The Legendary Hotel Ahalt

Throughout its history, Burkittsville has provided various accommodations for travelers passing through the village. Early 19th century land, court, and newspaper records reference taverns operated by Conrad Flook and William Knox in the vicinity of Burkittsville. After the closure of the Burkittsville Female Seminary in 1885, Martin Horine operated a boarding house in its three-story building on West Main Street. At the turn of the 20th century, George and Altie Whalen opened their Coatsville home to boarders, offering a tennis court and meals prepared by their daughter, Ardella. Today, a few town residents offer rental units to visitors through services like Airbnb. However, the most notorious Burkittsville hostelry lives on in legend more than 70 years since its closure.

Site of the Hotel Ahalt (1931-1955)

​The large frame building at 210 East Main Street has an intriguing history. Like many of its neighboring structures in the eastern half of Burkittsville, it has been both a residence and a place of commercial activity. The earliest documented owner of the building was Leah Fink. Upon her death in 1857, her executors sold the building to the Karn family who owned it for the next 65-years. George and Ellen Karn lived in the house from 1879 until their deaths in 1905 and 1931, respectively. During that time, the couple operated a store on the property offering general merchandise, groceries, and liquor. It is likely during this period, prior to 1900, that the house was expanded with a purpose-built storeroom on its eastern side. However, between 1900 and 1905, the business transitioned to a saloon, according to George Karn’s obituary. Whether Ellen continued to operate this business after George’s death is not known.

Photographs from Ancestry.com, (User: wenona86)

In 1931, Huffer Ahalt and his wife Elizabeth (Montgomery) Ahalt purchased the property. Huffer and Elizabeth opened the Hotel Ahalt, offering a restaurant and rooms for guests. In 1933, the Ahalt’s secured a liquor license and a 1935 advertisement in Frederick’s The News announced 75-cent chicken dinners at the hotel’s restaurant. The bar was colloquially known as “Huff Ahalt’s” and was the scene of more than a few exchanges of verbal and on occasion, physical conflict.

In 1937, a man was arrested and sentenced to 60 days in jail for verbally accosting Huffer Ahalt and his wife. It was the second such offence by the same perpetrator. A decade later in the winter of 1947, a group of seven men broke into the Hotel Ahalt. In the following year, another break-in occurred. Three men were arrested in connection with an assault against Alton Shaff. One of the three afterwards broke into the Hotel Ahalt and upon engaging Huffer proceeded to “brutally and viciously “ assault him. During the ensuing court case, the accused testified that he had attacked Huffer because he refused to sell him beer. The assailant was sentenced to five years in prison.

Account of Huffer Ahalt's Liquor License Commission Hearing (The Valley Register, August 23, 1940)

Huffer Ahalt also faced legal trouble regarding the operation of his tavern. In 1940, Frederick County’s Liquor License Commissioner Paul Little charged Huffer with selling alcohol between the hours of midnight and 6am, allowing customers to consume alcohol that they had brought with them into his tavern, and selling alcohol to underaged customers.

​At the hearing before the license commission, recounted in The Valley Register, Burkittsville residents voiced their conflicting views towards the Hotel Ahalt’s reputation. “Several witnesses testified that Ahalt had sold beer to persons under the influence of liquor, that loud noises had emanated from his place of business, with cursing and swearing, that patrons of the place had committed nuisances in an alleyway adjoining the premises, and that on the night of March 8 (1940) a woman had fallen out the door.” Huffer’s friends also spoke at the trial and “testified that his reputation was excellent, that he conducted an orderly business, and that he frequently refused to sell beer to persons who appeared to have had enough.” Huffer’s liquor license was suspended for 90 days, but upon his appeal of the decision, the Maryland State License Board reversed the county commissioner’s decision and restored his license.

Huffer Ahalt's Draft Registration Card, listing his occupation as "Proprietor of Ahalt Hotel"

Huffer Ahalt operated his tavern and hotel for 18 years until his death in 1949. His first wife, Elizabeth, died in December 1939. Eight years later in September 1947, Huffer married for a second time to Rosa McAfee, who was a sister to his late wife Elizabeth. Rosa had experience in the tavern business, having previously run an establishment in Washington County. On December 10, 1948, Huffer Ahalt crashed his car near Gapland after crossing the center line and striking a truck carrying fuel oil. He died the following June in 1949, aged 70 years.

A view of East Main Street in the 1940s. The second building from the right is the Hotel Ahalt. (Barger Collection)

Rosa Huffer continued to operate the Hotel Ahalt for a couple years, and the establishment in this time was remembered as “Rosie’s Place.” Yet another scuffle occurred in the tavern in February 1950 when a customer was struck in the head with a billiard ball and a fight broke out. Rosa also faced trouble renewing the liquor license in the summer of 1950. Again, Burkittsville residents expressed their discontent with the Hotel Ahalt. The business closed for good before Rosa Ahalt died in January 1955 and the property was sold. ​