An Exciting Discovery
When we purchased The Woolverton Inn (early 2016) we wanted to learn about the history of this impressive property, so well-cared for, in the heart of central New Jersey and close to New Hope PA. Our new innkeeper Kailea began a research effort to collect whatever historical information she could find and ultimately share the stories with our guests. One early discovery was our connection to Julia Child, the world famous chef, who was married on the stone patio of our Manor House in 1946. As you can imagine, our mission to serve delicious meals is even more powerful knowing that Julia Child could be watching!
For the Love of Food
“The more you know, the more you can create. There’s no end to imagination in the kitchen.” -Julia Child
The Woolverton Manor and surrounding acreage is nestled on top of a bluff, so close to the Delaware River, the strength of the current can be heard from the grounds on a quiet night. It can be easy to forget that the property is a Bed and Breakfast in that quiet – and so much easier to see the family home that it was for the better part of 200 years. The manor was a home filled with laughter, parties, celebrity sightings, and of course – every day meals.
When I started on as an Innkeeper, Mary and Mario had only recently acquired the Woolverton Inn, and we were all new transplants to the area. We had no real connection to the history of the property. After communicating my love for history, Mary presented me with a challenge: find as much information about the history of the property as possible, compile it, and then figure out a way to display it.
The Historical Society of Hunterdon County was only open one day during the week, so, as any good researcher does, I arrived as soon as the front doors opened. I spent months reading through file after file, tax records, property transfer and sale information- until words blurred together.
My big break was an email from a man named Thaddeus Seymour – son of Whitney North Seymour. Whitney (Attorney, and 84th president of the American Bar Association) and his wife Lola purchased the Woolverton Manor and surrounding property in 1939 and sold it in 1955 to local legend Sinjin (St.) John Terrell. Thaddeus and I exchanged emails back and forth for a long while, and he gave me this beautiful lead – “Did you know Julia Child was married on property in 1946?” I almost didn’t believe him, until I found pictures of her wedding day.
Pictured below are Julia and her husband Paul. They’re sitting on a stone surround (that is still situated at the front of the Woolverton Inn – see breakfast picture above), toasting champagne after their wedding. The Inn remains quiet about this beautiful piece of our history, although we will boast to our guests who find the photograph hanging in our dining room.
Julia Child was famous for making French cuisine accessible to American audiences. She was one of the first women to host her own televised cooking show, she pioneered future generations of cooking shows, and taught one of the Woolverton Inn’s most appreciated beliefs: you don’t have to cook complicated dishes – just good food from fresh ingredients.
Early mornings at the Manor start gently, as the kitchen opens and we start a pot of fresh coffee. Chef will start to slow-cook our famous “Woolverton bacon”, we pop the office door open, and slowly the air starts to fill with smells of home. The deep connection between food, family, and business is engrained into the pores of this property, and our guests feel it when they sit to eat. That connection from our home to yours is what sets the Woolverton Inn apart, and is the reason we truly love each and every morning. Food is a love language, and Julia Child spoke it perfectly.
Kailea, Innkeeper
Book your stay today and see the place where Julia Child was married. Call 609 397 0802, or book directly online at www.woolvertoninn.com.