Green Trails Inn
– The Legacy Behind the Inn –
Ready to slow down and unwind? Experience the simple comfort and timeless charm of Green Trails Inn.
Restored with Heart. Rooted in History.
When we first saw the Green Trails Inn, it wasn’t the shining landmark it once was. The 1840s bones were there, strong and full of character, but the building had been quiet for years. Still, we could feel something in it. A sense of place. A sense of potential.
In late 2023, we left Texas for Vermont, looking for a slower, more intentional way of living. What we found in Brookfield was a village that still carried the warmth of small-town life and a property that had seen nearly two centuries of community and hospitality. We knew almost instantly that this was the place, and that we wanted to bring it back to life.
A New Beginning
We purchased the Inn that December and began the long, careful process of restoration. The work was more than construction; it was rediscovery. Every wall we opened and beam we uncovered revealed another piece of its story. The hand-planed boards, the post-and-beam framing, the original wide-plank pine floors, and even the soft imperfections that gave it soul.
We kept what history left us and added what the present needed, restoring the details that mattered while modernizing the spaces that make a stay here comfortable. We didn’t just want to rebuild a business. We wanted to restore a gathering place. The Green Trails Inn has always been about connection, people meeting over food, stories shared by the fire, a quiet view of Sunset Lake at the end of the day.
By 2025, after nearly two years of steady work with local craftspeople and neighbors, we reopened Green Trails Inn and launched the Pond Village Pub, welcoming both guests and locals back to the building for the first time in decades. It felt like the house was breathing again.
That spirit continues today. Guests can enjoy mornings with locally roasted coffee and fresh-baked goods, evenings at the Pond Village Pub, and stays in rooms that balance heritage and comfort, the kind of Vermont experience that feels timeless and genuine.
Our approach is rooted in community and simplicity: preserve what matters, honor those who came before, and keep the doors open to everyone who wants to experience the pace of Brookfield life.
The Legacy Behind the Inn
The Green Trails Inn’s story began long before us. The building was originally constructed around 1840 by Marcus Peck, a respected craftsman and civic leader in Brookfield. His handiwork still shapes the structure today, the framework, the doors, the craftsmanship that defines old Vermont homes.
Nearly a century later, in 1932, the property took on new life when Jessie Fiske, a Rutgers University professor and native of Brookfield, opened it as a summer riding camp and guesthouse. She named it Green Trails Inn, inspired by the miles of wooded paths that wound through the hills and meadows around Sunset Lake.
Under Jessie’s care, the Inn became the heart of Pond Village. Guests arrived from New York, Boston, and beyond to ride the Inn’s thirty horses, dine at the nearby Fork Shop restaurant, and spend summers exploring Vermont’s countryside. Locals worked the stables and helped care for guests.
By the 1960s, the Inn had become one of Vermont’s most cherished rural retreats. Barn crews, kitchen staff, and chambermaids returned each season to be part of what felt like its own small world. In the decades that followed, the Inn passed through quieter times. Travel changed, generations moved on, and the building spent years as a private residence. But even then, its legacy endured in the memories of those who worked and stayed here, and in the stories shared by the Brookfield Historical Society.
We’re honored to keep this legacy alive. Whether you’re here for a weekend, a meal, or a quiet moment by the lake, you’re part of the story now… the new chapter of Green Trails Inn.
– Andrew & Josh Jonestein
Innkeepers