End Of An Era: The Stanhope House Has Permanently Closed
Stanhope House
There’s a sign inside The Stanhope House in Sussex County that reads “Since the beginning of man, the hours between dusk and dawn have belonged to the tellers of tales and the makers of music,” Stanhope House c. 1790
It had been a private home, a stagecoach stop, a general store, post office, tavern, rooming house and hotel but it took until the 1970s for it to become “The Last American Roadhouse,” as they billed themselves. Stevie Ray Vaughan once did dishes in its kitchen. Muddy Waters once traded recipes. Willie Dixon enjoyed a Thanksgiving there. From The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Dr. John, Lonnie Mack, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Richie Havens and John Lee Hooker to Johnny Winter, Jorma Kaukonen, Buddy Guy, Warren Haynes, Albert Collins and Albert King, they all played the blues there.
Then from the hip-hop of KRS-One and the roots-rock of Rusted Root to the swamp-blues of Tab Benoit and the comedy of Gilbert Gottfried, all oversaw by the venue’s own ghost who would mysteriously clean and put away dirty dishes in the middle of the night, or so they swore, Main Street in Stanhope, off Route #80, was a national destination.
Last week’s announcement read “Effective immediately, the decision has been made to close The Stanhope House. All tickets purchased…will be refunded.” Owner Jon Klein had tried to sell to a developer who was planning to build 40+ apartments and a parking garage. The plan was rejected by town fathers last year in May with an overflow crowd voicing their complaints against tearing down the venerable cultural institution. The headline at www.northjersey.com read “Historic Blues Club Gets Reprieve After Council Rejects Redevelopment Plan.”
Covid didn’t help. The venue never really recovered. Repairs to the roof, basement, plumbing and parking exacerbated the problems. Since the building—shockingly—does not have any official historic designation, there’s no telling what will happen to it.