Sitting on Gregg's Pond.
The current Waumbek Inn (112 Gregg Lake Road) is not the original building. Frank Brooks first erected the Waumbek as a bowling alley in the mid-1880’s and then sold it to Stillman Baker of Hillsboro. Baker renamed it the “Stillbelle Cottage.” According to the Hillsborough Messenger, in July 1911 Baker sold the property with adjoining fields and other parcels of land to John Cuddihy.
Cuddihy improved the structure and added on outlying guest cabins so that it became a “very acceptable summer guesthouse.” Wednesday, March 11, 1936 - Antrim Reporter headlined the conflagration: “The Waumbek a Total Loss in an Early Last Sunday (March 8) Morning Fire.” The Reporter continued: “Everybody is grieved at the loss the Cuddihy family sustained on Sunday morning… when flames of unknown origin destroyed completely the popular Summer resort.”
On March 3, 1928, Cuddihy advertised his lodge as follows: “The Waumbek Inn – accommodates 30 guests – 3 miles from the Depot – on shore of Gregg Lake – John Cuddihy Proprietor – Terms - $18 to $20 per week or $16 per week for season.”
Cuddihy and his children ran the Inn, now known once again as the Waumbek, until 1936 when fire destroyed all of the Waumbek’s structures.
On Tuesday, June 10, 1941 [the Antrim Reporter mistakenly reports it as May
10] around 2 in the afternoon, the Waumbek again caught fire completely destroying the building, but sparing the other outlying cottages and barn with only minor damage. Unfortunately, this time the fire took the life of Constantine Peter DaHahn of 9 Seawall Avenue, Brookline MA. who was a guest at the Inn.
Identifying Mr. DeHahn was a bit of a struggle because the Inn's guest register was also destroyed in the fire. As irony would have it, Mr. DeHahn was the only guest at the Inn and was there recuperating from a near-fatal heart attack, and his doctor had recommended "peace and quiet", so Mr. DeHahn was sent from Boston to Antrim to rest at the Waumbek Inn prior to it opening for the season.
After the most recent incarnation of the Waumbek was built, it served as a rooming house for Nathaniel Hawthorne College. In 1960, Wesley and Marita Burton purchased the Waumbek Inn from John Cuddihy. From 1968 through the early 21st century, Dick Conti owned the Waumbek. Dick Conti, a teacher at the New York State School for the Blind, bought 112 Gregg Lake Road and lived there until 2003 when he left for warmer climates. Conti sold the property to John and Kathy Spang, of Burlington Massachusetts, who refurbished the Waumbek where they lived part time until 2009. In 2009, the current owners, Steve and Marcia Ullman bought the Waumbek and they continue to live there full-time.
The following information comes from a New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources report done by Russell Stevenson, Architectural Historian. Some of his information comes from the Antrim Historical Society 1997 A Stroll Through Antrim, New Hampshire, The Antrim Historical Society, Antrim, New Hampshire and 1977 Parades and Promenades: Antrim, New Hampshire, the Second Hundred Years, published for the Antrim History Committee by Phoenix Publishing, Canaan, New Hampshire.
By the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the focus of land use around Gregg’s Lake was no longer industry but was instead summer recreation, with a number of summer boarding houses and cottages constructed fronting the lake. The Waumbek Inn and Peterwaugh were two popular boarding houses for summer tourists and provided activities for guests and residents alike. At one point, they offered a bowling alley, dancing pier, boat rentals, croquet, and other activities. A small community was developed called White Birch Point, which was a collection of some 20 cottages on the east side of the lake overlooking the channel. Construction at White Birch Point began around 1912. There were also at least two camps, including Camp Sachem on the western shore (used by the Boy Scouts); and Camp Greggmere, later called Birchmere, a girls’ camp on the eastern shore. In 1932, the Boy Scouts established Camp Caughey at the south end of Gregg Lake (Antrim Historical Society 1997:75-79; Antrim History Committee 1977:130).
Camp Greggmere operated from approximately 1921 to 1936 before Camp Birchmere took over the facilities (Antrim History Committee 1977:143; Antrim Historical Society 1997:78-79). A listing for Camp Greggmere from 1922 indicates it was operated by Rachel Roznosky, Lena Seitlen, and Dore L. Lourie, and that the total cost of enrollment was $350. The campers were divided into three age groups (ages 8-20), and the camp itself was “patronized by representative prominent Hebrews” (Porter Sargent Handbooks 1922:375 and 491).
A topographic map from 1929 shows that the development around Gregg Lake, aside from White Birch Point, was fairly sparse. Nine buildings are depicted on the north shore of Gregg Lake, three buildings on the northwest corner of the lake, and five buildings on the southern shore (United States Geological Survey [USGS] 1929:Hillsboro Quad). In addition, the topographic map shows the Waumbek, a popular boarding house on Gregg Lake. The building burned down in 1936 and was subsequently rebuilt; however, the building’s popularity was never the same, as small cottages along the lake were becoming the preference of summer visitors during this period.
Impact of the Railroad, 1870-1900
By the end of the nineteenth century, the industry powered by Great Brook was dwindling due to the advent of electrical power. During this period, with the coming of the railroad and statewide promotion of areas of natural beauty as tourist and recreational sites, a number of summer boarding houses were in operation within Antrim. Summer boarding began in the mid-nineteenth century and continued until the early twentieth century. These houses were generally centered on Gregg Lake or areas with commanding viewpoints within close proximity of the railroad station in Bennington, such as the Village of Antrim Center.
Two resources along Gregg Lake survived from this period: the Waumbek Inn and the Peterwaugh. The Waumbek Inn, 112 Gregg Lake Road began operation on the north shore of Gregg Lake in 1912. The property was a bowling alley before John Cuddihy purchased, converted, and reopened it as the Waumbek Inn. Fires destroyed the building twice, and it was rebuilt each time (Antrim Historical Society 1997:70-71). In 2012, the only remnant of the inn is a small lodging house that now serves as a private residence. The one-and-one-half-story, five-bay, center hall dwelling rests on a concrete block foundation, has modern replacement windows and vinyl siding, and is capped by a gable roof covered in asphalt shingles. An interior brick chimney pierces the roof ridge. A half-length porch with a hipped roof shelters the main entrance. A small cross-gable/gable-front dormer is located on the façade. A front gable, two-car garage is connected to the west gable end of the dwelling via a small enclosed porch. The garage rests on a poured concrete foundation, is clad in vinyl siding, and the roof is covered with asphalt shingles. A historic photograph taken after 1941 shows the Waumbek Inn as a large, five-bay, center hall, two-and-one-half-story dwelling (Antrim Historical Society 1997:71). Although the extant building retains the five-bay, center hall form, the building only measures one and one-half stories in height compared to the two-and-one-half-story dwelling illustrated on the post-1941 photograph. It is assumed the extant building post-dates this photograph and appears to be another reconstruction of the 1912 inn.
The Peterwaugh and 120 Gregg Lake Road. The Peterwaugh was a boarding house/mini-resort that began operation in the late nineteenth century. It once offered a bowling alley, picnic grounds, swings, croquet, refreshments, and an 80-foot long pavilion for dancing. It was owned by Charles R. Jameson, a developer of the north shore of Gregg Lake. Only a small portion of the original resort remains, and it has sustained several alterations (Antrim History Committee 1977:51, 75). The one-and-one-half-story, side gable dwelling rests on a concrete block foundation, is clad in clapboard siding with corner boards, contains a combination of wood and vinyl replacement double-hung windows, and is topped by a side gable roof sheathed in asphalt shingles with a central interior brick chimney that pierces the ridge. The center hall dwelling measures three bays along the façade (north elevation). A shed-roofed addition and deck was added to the south elevation overlooking Gregg Lake, presumably where the pavilion once stood. Adjacent to the Peterwaugh sits 120 Gregg Lake Road, a one-and-one-half-story, side gable cottage with a cross-gable on the façade (north elevation). The cottage rests on a concrete block foundation and is clad in wood shingle siding. A central interior brick chimney pierces the ridge of its side gable roof, which is topped with asphalt shingles. A one-story shed-roofed addition is located on the south elevation. A historic photograph from ca. 1905 shows this building as a barn or carriage house, as the façade has only a large bay and no pedestrian entrance or windows in the first story (Antrim History Committee 1977:51; Antrim Historical Society 1997:76). Based on the appearance of the building in the 1905 photograph, the building has undergone extensive renovations in order to accommodate its conversion from an outbuilding to a dwelling.