WHY GO: It seems that every Hollywood star, US President and famous author visited Milford PA when Louis Fauchere, Master Chef at New York’s celebrated Delmonico’s Restaurant opened Hotel Fauchere in the 1880 as a summer escape for city-weary folk.
Now open year round, and having earned a Relais and Chateaux designation, the still-in-operation Fauchere is but one reason to skip over the New York border to this Pennsylvania resort town in the Pocono Mountains. But it’s not the only thing to do in Milford PA.
(For more dreamy destination ideas in Pennsylvania, check out our Best Romantic Getaways in PA post.
Milford is “The North Gate” of the 70,000-acre Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on the Delaware River, and was summer home to the founder of the US Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot. So, you know the landscape has to be divine. But what makes Milford “offbeat,” in addition to being romantic, is that it’s home to a relic soaked in the blood of Abraham Lincoln, dating from the night of his assassination. Come to Milford PA to be spoiled by Mother Nature and Man. And, to be immersed in a piece of tragic US history.
VISIT: Pike County Historical Society at the Columns Museum
Inconceivably, the Pike County Historical Society at the Columns is the final resting place of a relic of major historical significance. On display is one of the most historic flags in US history: The one used to cradle President Abraham Lincoln’s head after he was shot. You can behold this bloodstained piece of cloth among a great number of really strange artifacts.
How did the flag get to this out of the way, small town place, you ask?
How Did the Bloody American Flag Banner Get Here?
Well, Thomas Gourlay was stage manager of the Ford Theater in Washington DC as well as an actor. He appeared in “My American Cousin” with his two actress daughters, Jeannie and Maggie, on April 14th, 1865. From the stage, the three witnessed the assassination of President Lincoln.
In the madness, Gourlay took the flag banner that had cradled Lincoln’s bloody head. He passed it down to Jeannie, who retired to Milford in 1888. Before Jeannine died, she gave the flag to her only son, Paul Struthers, who donated it, and other personal effects, to the local Historical Society.
But knowing how the flag got here, and actually being within inches of it are two very different things. It is positively goose-bump provoking in person.
More Than the Lincoln Flag
The Lincoln Flag, however, is not the only important artifact in this unique museum. There’s a constellation of oddities to be seen, among them a collection of Civil War pencil sketches and watercolors rendered by Theodore Kline between skirmishes on the battlefield – some on the back of music sheets. And handcuffs and noose used to arrest and then hang Herman Schultz, who murdered his wife in 1898.
Upstairs, you’ll find a piece of wreckage from a plane owned by Charles Lindberg that had crashed nearby in 1928. It was grabbed, like the Flag downstairs, as a rather twisted souvenir. Check website for hours and days open, and admission fees.
TOUR: Grey Towers National Historic Site
You shouldn’t leave Milford without at least an amble around the breathtaking grounds of Grey Towers, the imposing mansion home to Gifford Pinchot, Pennsylvania’s Governor. In addition to being the first US Governor to appoint an African-American and a woman in his Cabinet, Pinchot also founded the US Forest Service.
Historically, artists and public servants have generally been supported by rich parents, or a wealthy spouse. So, too, here. Grey Towers was actually built in 1886 by Gifford’s parents – a wallpaper tycoon and his heiress wife – to mirror the mansion of the Marquis De Lafayette (whose bust is nestled in the stonework).
The imposing edifice, strictly a summer home, was constructed from local, hand cut bluestone, slate, and flagstone. Gifford, the oldest child of four, inherited the home in the 1920’s, and lived here with his wife, Cornelia.
Welcome Into Grey Towers
A one-hour tour begins outside for an overview. (And what an absorbing view it is). Then, with mounting anticipation, you’re invited into the wide Great Hall – looking like it did in the 1880’s – as if you were a guest.
You can take pictures and sit on furniture, unless otherwise indicated. In other words, you’re made to feel comfortably at home here, just as Cornelia was when she’d breeze into the hall after a morning ride and throw her saddle on the couch.
Feminist Cornelia
Gifford met Cornelia, a politically active suffragist and feminist, while working on Teddy Roosevelt’s campaign in 1912. Cornelia poo-poo’d the strict Victorian gender division of men and women in the home. She united the rooms that once served as the men’s smoking chamber and the women’s gossip parlor into one library for all.
And she brought a sense of fun and casualness to the place. I’ve seen impressive outdoor water features before, but never a so-called “Finger Bowl Table.” Dinner guests would stand around a large, thigh-high basin and send floating bowls of food to each other. It seemed so festive and “roaring 20’s.”
Influence of George Perkins Marsh’s Man and Nature
Gifford was highly influenced by the 1864 book Man and Nature by George Perkins Marsh – a dire warning and call to arms about the rampant pillaging of our natural resources. His signed 1882 edition of the book sits under a glass dome in the library.
There was no Forestry Department at Yale when Gifford matriculated in 1889. To rectify this, he and his father, who’d made a fortune cutting down trees to make wallpaper, endowed the prestigious Graduate School of Forestry at Yale University in 1900.
In 1963, just weeks before he was assassinated, President John F. Kennedy dedicated Grey Towers as a National Historic Landmark. Check website for downloadable self-guided grounds-tour, and other visitor’s information about guided tours.
Grey Towers is one of the most quirky-romantic places to propose in PA.
Where to Eat in Milford PA (and Port Jervis NY)
EAT: Fogwood and Fig, Port Jervis NY
Though Port Jervis is 7 miles from Milford PA, I include the plant-based Fogwood+Fig here because 1) it’s the only vegan restaurant within 30 miles, and 2) my non-meat-eating husband states that he’d drive 1 ½ hours from our home to eat this incredible food.
EAT/DRINK/DINNER: Bar Louis, Hotel Faucher
Bar Louis is situated in the basement of the Hotel Fauchere. It’s where the hep cats gather, deals are done, introductions are made – all within sight of Chris Makos’s large glossy photograph of Andy Warhol kissing John Lennon.
It’s a city-folk-visit-country crowd. Everyone seems dressed as if going to an art opening. Dishes are adorably inventive. I’d return for the multi-textured-flavored signature Sushi Pizza and grilled Thai Ribs alone. But everything is tasty and perfect for sharing.
EAT: Delmonico Room, Hotel Fauchere
Named for the famed New York restauranteur, the Delmonico Room is now open for Brunch only.
EAT: Locals recommend
John’s of Arthur Ave. for pizza. Tequila Sunrise for great Mexican food. Waterwheel for “always fresh” lunch. The Social for Italian. And Village Diner for a traditional 50’s diner experience (and awesome desserts).
Where to Stay in Milford PA
STAY: Hotel Fauchere
The Hotel Fauchere has been a Milford Landmark since it opened in this space in the 1880’s. Now a Relais and Chateaux property, with stunning guest rooms out of a photo shoot, it is notable enough to warrant its own post.
STAY/BUDGET: Myer Country Motel
Little cottage rooms at the Myer Country Motel – a comfortable 40’s style motel are inexpensive, but not cheap. With wainscoting and freshly painted deep hued walls, it’s a blast from the past with prices, it seems, right from that era as well. Check website for room rates.
