Our Story

Our Story

Built in 1864 as a formal country home for a prominent doctor, George E. E. Sparhawk, The Cobble House has retained most of its period details. Its soaring ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows give a feeling of spacious luxury and let in both light and nature. With a unique variety of both large, open areas and small intimate spaces, it offers you and your guests the options of lounging alone with a great book or having an impromptu cocktail party with friends. We have brought in modern European design sensibility and all the updates necessary for maximum comfort. It’s a place where guests gather, relax, and even celebrate life’s biggest moments, including intimate weddings.

An ornamental divider incorporating a line-art drawing of the oval window

The Owner, Kevin Travis, was raised in Texas but fell in love with Vermont spending summers here as a child. He bought his first house here in 2001 and has never lost touch with his Vermont world. The Cobble House has been Kevin’s neighbor for 23 years, so when it closed its doors as a bed-and-breakfast, he wanted to make sure the house lived on.

Kevin has lived and worked in many cities, including Boston, London, Johannesburg, and most recently New York City, before settling full time in Vermont. He has restored The Cobble House with a 21st Century update influenced by his international travels and with the express purpose of sharing it and the best of Vermont with guests.

So, he invites you to make the most of The Cobble House experience.  Enjoy the relaxed luxury of this four season house. Meander through our 7.5 acres of woodland on one of our private walking trails. Lounge on the viewing deck over the White River or continue down to 300 feet of private riverfront for a dip or great fly fishing.

With every detail lovingly restored, The Cobble House is now a place for reflection, gathering, and special occasions like country weddings

A 1940s black-and-white photo of The Cobble House with an old-fashioned car parked in the front.
An oval black-and-white portrait of The Cobble House original owner, Dr. Sparhawk
George E.E. Sparhawk, MD
A portrait of owner Kevin Travis smiling at the camera, in natural light with a blurred background of trees.
Kevin S. Travis, Owner
Cobblehouse in midwinter

FAQs

In 1864, when The Cobble House was built, Abraham Lincoln was re-elected president, and the American Civil War and Danish-Prussian War raged on. John Wiseden published the annual cricket “bible”, Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, in England. Heineken Brewery opened in the Netherlands, and Societe General was formed in France, the Quebec Conference began discussing the creation of the Dominion of Canada, and here, in the U.S., Arlington National Cemetery was established.

Afred Steiglez, American photographer. (d. 1946)
Marguerite Durand, French actress, newspaper owner, and feminist leader. (d.1936)
Richard Strauss, German composer. (d. 1949)
Alois Alzheimer, German psychiatrist and neuropathologist. (d.1915)
Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, granddaughter of Queen Victoria.  (d.1918)
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French painter. (d. 1901)

There are turtles in the Fire Pond that occasionally meander onto the property; deer that pass through (no hunting on the grounds); and a bear we call Blueberry that ambles past (do not leave your picnic out overnight).

We don’t know for sure, but we operate with respect in the forest in case there are. We don’t make swift or major changes; too much change can stress a fairy out. Alice in Wonderland was written in 1864, the same year The Cobble House was built.