A historic marker stands on the streets of New Castle, a block from the banks of the Delaware River: “Near here October 27, 1682, William Penn first stepped on American soil...“ In the same year that Penn strode onto the shores of the New World, and on the same streets that he first trod, the Wffliam Penn Guest House appeared on the map, though perhaps not with quite the same historic significance. But Penn knew a good thing when he saw it; ask Irma Burwell, who runs the place now, and she will tell you how the founder of Pennsylvania would sometimes bed down here.
Irma will also tell you what she and her husband, Dick, charged when they started their bed-and-breakfast opera-tion in 1956: $8 a night. Rates are still surprisingly reasonable, and they’re not likely to rise in the near future, since the hosts like the sensibilities and spending habits of their longtime clientele (repeat visitors account for two-thirds of their business). The Burwells welcome an international set of diverse ages and tastes—senior ambassadors who snooze and dewy-cheeked naturalists who cycle—all of whom appreciate a quiet, civilized atmosphere that doesn’t cost them an unearthly sum.
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