Inn at Mountain View Farm, Bed and Breakfast
Beauty, Comfort, History, Peace in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom
Sep 22, 2009
Once the home of E.A. Darling, wealthy hotelier and gentleman farmer, Mountain View Farm today is a high quality bed and breakfast and much, much more. It is an award-winning showplace acclaimed by Vermont travel aficionados.
The Inn hosts many groups, such as weddings and business retreats, as well as individual seekers of a special Vermont vacation, be they honeymooners, explorers, hikers, cyclists, writers or historians.
Bed and Breakfast Accommodations
The Inn's rooms are quaint and lovely, housed in what was once the farm's creamery. The large engine that powered the creamery, gleaming like new, is still in the building and provides a fascinating attraction for visitors. The farmhouse next door is available for private rental as well.
Visitors at check-in are greeted like special guests in a private home, Everything about the place is clean, cozy and comfortable. The food is excellent and so is the coffee (or tea of one prefers).
There is a sitting room downstairs in addition to the dining rooms as well as tables and chairs outside to enjoy during fine weather. The bedrooms are upstairs, which do require a stairway climb, but they are worth the effort. Each one is unique and beautifully furnished with its own private bath.
One cautionary tip: If you are a large person, ask about the room's bathroom size. In one guest room the bath fixtures are artfully bundled into a tiny old closet space. One must be slim and average height to make use of anything but the sink. The room itself is charming and spacious. In the other rooms the bathrooms are of more typical design and will not present this drawback of limited bathroom space.
Graceful Grounds and Animal Sanctuary
This beautiful farm and B&B at the top of Burke Mountain with its vista views is also a sanctuary for rescued animals who enjoy the gentle attention accorded by visitors. At last visit there were horses, mini donkey, cattle and pigs on premise, all well cared for and suitably spoiled.
The grounds offer acres of green fields in summer (and snow in winter), flower gardens, huge shade trees and gentle pathways where one is free to while away peaceful hours. The farm grows its own herbs and vegetables.
History Behind the Inn at Mountain View Farm
Without question, a part of the charm of this lovely Vermont bed and breakfast is its history. The rich past of the farm and the Darling family abounds in photos, books and scrapbooks available to visitors.
Its founder, Elmer A. Darling, born in 1848, was the oldest of four children. His father was a farmer, not the richest or poorest status of the times. The extended Darling family was one of means; people who knew presidents; people of influence; but not people who readily sought the limelight.
Elmer A. Darling earned a degree in architecture at MIT but earned his personal fortune through association with his uncle, Alfred Darling, one of the owners of the famous Fifth Avenue Hotel at Madison Square in New York City. Darling’s Uncle Alfred put him into the hotel business. Elmer started as a steward and clerk and worked up to the top, so that he would know every aspect of running the lucrative hotel, which he one day would own himself (among other valuable plots of real estate in New York City).
With his amassed fortune E.A. Darling eventually purchased all of Burke Mountain, establishing Mountain View Farm in state of the art ways for the times, with his brother Lucius in charge as farm manager and F.C.H. Davis as manager of Darling's prized Morgan horses.
Mountain View Farm had a huge piggery, a dairy with the above-mentioned creamery, dairy and beef cattle, poultry for eggs and meat, working draft horses, vegetables and produce, and all the equipment and employees required for such an operation. Most of his employees were local people and Irish immigrants.
Mountain View Farm supplied the Fifth Avenue Hotel’s huge daily demand for milk, butter, cheese, meat, and other produce. In addition the farm commercially sold butter and other farm goods under the Darling brand. Darling designed his beautiful farm buildings and mansion, Burklyn Hall, the latter built further up Darling Road, overlooking the farm.
All these buildings can be seen today,during one's stay at the Inn, all part of the bed and breakfast grounds to be viewed and enjoyed. One can easily imagine the sights and sounds of the working farm. In some ways, little has changed in the buildings and grounds
Burklyn Hall, still visible up the road, is now a separate private residence.
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