The Dorrance Inn, also known as the Samuel Dorrance House, is a historic former inn at 748 Plainfield Pike in
Sterling, Connecticut
Sterling is a New England town, town in Windham County, Connecticut, Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,578 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
History
The town was named after John Sterling, an early sett ...
built about 1722. It is notable as a place that hosted officers of the French Army in 1781 and 1782, as it was along the march route taken by French commander
Rochambeau's troops on their march to meet the Continental Army under General
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
. Dorrance's Inn is one of a few places mentioned by name in multiple accounts written by French officers.
[ and ] The building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2002
[ and is a contributing building in the Sterling Hill Historic District.
]
Description and history
The former Dorrance Inn stands on the eastern edge of Sterling's main village, just east of the Congregational Church on the north side of Plainfield Pike (Connecticut Route 14A
Connecticut Route 14 is one of several secondary routes from eastern Connecticut into Rhode Island. It runs from the Willimantic section of the town of Windham to the Rhode Island state line in Sterling.
Route description
Route 14 ...
). The road is a historically major east-west route through the town. The house is a -story wood-frame structure, five bays wide, with a side-gable roof and a large central chimney. The oldest portion of the house was built around 1722, consisting of the eastern three bays. Greek Revival treatments were added to the front door and house corners in the 19th century.[
The house was the home and inn of Samuel Dorrance at the time of the ]American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, and is one of the few places mentioned by name in multiple French accounts of the army's 1781 and 1782 marches across Connecticut. Dorrance played host to the Marquis de Chastellux among others, and Rochambeau dined here on the return march in 1782. George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
is also recorded as staying here in 1781.[ The inn lies along a well-preserved segment of Rochambeau's march route.
]
See also
* March Route of Rochambeau's army
*List of historic sites preserved along Rochambeau's route
A series of sites along the Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route have been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places or otherwise recognized and preserved. Buildings or roadway or other artifacts at these sites have been ...
*
References
{{National Register of Historic Places
Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
Hotels in Connecticut
Buildings and structures in Windham County, Connecticut
Sterling, Connecticut
Historic places on the Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route
National Register of Historic Places in Windham County, Connecticut
Historic district contributing properties in Connecticut