Historical Homes
History of the inn
The Queen Anne-style home was built in 1891 by industrialist Gordon W. Hall as a wedding present for his daughter, Georgianna, who had married Charles Tibbits.
Hall was the founder of Simpson, Hall, Miller and Co., a silver manufacturer. The Tibbits family lived across the street, where the Wallingford Public Library now stands.
Allen and Tyler Architectural Associates designed the house, and the C.F. Wooding Company constructed the 6,092-square-foot home.
The house sold in 1961 to a doctor, who converted some of the rooms for treating patients. Since the 1990s, the house has served as a bed-and-breakfast.
In October 2013, Kieslich purchased the home and began major remodeling, including the interior decor. The dining room, windows and stained glass are all original features.
The inn consistently won praise and recognition, locally and internationally, and participated in community events like the Holiday Stroll.
Jerry Farrell Jr., president of the Wallingford Historic Preservation Trust, said that he hopes the future use of the inn includes a public aspect.
“One of the nice things about it having been an inn,” Farrell said Thursday, “is that the public got access to the interior in a way that the public really doesn’t get access to most historic sites.”
He said it would be “a loss” if the public loses access to the house.
“Part of getting people to appreciate that historic houses and places are important,” he said, “is that mental buy-in — getting to see these places, getting to understand how people lived in them when the house was built in the 1890s. If that’s not a piece of what the future plans are, that would be a loss.”
