Page 115 - John Anderson

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remodeled, a home was built for the stable master, a pump house
was built and a new guest annex was also part of the project. A golf
course, tennis courts and private lake (named for his wife, Caroline)
would come later. The new hotel was ready for guests in 1895. It
had a railroad station in the front and another in the back as two rail
lines served the area.
Stickney at first contracted with Barron, Merrill and Barron to manage
the hotel. (They managed the Crawford House, The Twin Mountain
House and the Fabyan House.)
However, when planning the addition and remodeling, he hired the
firm of Anderson and Price to manage the Mount Pleasant House,
starting in 1895, for a fee of $3,000 per year plus room and board for
each season. Here, also, Mr. Anderson stood godfather and bestowed
the name "Bretton Woods" from Sir Thomas Wentworth's estate in
Yorkshire, England. Sir Thomas and seventy-two others originally
named it in 1770 for that tract, but after the Revolution, when it
became a town in 1832, that name was abandoned and it was called
"Carroll," so named after Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of
Independence. In 1902, when the large hotel was built, Mr. Anderson
restored the old name, Bretton Woods, as an area within the town of
Carroll, New Hampshire.
A fascinating letter survives from Anderson and Price, dated March
14, 1895. It discusses their recommendations for improvements to
the hotel, how to increase business, and their thoughts on
competition. They anticipated significant friction with the Barron
firm. "They will make a bitter and unrelenting fight, using every
opportunity and every means to cut the business of the Mount
Pleasant House." Anderson and Price recommended having "good
music" and suggested hiring a four piece orchestra that they used in
a Florida hotel at a cost of $98.00 per week. The letter stresses the
importance of a good livery and good horses. They recommended a
suitable manager for this part of the business and say they should
"start with ten or a dozen horses". They suggested having a herd of
twelve cows to supply milk, "if there is room to pasture them". If not,
"we might have six just to show the guests and buy the rest of our

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