Henry Huttleston Rogers and Mark Twain were good friends and kindred spirits in many ways. They both were fond of theater, poker, billiards, practical jokes, the good-natured spoof, literature and architecture.
Mr. Rogers was a very successful American industrialist and financier. He made his fortune in the oil-refining business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil. He also played a major role in numerous corporations and business enterprises in the gas industry, railroads and copper.
When the United Memorial Church was being built in Fairhaven, Mr. Twain told Mr. Rogers, “This church will attract hundreds of sightseers. There ought to be a place they can stay.”
Mr. Rogers agreed and built the Elizabethan-style inn, just two blocks away from the church. While the inn was being built, the initials “T.I.” were carved in a stone shield over the entrance to the front door. After the inn was finished being built, Mr. Rogers reveled in what the mysterious letters meant. The new inn would be named “Tabitha Inn” in memory of his beloved, great-grandmother, Tabitha Crowell.
Unlike the grammar school, town hall, masonic building, Unitarian Memorial Church and other buildings, the Tabitha Inn was not a gift to the town. Instead, Mr. Rogers leased the building to Mrs. Catherine Price of Cambridge. She rented out the lovely rooms to tourists and Fairhaven teachers who came from out of town.
During World War II, the Navy took over the inn, and the Coast Guard trainees who were studying at New Bedford Vocational School were stationed there for two years. The Tabitha Inn was sold to the Catholic Church in 1944. The name was changed to Our Lady’s Haven, and it became a skilled nursing and rehabilitation home for the elderly.
I recently moved to Our Lady’s Haven. I enjoy eating in the beautiful dining room there that was used a long time ago for weddings, parties and ballroom-dancing classes for local teenagers. The stain-glass windows throughout the building are beautiful, especially in the chapel where I attend Mass every day.
I feel very blessed to be living there, as the staff are all wonderful and knowing I am living in a building that Mr. Twain and other notable friends of Mr. Rogers also stayed. Apparently, Mr. Twain favored a room in the front corner with a beautiful fireplace.
In my illustration of Mr. Twain and Mr. Rogers, I included Tom Sawyer as well. Although Mr. Twain was a successful author, he had great financial struggles. Mr. Rogers stood by Mr. Twain over the course of his career and gave him the financial assistance that he so desperately needed.
By George B. Emmons