The flag on Main Street rippled in the air on the morning of Friday, August 26, up the street from the Inn at Newtown, where a handful of people entered and mingled between antiques and items on display throughout the building as The Newtown Bee reported at the time. Newtown, 1705-1918 as the year Cyrenius Booth married Sarah Edmond, daughter of Judge William Edmond.Newtown, Past and Present, published by the League of Women Voters of Newtown in 1975 - the couple chose to live in the family home, and their daughter, Mary Elizabeth Hawley, who would become known as Newtown's benefactress, would later live there, too.Newtown, Past and Present, Marcus Hawley "used to commute daily to his offices in Bridgeport or New York driving to Newtown Station in a two-wheeled gig with a pair of Dalmatians running under it."Newtown, Past and Present, after Sarah Hawley's death at the age of 63, "people learned that a tiled bathroom and many other improvements were being installed in the old house. Before long the family carriage horses, Samson and Dewey, were replaced by a big Pierce-Arrow car, and Miss Hawley seems to have had a little fun at last, taking daily drives and extended motor trips with new-made friends."

Kelly Carter stood behind a counter, greeting people almost as quickly as did his 6-month-old border collie, Clyde.

Following an early January announcement by inn proprietor Rob Ryder of its demise, the 19 Main Street landmark closed its doors when dinner service ended on Sunday, January 10,

Since it closed, Mr Carter said his company, Carter's Trading Post of New Milford, has been assisting in the liquidation of the property. On the last weekend of each month, Mr Carter has been hosting sales to facilitate the process, adding pieces to bolster the draw for buyers.

In 1999, according to the inn's website, the Ryder Family purchased the Inn at Newtown, formerly known as the Hawley Inn and Mary Hawley Manor, for just over $1 million. Besides its catering facilities and the basement pub, Proud Mary's, the Inn also offered three guest rooms, each with its own bathroom.

The town website shows the 12,000-square-foot main building currently appraised at $1.64 million. Additional buildings on the property were not included in the appraisal.

According to Town Historian Dan Cruson, Cyrenius Booth built his house on the site in 1820 - the same year Newtown's first unofficial town historian Ezra Levan Johnson credited in his book

Cyrenius Booth's house is the first known structure on the site, and he lived there until he died in 1870, Mr Cruson said.

When Cyrenius and Sarah Booth's daughter, Sarah, married Marcus Clinton Hawley - "an astute business man," as noted in

As Mr Carter's dog made its way between antiques on August 26, it was easy to picture the two dogs that once lived there. As noted in

After Cyrenius Booth died, his daughter oversaw renovations in 1871, Mr Cruson said.

"That renovation just about doubled the space," said Mr Cruson, adding that some of the original structure can still be seen, like the entrance. The Inn's reception area would have been used as a parlor when the Booth and Hawley families lived there.

The renovation work left the original structure intact, Mr Cruson said, and what cannot be seen still remains within the walls.

After the renovations of 1871, much of the structure is thought to have remained the same for a time. Mary Hawley's mother was a recluse and staunchly resisted change, Mr Cruson said. The house did not have a telephone until Sarah Hawley's doctor insisted one be installed, due to her poor health at the time.

When Sarah Hawley died, Mr Cruson said, a horse and wagon was still being used at the home, but Mary Hawley commanded some changes to the household.

According to

Mr Cruson said the original stables, possibly built in Cyrenius Booth's time, are still viewable on the property. That structure was later attached to the rest of the house.

Mary Hawley died in 1930, while Edmond Town Hall, named for her grandfather, was still being built up the road from the family home, according to Mr Cruson. The house was then renovated and reopened as the Hawley Manor Inn. Mr Cruson said the Hawley Manor Inn, under its first owner, was primarily an eatery with rooms for people passing through town to stay in. Some people, mostly women, were known to have lived at the inn full-time.

Between the inn's first owner and its latest, Mr Cruson said it was overseen by three to four different owners.

Main Street Memories

When Newtown Zoning Coordinator and Liaison Official Jean St Jean was looking to move to Newtown from Long Island in 1968, she said she stayed at the Inn at Newtown for three to four days.

"It was a lovely inn at the time," Ms St Jean said recently. "It was very nice. The food was good and the people were lovely."

The space was comfortable. And everyone in town was welcoming and friendly, "and they are to this day," she said.

"Main Street was charming then and it is charming now," said Ms St Jean.

Borough Senior Burgess Joan Crick shared some of her memories from growing up on Main Street.

"We all thought it was beautiful," Ms Crick said of the inn.

Roughly between 1942 and 1950, Ms Crick said she and other children would walk by or play on the property. She remembers two statues of dogs in particular.

"We used to get on them and pretend we were riding them," she recalled.

As a child, Ms Crick said she was not allowed in the property's garden, where the parking lot is now, but she remembers, "It was beautiful."

Mr Cruson said Mary Hawley added the "fairly spectacular" gardens on the property, just to the south of her house.

An Uncertain Future

Joe Wrinn of Goodfellow Real Estate is overseeing the sale of the property with fellow realtors Bob Cascella and Garett Palmer, according to the sign now posted on the site. Mr Wrinn spoke as a representative of Mr Ryder.

Mr Wrinn said he hopes the "very near future" will offer more possibilities for what the building can be, but until then he said the group and the town are working to see how the space can be used.

"[We are] evaluating what we believe could be acceptable, what works with the zoning and what might work with some modifications," said Mr Wrinn.

So far, Mr Wrinn said, there has been interest from various restaurants, but the building may or may not continue as a food establishment.

"We're open for anything, and we have a very good team working on it," said Mr Wrinn.

Between helping people browsing antiques August 26, Mr Carter shared some of his hopes for the space. He said he can imagine a different use for the building. He loves the historical aspect of the property and can envision a new use for each area. Mr Carter said he dreams of an antique market, "like you have never seen before." He can picture hosting something between a flea market and a farmer's market on the property along with offering antiques.

The building that houses Carter's Trading Post in New Milford was falling down before his company moved in and started the process of rebuilding, he said.

Motioning around him at the inn, Mr Carter said, "We're trying to help preserve the building - until someone comes along and buys it."

Until then, Mr Carter said he sees opportunity. If he had his wish, Mr Carter said more than 100 vendors could be hosted at the site, and a venue of some sort could be permanently established in the basement.

Newtown resident Maria McLennan has been helping Mr Carter arrange items at the inn, and she shares Mr Carter's hopes for the space.

"It would be nice if this became a little village, if you will - a little destination," said Ms McLennan, adding that somewhere to spend more than half an hour on Main Street would add foot traffic for local businesses.

Director of Planning George Benson said on Thursday, August 25, that there is no definite answer as to how the building can be used. The inn was "grandfathered," allowing it to be used as an inn and restaurant in a residential zone.

"Right now, it is residential; it could be one house," said Mr Benson. "It's kind of complicated and we are right in the middle of trying to figure out what kind of thing it could be."

Another aspect being reviewed is what could replace the building if it cannot be repaired and must be demolished.

Mr Benson said the Land Use Agency is working on coming to a consensus about what the property's possibilities are. There is also a chance that someone could buy it and repair it to continue being used as an inn and restaurant, he said. In that case it would need renovations, design approval, and the Borough would have to make a zoning decision.

There has been nothing official yet, according Mr Benson, concerning concrete plans for the property, but there are ideas "floating around."

As a member of the Borough, Ms Crick said, "We are holding our breath and hoping someone will be interested in it." Later she added, "Time marches on, but I hope it doesn't touch [the building] and our Main Street."