Tabitha Inn (1905)

71 Center Street

Built to accommodate an increase in visitors to Fairhaven, this well-appointed Elizabethan style hotel was named after Rogers’ maternal great-grandmother, Tabitha (Crowell) Huttlestone. At the time it was built, the Tabitha Inn was considered one of the finest small accommodations outside of Boston or New York. Mark Twain and other notable friends of the Rogers family stayed here. Following the death of Mark Twain, his personal valet, Claude Joseph Beuchotte, was hired by Col. Henry “Harry” Rogers Jr. to manage the inn.

In 1929, the Tabitha Inn became the property Barney Zeitz, who lived one block away at the corner of Center and Green streets. Zeiterion Realty Corp. operated the hotel until
WWII, when the building housed Coast Guard cadets. In 1944, the Tabitha Inn was purchased by the Fall River Diocese of the Catholic Church for use as a nursing home. It’s name was then changed to Our Lady’s Haven. A 150-room brick addition was built to the rear in the 1953.