VALLEY GREEN INN

In the mid-1800s, the valley was changing from an industrial center to a recreational area. A new turnpike gave people easy access to the valley's beauty. The Valley Green Hotel, built in 1850, gave them a place to eat, drink and rest.

The hotel hosted dances, sleigh parties and countless visitors. But time took its toll and the hotel went through several renovations.

The most significant took place in 1899 when the Colonial Dames restored the rundown building and added new elements like leaded glass windows. The building then became known as the Valley Green Inn.

Other inns have come and gone along the Wissahickon. Now only Valley Green, one of the most beloved places in the park, is still in operation.

1850

The long, low building near the Inn is a warming shed. Guests could keep their horses stabled here to protect them during bad weather. The Friends of the Wissahickon restored the shed in 1999. Keeping true to the original, they used old-fashioned joinery with wooden pegs instead of nails.

The renovated warming shed still shelters riders and their horses.

From:iodine