The Wilson House of East Dorset — Attraction in Dorset

This was our third time staying in the Wilson house having travelled to Vermont from Ireland. We feel a special connection to the house due to its association with Bill Wilson, who was one of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous and co writer of the 12 Steps.||Each other time we loved our visit and this time Was good as before. Unfortunately, life changes all the time and since our last visit, Bonnie, one of the co founders of the house has retired and Barley, the lovely dog who always adorned the living room mat, has died. We wish Bonnie well in her retirement and are truly grateful for the years of service that she gave to the house.||The house is in the style of an old New England Inn and is very rustic on the outside with the he rocking chairs on the porch and is very quaint and comfortable inside. The bedrooms are all spotlessly clean and are very charming. There are a few living room areas downstairs and they are very cosy to sit and relax in. ||There are A A meetings run from the back of the house and there is a feeling of community and of helping each other in the house which is contributed to greatly by the work of several volunteers. There is a strong ethos of recovery in this house and in the kindness and helpfulness of the people who are working and who are volunteering there. It is a very special place to stay and the vision that the founders had when they set out to restore this old house has been beautifully and fully realised. This inn is an oasis of spiritual calm in a very busy world and we look forward to going back there...

This was our third time staying in the Wilson house having travelled to Vermont from Ireland. We feel a special connection to the house due to its association with Bill Wilson, who was one of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous and co writer of the 12 Steps.||Each other time we loved our visit and this time Was good as before. Unfortunately, life changes all the time and since our last visit, Bonnie, one of the co founders of the house has retired and Barley, the lovely dog who always adorned the living room mat, has died. We wish Bonnie well in her retirement and are truly grateful for the years of service that she gave to the house.||The house is in the style of an old New England Inn and is very rustic on the outside with the he rocking chairs on the porch and is very quaint and comfortable inside. The bedrooms are all spotlessly clean and are very charming. There are a few living room areas downstairs and they are very cosy to sit and relax in. ||There are A A meetings run from the back of the house and there is a feeling of community and of helping each other in the house which is contributed to greatly by the work of several volunteers. There is a strong ethos of recovery in this house and in the kindness and helpfulness of the people who are working and who are volunteering there. It is a very special place to stay and the vision that the founders had when they set out to restore this old house has been beautifully and fully realised. This inn is an oasis of spiritual calm in a very busy world and we look forward to going back there...

William Griffith Wilson , co founder of Alcoholics Anonymous and one of most influential people of the twentieth century grew up with his grandparents at this former inn in East Dorset Vermont.

Bill was born behind the bar in what is now the meeting room of the renovated Inn, renamed the Wilson House and dedicated to Bill W and AA history.

Up the road is Emerald Lake park where Bill met Lois. They and Ebby Thacher spent summers in this quintisential​ Vermont country.

The non bypass road to Manchester passes by Bill's grave where many recovered Alcoholics pay tribute by leaving sobriety chips on Bill's headstone.

It's worth continuing into Machester for breakfast scones, shopping, coffe, ice cream and Lincoln's home. Photos of Manchester area and the cozy wicker chairs on the porch of the Inn.

Back at the Inn you may enjoy the displays of history and fellowship meetings and of course, coffee. You will meet friends you didn't know there.

Wear a sweater and enjoy the porch in the cool summer evening. You may listen for and hear the violin that Bill played as a teen, entertaining the guests as they paused in a slower pace time, between New York and Montreal trains.

Maybe we can...