What You'll Find Here

Built around 1865, The Admiral Peary House was originally known as "the house of three gables". In 1877, the original house, (with gambrel roof shown left, circa 1900) became home to a young Robert E. Peary, the explorer who on April 6, 1909 would become the first person to lead a team to the North Pole. Since Peary's time, our historic home has been enjoyed by some of Fryeburg's most prominent families, including the Seaveys and the Hastings. It became a bed and breakfast in 1988 and now offers guests a comfortable, upscale environment in which to relax and unwind.

Guest rooms are furnished with a mix of antiques and reproductions, combining traditional elegance with contemporary style, comfort and modern conveniences, such as wireless internet access. An iron and ironing board is available on request.

Common rooms are spacious and there are several to choose from allowing you privacy for a quiet drink and a book or your laptop, or interaction with other guests if you prefer. Cable TV, VCR and DVD are available in the main living room, together with our very popular regulation-size pool table, and 24 hour guest pantry stocked with a selection of complimentary hot and cold beverages and snacks. The parlor is comfortable and quiet and the 3-season enclosed porch overlooking our lawns is especially inviting for a late afternoon cup of tea or glass of wine or beer. And you'll find us friendly, helpful and attentive but not intrusive. We love chatting to you, but our goal is to leave you alone to enjoy your stay as much as possible while discreetly ensuring you're well taken care of.

Your Innkeepers

H & D - you're a great team!

- Mary & Eric, Cheshire, CT

Hilary Jones and Derrek Schlottmann took over as innkeepers in July 2003 under the management of inn-cats, Emmy and Pebbles, who haven't seen a reason to replace them yet. As managers often do, Emmy and Pebbles tend to rule from behind the scenes, though Emmy is happy to be invited upstairs to meet guests on occasion.

Originally from London England, Hilary is a twenty year hospitality veteran having worked extensively in Catering, then Information Technology in hotels around the world including the famous Pebble Beach Resort in California. Her passion is music and she sings with various local choral groups. Derrek is from Colorado and spent 6 years in the Navy as a Nuclear Reactor Operator after which his career took him all round the U.S. as a Field Service Engineer in pharmaceutical robotics. Derrek is also an accomplished Chef who used to unwind from robots by spending hours in the kitchen cooking multi-course dinners. He says cooking isn't so relaxing these days, but he secretly relishes his own daily cooking show which is breakfast in our vast open kitchen. Guests are encouraged to heckle! Both are outdoor enthusiasts and enjoy hiking and biking and getting out into the mountains whenever possible. They're also original bloggers having had a journal on this site since they moved in (and before blogging was fashionable) documenting their daily lives as innkeepers and posting useful information on local area events on a regular basis.

About the Admiral

Born in Pennsylvania, Peary spent most of his childhood in Maine, attending school in both North Bridgton and Portland. Graduating from Bowdoin college in 1877 with a degree in civil engineering, Peary returned home to his mother in Fryeburg where he became the Town Surveyor for a couple of years before securing a job in the Drafts corp in Washington D.C. Although he is most famous for his Arctic achievements, Peary was also involved with other significant milestones in his time. The government assigned Peary to the Nicaragua Canal project (now known as the Panama Canal), where he invented the rolling lock-gates that are used along its length. By the end of the project he was Engineer-in-Chief of the survey team. Intrigued as well, by the Wright Brothers' experiments with powered aircraft, he began surveying the East Coast for possible air-defense sites. His suggestions to the defense department are still in use today for air-defense. On his death, Peary was buried in Arlington Cemetery. His memorial bears the shape of a smooth terrestrial globe made of white Maine granite with an inscription which reads in Latin "Inveniam Viam Aut Facium", meaning "I shall find a way or make one." For more information on Peary's life and to read about the historic North Pole Journey, visit his excellent official website.