The Hancock Inn (now The Inn at Hancock)
Hancock, New Hampshire · Early Republic · Est. 1789 · Open today
Since 1789
The inn opened in 1789 — the year George Washington first took the oath of office — as a coaching inn in the Monadnock region, on what was then an emerging trade route between Vermont and Boston. It is recognized as New Hampshire's oldest continuously operating inn, run by 12 innkeepers over more than two centuries, and its tavern (long known as the Fox Tavern) served travelers and locals throughout. In April 2022, Boston-based investor group 33 Main Street, LLC bought the property for its $1.15 million asking price and launched a comprehensive restoration originally budgeted at $2.6 million. The tavern dining rooms reopened in November 2024 with the Hunt Bar & Scullery and the new Pinks Lounge, and the fully restored 15-suite property reopened as The Inn at Hancock on May 1, 2026, with Executive Chef Craig Hastings leading food and beverage.
The inn has been welcoming guests since 1789, the year George Washington was inaugurated, and had only about a dozen innkeepers in its first 233 years before the 2022 sale.
What to order: Pinks Lounge — a crimson, hunt-culture-inspired cocktail lounge with an eccentric drink list — alongside the Hunt Bar & Scullery tavern, both opened in the 2024 renovation.
How solid is the claim?
New Hampshire’s oldest bar — the evidence
The Hancock Inn (now The Inn at Hancock) in Hancock is our featured pick for the oldest bar in New Hampshire, with a claimed founding year of 1789. Multiple independent sources (Keene Sentinel, Forbes, NH Magazine, regional outlets) consistently cite it as New Hampshire's oldest continuously operating inn and the state's oldest bar/restaurant, dating to 1789, with no credible rival claim found. Gaps: a multi-year renovation closure (2022-2024/26), an ownership change, and a rebrand from 'Hancock Inn' to 'The Inn at Hancock' interrupt the marketing of seamless continuity.
Sources
- 1. Historic Hancock Inn eyeing renovations, reopening under new ownership — The Keene Sentinel
- 2. An 18th-Century New Hampshire Inn Is Reborn As The Inn At Hancock — Forbes (April 2026)
- 3. The Inn at Hancock reopens for dining after renovations — Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
- 4. Get A Look At New Hampshire's Oldest Bar Still Open After 229 Years — WOKQ
- 5. The Inn at Hancock (official site)