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Sleigh Maker Inn -Bed and Breakfast
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The Sleigh Maker Inn is Rich with History Part of the charm associated with the Sleigh Maker Inn comes from it’s storied past. In 1893, Forrest W. Forbes built this 3 story Eastlake Victorian home and presented it to his wife, Etta, as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve, 105 years later this fine home began a two-year restoration project, emerging as the Sleigh Maker Inn, one of Boston Metro-West’s finest examples of Victorian lodging. The Inn, along with the Sleigh Maker guest room, take their theme from the chosen profession of Forrest Forbes. Like his father, Daniel W. Forbes, Forrest was a sleigh maker. Daniel Forbes was the first to make a special business of sleigh making when he and his brother Baxter opened their shop around 1840. Eventually nine sleigh manufacturers opened for business in the town of Westborough. D.W. Forbes and Sons was the oldest manufacturer in the United States and the largest in Westborough, producing approximately 1,200 sleighs a year. The sleighs were mainly one and two horse cutter sleighs, which were smaller sleighs, intended to carry two people. On November 18, 1717, the town of Westborough was incorporated, becoming the 100th town established in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. There were 27 families and approximately 40 settlers living within the perimeters of the new town. That is a far cry from the 18,000 people that now call Westborough home. The predominant industries in the town during its inception were straw hats and, of course, sleighs. In the 21st century, respected global companies such as Staples, Bose and EMC all have offices in Westborough. The town of Westborough has also given the world several famous personalities, including Winter Olympic Gold Medalist, Nikki Stone, and inventor of the cotton gin, Eli Whitney. In 1997 the home was purchase by Ann Tobin and Diane Ahlman with the dream of turning it into a Bed and Breakfast. The Sleigh Maker Inn Bed and Breakfast was open in 2001. The inn was sold to Deborah and James Bergeron, the current innkeepers and re-opened in late May 2005.
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