Our History

The General Stanton Inn has welcomed guests since before the American Revolution making it one of the oldest Colonial Inns in America. Four U.S. Presidents are known to have visited the Inn- George Washington, Chester Arthur and Theodore Roosevelt. George H.W. Bush visited the Inn while training as a Naval pilot at the nearby Charlestown airport during World War II.

The Inn's history begins in 1650 Colonial America. The Niantics, a tribe in Narragansett Nation, rewarded Thomas Stanton property in Charlestown, Rhode Island for brokering a deal to return their beloved Native American princess who had been abducted. The notorious Manese tribe had staged a daring night raid and kidnapped the young princess, taking her to their village on Block Island. Thomas Stanton rowed 12 miles over ocean swells to the island and negotiated her freedom. Upon her return, the Narragansetts gifted Stanton with a four by two-mile tract of land. The General Stanton Inn resides on this land today. 

The Stanton’s were enduring friends and lifelong champions of the local tribes. In 1740, Thomas Stanton's grandson, Joseph Stanton II, built the Inn next to a small “dwelling” on the gifted land. He converted this small dwelling, which dates to 1667, into what is believed to be the first Native American school in Colonial America. The “schoolhouse” has been preserved in its original colonial-period form.

An early member of the Sons of Liberty, it is believed Joseph Stanton III used the tavern in the 1770’s as a secret gathering place for George Washington’s revolutionary war spy ring. Washington’s trust in Colonel Stanton dated back to their French Indian War fighting days. His nephew, General Joseph Stanton IV would later serve as  the leader of Rhode Island’s first militia, using the tavern to plan Revolutionary War strategies to defeat the British. Having served with distinction, he would later be elected Rhode Island's very first U.S. Senator.

In the 1800’s the General Stanton Inn became a welcome stop for horse-drawn carriages and stagecoaches on the well-traveled Post Road between Boston and Philadelphia. The Inn also became a hideout for fugitive slaves and clandestine gatherings. In the early 1830’s Brigadier General Joseph Stanton V befriended abolitionist Moses Brown who enlisted Stanton to assist runaway African American slaves traveling north on the underground railroad. 

Not all of the Inn’s extra-curricular activities were so noble. In the 1870’s the General Stanton Inn fast gained a reputation as an illicit gambling house, using its racehorse stable as a business cover. In the 1880’s its dining room featured a hidden roulette table imbedded in the ceiling which was lowered for gambling each evening and was raised up and out of sight when the local constable came calling. Diamond Jim Brady and John D. Rockefeller are listed among Inn patrons of this era.

During the Prohibition era of the 20th century, the General Stanton’s proximity to the Rhode Island coast made the Inn a convenient hideout for Block Island rum runners and gangsters alluding Federal Treasury agents. Al Capone himself is listed among the Inn’s more infamous guests. So popular was the Inn with the drinking set of the Roaring Twenties that a new dining room was added to accommodate guests such as renegade actress Tallulah Banks, who partied in Gatsby-like fashion into the wee hours. Enjoy your morning Mimosa or Bloody Mary in our 1920's Prohibition dining room. It's a tradition.

Come visit the General Stanton Inn and take a walk with us through early American history.