Like an intricately woven tapestry, the history of the Hanover Inn reflects the growth and changes of the College. Eleven years after Dartmouth was founded in 1769 via a charter granted by King George III, General Ebenezer Brewster arrived in Hanover to accept a position as the College steward. His home occupied the present site of the Inn.
An enterprising Connecticut Yankee, General Brewster redesigned his home in 1780 and converted it into a tavern. One historian notes that his new enterprise was "not altogether, it would seem, to the gratification of the College authorities."
However, business flourished; and in 1813 General Brewster's son, Amos, had the tavern moved to another site and initiated construction of a much larger building (he accomplished this by first inducing his father to take an extended trip!).
The larger structure became known as the Dartmouth Hotel, and it housed both the permanent residents and transients. Professor Edwin J. Bartlett vividly recalls in a Dartmouth Book of Remembrance his two-year stay at a cost of six dollars per week (per person, including meals): "One would almost conclude that it was planned, furnished and managed to drive its guests to homes of their own." One old settler echoed the professor's opinion when, in 1887, the hotel burned to the ground: "God finally visited his wrath upon this architectural conglomeration by burning it down."
Two years later the Wheelock Hotel was erected, and in 1901 the College began an extensive two-year reconstruction and remodeling of the facility. Upon its completion, the new building was named the Hanover Inn.
Since that time, the history of the Inn has been one of continual growth and expansion. In 1924 an East Wing was added, providing an additional 48 rooms for a total of 92. Exterior expansion, including an outdoor dining terrace and landscaping, was initiated in 1939.
