Discover Marlboro: The Farmer’s Hotel/ McMullen’s Hotel

Originally erected between 1827-1828 by Lewis Mapes as the Farmer’s Hotel, this building has seen many owners over the years, but has generally kept its same exterior appearance. During the late 1800s and through the early 1900s, the McMullen family took over and renamed the building as the Pleasant View Hotel.

Later, it became known as Mondello’s by locals, and then in the 1980s, it was renamed the Raccoon Saloon. The Raccoon Saloon is rumored to have received its name from the family of raccoons that once lived there. During the early 1900s, they would come up through the walls and patrons would feed them!

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Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps from 1886 show that the hotel had a bowling alley in the basement and also contained a reading room. By 1895, there is no longer any indication of this.

While no longer a hotel, the Raccoon Saloon is a popular restaurant in town, frequently patronized by visitors and locals alike.

Sources:

Mahan, M. (2002). The First Hundred Years (p. 11). Lincoln, NE: iUniverse.

“Old Marlborough Hotel Changes Hands.” (1930). The Kingston Daily Freeman

Sanborn Map Company. (1886). “Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Marlboro, Ulster County, New York.” Library of Congress.

Sanborn Map Company. (1895). “Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Marlboro, Ulster County, New York.” Library of Congress.

Town of Marlborough Bi-Centennial Committee (1978). Picture Book: As We Were- As We Are: Marlborough-Milton. NY. (p. 27). Saugerties, NY: Hope and Farm Press Bookshop.