly worked for the Gabors, publicizing the spa.

In 1985, Margo and William decided to open up part of the house again as a bed and breakfast inn. After her husband’s death in 1987, Margo became the sole host of the inn, and was only too glad to share the history of her home and its many antiques.

Since the family descends from both “Wild” Bill Hickok’s family and William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, the inn holds many stories and treasures. The family believes Penn’s original bed graces one of the bedrooms. Another bedroom is said to have once been used by Eleanor Roosevelt. Among the many interesting items in the house is a huge strongbox, found after some excavating in the back of the property. It was the kind of box stagecoach riders once sat on. Unfortunately, it did not hold any valuables.

Before her passing in 2011, Margo George Hickok and her family decided to sell the inn. A contract was signed this year.

The good news is that the inn, an important piece of Goshen's history, will continue to fascinate guests with its beguiling past, and offer them a good night's sleep besides.