On the Market in the Poconos: Historic Inn in Mount Pocono

This picture-perfect traditional house in the heart of the Poconos welcomed visitors for many years under the ownership of Mayor Roger Horne. Now former Mayor Michael Penn, who has called it home since 2017, is moving on and offering you the opportunity to emulate his predecessor as the owner of 37 Knob Rd., Mt. Pocono, PA 18344 / Photography by Christopher Urena via BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors except where noted

Are you one of those people who enjoys making others feel right at home?

Or perhaps you loved the bucolic setting of the late Bob Newhart’s last sitcom, set in a bed-and-breakfast inn in Vermont.

If either of these describes you, or if you have a similar desire to be an innkeeper, I have good news for you today: You won’t have to go to Vermont to realize your dream.

And even if you don’t have dreams of hosting guests lodged in your head, this Mount Pocono historic inn house for sale will make an excellent place to lay your own head down.

Why all the talk here of lodging and hospitality? Those things are bred into this house’s bones.

This mountaintop retreat dates back a little more than a century, to 1920. Originally, it served as lodging for crews who were building the railroad that runs at the base of the hill on which this house sits. After the railroad was completed, then-Mount Pocono mayor Roger Horne turned it into a guest house called Horne’s Inn. A fire severely damaged the house in the early 1940s, but it was rebuilt around 1945.

Horne’s Inn promotional postcard from the 1940s / Postcard image courtesy Michael Penn

The legend on the back of this hand-colored postcard promoting the guest house before the fire boasted that it sat at “2,000 feet elevation. Most beautiful view in the Poconos. Large airy rooms and the best of food.”

All of these things still describe this house today, except maybe the part about the food. That is entirely up to you. But this house has everything you need to prepare it but the ingredients. Those are also up to you.

But before I get to the proof of that, let’s take a look at what else you will find on its main floor.

Living room

The front door leads from its welcoming porch to a large living room. A powder room is located off the vestibule.

Living room

The living room has a classic stone fireplace and runs the entire depth of the house. Your guests, related or not, will definitely feel comfortable here.

Dining room

What’s more, this house has a traditional layout, with separate and distinct rooms. The formal dining room sits next to the living room at the rear of the house.

Kitchen

A door connects the dining room to the kitchen. (If you plan on serving many guests, you may want to install a swinging one.) The recently upgraded kitchen has loads of Shaker-style cabinet and granite-topped counter space. It also has up-to-date, high-end stainless-steel appliances.

Breakfast nook

A breakfast nook with a wood-burning stove is attached to the kitchen by a large archway. A doorway leads from it to the mudroom, laundry, and side exit to the detached two-car garage.

Hall bath

The second floor contains three bedrooms and this classic hall bath.

Primary bedroom

The extra-large primary bedroom contains an en-suite powder room.

Bonus room

The third floor consists of this large bonus room and a full bath. This house’s current owner — another former Mount Pocono mayor, Michael Penn — uses it as a home office and studio, but the property data sheet classes it as a fourth bedroom. From this room’s windows you can see all the way to the Delaware Water Gap. And the view is even better from the Knob Overlook at the end of Knob Road.

Rear patio

Pool / Photo by Michael Penn

According to Penn, who learned much about this house’s history when Horne’s eightysomething grandson and his family stopped by to visit it in 2019, a tennis court once sat on this property. The tennis court is gone, but instead this house now has a swimming pool and patio with a grill.

This Mount Pocono historic inn house for sale sits within walking distance of the center of town, where you will find a collection of shops, services, and restaurants serving Mexican/Latin American, bistro and Vietnamese fare. If you do decide to become an innkeeper, your guests can even come up here by bus, as the bus station is also a very short distance away.

There are also plenty of attractions within a short drive of here, including Camelback Ski Resort, Kalahari indoor waterpark, outlet shopping in Tannersville, the Stroudsburgs and the Delaware Water Gap. State game lands and parks also abound nearby for those into more outdoorsy activities in the summer.

And if you would really like to set yourself up as an innkeeper, Penn also owns the house next door and is offering both as a package deal. (I’ll show you that house next week.)

“They’re amazing properties, they really are,” says Penn.  “I keep thinking, ‘Should I really leave?’”

But opportunity dictates the move. Penn, who works in the publishing industry, is married to a ballet dancer, and job opportunities in that field are both scarce in the Poconos and harder to come by in general. So when a ballet company in western Connecticut offered his partner a position, Penn knew he had to follow him to New England.

And as a result, you now have the opportunity to indulge your inner “Newhart” if you are so inclined. And if you aren’t, you will still have a classy traditional Poconos house for your second — or maybe only — home.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 4

BATHS: 2 full, 2 half

SQUARE FEET: 2,880

SALE PRICE: $635,000

OTHER STUFF: This house’s sale price has been reduced three times, most recently by $25,000 on Sept. 2nd. This property is also being offered together with its next-door neighbor at 35 Knob Road. The asking price for both is $1,145,000.

37 Knob Rd., Mt. Pocono, PA 18344 | 35 & 37 Knob Rd., Mt. Pocono, PA 18344 [Alexis Cruel | BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors]

Updated Sept. 16th, 8:24 a.m., to include an updated photo of the pool and exterior of the house.