Original Woodstock Watering Hole, Hector’s Inn, for Sale for $490K

  |  November 12, 2025

Hector’s Inn is a Bethel staple that predates “that hippie festival” by 20 years, a place where hot, thirsty Woodstock festivalgoers gratefully shelled out five bucks to owner Jerry Hector for a case of Rheingold beer on their long trudge up 17B in the summer of 1969. Since then, the bar—whose front door depicts a lederhosen-clad patron toting a mug of beer and a pool cue—has been the go-to for both locals and curious tourists. Now, after three generations of Hectors, retirement is calling and the self-described “original Woodstock watering hole” that’s served the area for 76 years is on the market.

“It was not an easy decision to make. I am emotionally connected to the bar; it has been a part of my life since I was born,” says Bonnie Lagoda, granddaughter of original owner, Howard Hector. But she and her husband Barry are ready to move on, she says: “It’s time for us to sit on the other side of the bar and enjoy ourselves.”

The bar at Hector’s Inn

The Making of a Local Landmark

Howard Hector was running a speakeasy in New York City with his brother in 1949 when he and his wife, Elsie, moved upstate to their new home in Bethel. Not long afterward, Howard added a bar to the property and Hector’s Inn was born.

In addition to slaking locals’ thirst, Hector’s Inn was known for providing food to families in need. “They say generosity begins at home, and it has always been a part of my family,” Lagoda says. “My grandfather had a couple of gardens, and if someone fell on hard times, he would leave food on their doorsteps. He made many a mortgage payment for people over the years.”

When Howard passed away in the mid-1960s, his son Jerry Hector and daughter-in-law Kay took over the business. The Alpine-inspired pavilion and other outbuildings stayed busy with clambakes in the summer, Oktoberfests in the fall, and steak bakes in between. A stock-car racer in nearby White Lake and at the Fairgrounds racetrack in Middletown, Jerry would often be found catching the latest NASCAR race on TV in the cook shed.

In addition to the business, Jerry inherited his father’s generous spirit, according to Lagoda. “Once, a person on a motorcycle stopped at the bar and his headlight went out,” she remembers. “Since it was dark, my father gave him the headlight off his own car so the man could see to get home.”

The anecdotes go on—purchased bus tickets, money for Christmas presents, and so on. And it was Jerry who instituted monthly birthday parties at Hector’s Inn for anyone celebrating—a tradition that continues to this day. “Our house was always open for anyone at any time, and especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas,” says Lagoda.

Festival Refreshments

In the late summer of 1969, Jerry learned from his neighbor Max Yasgur about an upcoming music festival on Yasgur’s farm, about a mile up the road. Ever the generous (and entrepreneurial) sort, Jerry mortgaged his home and filled a tractor-trailer with cases of the aforementioned Rheingold. It was a good gamble: The beer sold out in no time, Lagoda recalls.

Jerry and Kay continued to run Hector’s Inn with their daughters Bonnie and Kathy over the years. Kay passed in 2010, and Jerry followed two years later. Bonnie and Kathy took the reins soon afterward, and eventually Barry replaced Kathy. Under the third generation of owners, Hector’s Inn debuted annual car shows, weekly Wing Nights, sip-and-paints, Mary Kay makeup parties, open mic nights, and weekly mixed-doubles pool leagues.

Fittingly, Hector’s Inn is the site of one of the earliest Doves on the Sullivan County Dove Trail, a collection of 50 dove sculptures commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Woodstock festival. Of course, the Hector’s Inn Dove mixes peace signs with frothy mugs of beer, amid psychedelically colored flowers and a Volkswagen Bug, touting the bar’s status as the Original Woodstock Watering Hole.

Now, this watering hole is looking for someone else to control the taps at the varnished, comfortably worn bar. “We hope the new owners keep the bar as it is now, or as close to it as possible,” Lagoda says. “We have a terrific staff and a very supportive customer base, and we are all more like family than employees and customers.”

The property, listed for $490,000, includes the main house/bar and a few outbuildings—the cook shed, snack stand, outdoor bathrooms and shower building, and a pavilion—all sitting on three-quarters of an acre. Being that it’s just 1.8 miles to Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, the two apartments in the main building might be a convenient source of income for the new owners. According to Lagoda, one apartment consists of a bedroom, kitchen, and living room, while the other is just a bedroom and kitchen. Both apartments share a bathroom. As might be expected for a place that’s been in one family since the ’50s, wood paneling and veneers sheath most of the walls in both the apartments and the bar. The main building of Hector’s Inn also has a great covered porch off the bar and lots of lawn space for killer games of cornhole or volleyball.

Lagoda hopes the vibe of her family’s spirit continues with the next owner. “The best part of Hector’s is the family aspect, where everyone is welcome and everyone helps each other,” she says. “My father’s favorite saying when someone was leaving was, ‘Keep Smiling!’ I wish the same for you.”

If Hector’s Inn sounds like a business opportunity that’ll bring a smile to your face, find out more about 14 Dr. Duggan Road, Bethel, from H Bruce Reynolds, licensed real estate agent with RJ Katz Realty.

Read On, Reader...