Sleighter House and Livery

Northwest Connecticut towns early became a Mecca for people seeking escape from the heat, noise and grime of summer in the city. This old hotel, originally known as the Sleighter House and Livery at the turn of the last century, was close to the railroad tracks on the site of the current Kent Memorial Library.

The Sleighter family lived just across Main Street. It later became the Kent Plains Hotel, run by Dave Templeton. This photo was taken two years before it burned down.

The old Hotel Stables in the background were used by the Kent Volunteer Fire Department as its firehouse until the department dismantled it and built a larger brick one on the same site.

The old stables may have been cut in two and used in other structures. When the KVFD eventually built an even bigger place on Maple Street, the library took over the brick firehouse, which now serves as storage space for its summer-long used book sale.

-Photo Courtesy of the Kent Historical Society