The Samuel D. Philbrook house was built by Edmund Merrill, Jr., in 1878. The large barn was used for livestock sales organized by John and Samuel D. Philbrook. 

 

Samuel D. Philbrook was born in Gilead in 1838. His parents, Harvey and Susannah Philbrook, founded the still active Philbrook Farm Inn. Samuel moved to Bethel in the early 1860's and he married Angelina Chapman on May 6, 1862. After she died in 1865, he married Emily Kimball who was the daughter of Ira Kimball of Bethel.  

In Bethel, Samuel Philbrook was known as a farmer and better known for trading in livestock. 

He was part of a group that wanted to investigate possibilities of supplying Bethel Hill with pure water and a supply of water in the case of a fire. In 1889, the Bethel Water Company was created and he was elected to serve on the board of corporators. 

Samuel Philbrook also chaired the Bethel Savings Bank's annual meeting as the new bank president in June of 1891.

Samuel Philbrook passed away from a stroke in 1894 and is buried with his family in the Woodland Cemetery on Route 5.

 

The Samuel D. Philbrook house has since been occupied as a single family home, the health center, an inn. In 1994, Patricia Thurston purchased the property and renovated the barn into a beautiful retail space.  It has been the home of many businesses through the years, but has never had as successful of a business structure as it does now.  

Sara Hemeon moved her art gallery into the Philbrook Place in 2010. Realizing Bethel businesses can only survive if they work together, she organized a way for all the businesses at Philbrook Place to work cooperatively. Store owners work for eachother, share expenses, and have a flexible schedule so they can spend more time with their families.  Sara bought the building in 2018 and is excited to restore The Philbrook Place.  

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The Philbrook Place is one of the most elaborate Italianate residence in the community, and one of the finest of the type in Oxford County. 

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