STOCKBRIDGE — The Red Lion Inn, according to tradition, opened in 1773 as a tavern on the Boston to Albany stagecoach stop, making it among the nation’s oldest continuously operated historic hotels.

To honor the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing, the third-generation Fitzpatrick family owners have created a walk down history lane mini-museum, open to the public as a permanent display on the second floor of the inn.

The Fitz Gallery’s display is titled “The Red Lion Inn: Three Years Older Than America.” It includes treasured archives, historic artifacts, photographs, memorabilia and stories from the inn’s 253-year history.

Among the historic photos on display at the Red Lion Inn's new exhibit is an 1896 image during a fire that heavily damaged portions of what was then called the Stockbridge House. A year later, after renovations and an expansion, it reopened under its original Red Lion Inn name.

“What makes celebrating America’s 250th especially meaningful for us is seeing how deeply visitors want to connect with living history,” wrote Sarah Eustis, granddaughter of the late Jack and Jane Fitzpatrick, who rescued the Inn from potential demolition when they bought it from Robert K. Wheeler in 1968.

Jack and Jane Fitzpatrick in the late 1960s after they purchased the Red Lion Inn, restored it and saved it from potential demolition. They are seen in the office of their Country Curtains business.

“Our roots alongside the founding of America run deep, something still symbolized today by the green tail on our iconic Red Lion sign, which historically signified support for the Revolutionary cause and the fight for freedom,” Eustis said in a prepared statement.

Exhibit highlights include:

• Historic menus and guest registers, china, flatware, teapots and other artifacts.

• A tribute to Jane Fitzpatrick, including six shadowbox displays featuring clothing from her most iconic years.

• Displays exploring The Red Lion Inn’s past and its connection to broader moments in American history.

“For more than 250 years, the inn has served as a gathering place for travelers, locals, artists and thinkers, and this summer, guests are engaging with that history in especially immersive and personal ways," Eustis said.

During a recent tour, the inn’s marketing manager Jessica Martin, a Pittsfield native, described the second-floor hallway as a “freedom of expression” retreat for artists.

The permanent exhibit, curated by Scott Griffin, project manager Carla Child and archivist Jenni Hallock, features guest books dating back to the 1800s as well as historic menus when the inn was called Stockbridge House.

A guest register signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on July 18, 1935, to the Red Lion Inn's owner at the time, Heaton Treadway. It's mong the artifacts on display at the inn's newly opened historic exhibit on the second floor of the hotel on Main Street in Stockbridge.

In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, describing himself as an old-time visitor, wrote a note of appreciation to Heaton Treadway, then the owner of the inn.

“I was charmed by this place, positively charmed,” wrote Oprah Winfrey in the 1990 guest book.

There’s also a note from Seiji Ozawa, the Boston Symphony’s music director from 1973-2002, who died in February 2024. Ozawa was a frequent visitor with his family to the Lion’s Den and Widow Bingham’s Tavern.

Among other guests who signed the ledgers on view at the exhibit were Leonard Bernstein and his mother, Jennie; composer-conductor Aaron Copland; author Thornton Wilder; singers John Denver and James Taylor; and actors Anne Bancroft, Mary Tyler Moore, Burgess Meredith and Mary Kay Place.

A 1970 guest register signature page including Red Lion Inn guests Norman Rockwell and composer-conductor Aaron Copland.

The display includes a Sunday dinner menu (“bill of fare”) from 1874, a 1947 BSO Berkshire Festival at Tanglewood poster and a Norman Rockwell portrait of Jane Fitzpatrick.

“It has been incredibly rewarding to see guests not only take an interest in our history, but actively seek opportunities to experience it in meaningful and tangible ways,” Eustis wrote. “We are reminded now more than ever that history is not only something to be remembered, but something to be experienced, shared and carried forward together.”

The permanent display opened to the public on Memorial Day weekend to begin the Red Lion’s celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

This summer, the inn also is offering a staged production under its newly installed courtyard tent, “Voices of Democracy: 250 Years Creating America — From Jefferson to Obama.”

Director and Producer Robert Egan has assembled Broadway actors and musicians for reenactments with musical direction by Johnny Irion. The show begins July 1 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the performance are $50.

Prior to the performance, there's a dinner celebration at 4. Ticket information: https://www.redlioninn.com/voices-of-democracy