Have a HISToric STAY

26 Water Street - the legacy of the RJ Vickers Herbery remains, as a new era of stewards enters. Built as the J.R. Johnson House (c. 1840) (aka, E.W. Barker House (c. 1874)), this building was located where the Chester Fire Department at 81 Main Street is until 1905, when it was moved by James Wood to its present location to accommodate a new Chester schoolhouse. For years, it was a residence until approximately 1982 when the first floor was converted to retail space and an apartment kept on the 2nd and 3rd floors. It was lovingly known as “the herbery” until last year. The building’s integrity has been persevered, even through the floods of 1936, and further preserved/restored  by its current owner. The delightful planters and pathways in the garden remain, offering some of the same plants and spices put in by the herbery; a commemoration of its past. A splendid romance bookshop, Montgomery and Taggert, occupies the first-floor retail space today.