Sudden, and yet not unexpected, was the announcement last Friday evening which went from house to house and club to business place, that William Kelley, well-known landlord and busy citizen, had passed away.
Mr. Kelley had been confined to the house for about ten days, although he had been ailing for the past six weeks. The cause of his sickness and death was Brights disease, which, once seated, made fast inroads upon his naturally rugged frame.
A handsome sign, “Kelley House,” in black and gold, was put in position on the front of that hotel a few days ago, the work of Painter Chas. A. Joy. A new house-flag has also been flung to the breeze, “Kelley’s,” the gift to the house of Mrs. Marshall Shepard, who has been in the past a frequent guest at the Kelley House.
For the first time in more than a quarter of a century a full-fledged inn is open year-round in Edgartown center, serving meals as well as offering accommodations.
One of the best known traditions of the old Kelley House at Edgartown was its semi-annual entertainment of the Justice of the Superior Court and his suite on the occasion of the sittings of the court in and for the County of Dukes County at Edgartown. The sittings used to fall in April and September, and many stories are still told of Bill Kelley and how, on occasion, he took the judge on a tour of Chappaquiddick while the court stood in recess.
For many years the house opened in time for the spring sitting and closed after the fall sitting.
This commodious hotel is now open to the public. The proprietor, Mr. Joseph Kelley, is a gentleman every way worthy of the confidence of visitors, and one who will spare no pains to make his patrons comfortable, and so well pleased as to desire to prolong their stay. We trust the “Vineyard” may be prospered under this new administration.
The Kelley House garden in Edgartown resumes a portion of its former beauty as it is cleared of the wreckage of the hurricane, and the setting has changed through the addition of two annex buildings increasing the capacity of the ancient hotel.
To Vineyarders the most interesting contribution to a recent symposium on favorite vacation spots published by Vogue is that Mrs. Price Post, who tells of her summer home on Fuller street, Edgartown. An atmospheric little sketch accompanies the contribution which is as follows:
The house (formerly known as the Norton House) having been leased by Mr. L. S. Roberts of Boston and thoroughly refitted, and newly furnished, in a manner becoming a first-class hotel, is now open as a public hotel for the accommodation of the public. Mr. Roberts in furnishing his apartments had in mind the comfort of his patrons, and we venture to say that all sojourners that place themselves under his care will readily testify that he can “keep a hotel.”
An Edgartown pioneer dating back to 1742 is all that survives of the five great oak tree trunks, rough-hewn, which were one of the distinctive features of the entrance to the Great Harbour Inn. The corner post toward North Water street is still one of the original set, but for various reasons and particularly the fact that Kelley street has been raised from time to time, it seemed best to replace the others. Originally there were five of these huge posts, but two were replaced some time ago when the stairs were added.
The Marcy House, recently opened in this village, is in excellent order for the accommodation of travelers. Every thing about it is neat and attractive, and the landlord is a presevering, go-a-head, live yankee, determined to meet with large success.
