Beloved Forestburgh bed and breakfast – The Inn at Lake Joseph – is being sold after the recent passing of its proprietor, Ivan Alan Weinger.

Weinger, who owned and operated the Inn since 1984, passed away in October of 2024. 

His widow, Ruthmarie Weinger, who goes by ‘Rue’, currently lives on the property with her son, Matt Wein. 

Wein has taken over most of the Inn’s operations for the past 11 years. 

“The Inn is being sold because I’m retiring,” said Rue. “Ivan… passed away in October, and we had decided prior to that it was time for us to retire and move onto a little bit more relaxed life.” 

After being on the market for two years, the Inn is in the process of being sold to Rom and Maria Gupta.

Nestled deep in the heart of Sullivan County’s smallest town, the Inn at Lake Joseph sits on a sprawling property that includes a main lodge with 17 rooms, several smaller cabins, a private lake, and a pristine forest preserve. 

”It’s a gorgeous area up here. The whole region is beautiful and it’s the opposite of New York City, and people need that,” Wein said. “I will say that one of the things I hear often from our returning guests is that, ‘It feels homey’- when they get here, they feel like they just came home.” 

What’s the attraction?

Rue said that guests of the Inn enjoy many amenities of the property, including access to Lake Joseph. 

“We have fishing, boating, kayaking, a hiking trail, lawn games, tennis, and a swimming pool,” he said. 

“There are deer, bear, fox, turkey, and bobcat,” Wein added. “There are mink that nest in the lake, snakes, frogs, toads, salamanders; there’s a lot of diversity.” 

The Inn has been a popular destination with birders, and Wein said there was a birder who saw 42 species in just one weekend.  Guests at the Inn also have access to catch-and-release fishing on Lake Joseph, which has large-mouth bass and perch.

History of Inn 

at Lake Joseph

The Inn at Lake Joseph has a rich history that began with Thomas Hunt Talmadge, a businessman from Brooklyn, who originally built it as a grand summerhouse in the late 19th century. 

Before its completion, Talmadge died at the age of 29, leaving behind his wife, who was pregnant with their second child. In 1896 Mrs. Talmadge sold the estate to the Dominican Sisters, and it became the religious community of St. Joseph’s. 

The main house was known as ‘The Cardinal House’ because the Cardinals from New York City used it as their summer residence. Rue said Cardinal Hayes, who was the Archbishop of New York at the time, died in the main lodge in 1938.

“The nuns owned the lake and about 1300 acres; the whole area was clearcut,” Rue said.

The nuns had tenant farmers, a school (called the Mountain School), and a summer camp; Wein said, “Camp St. Joseph was at one point the largest catholic summer camp in the country.” 

Rue said, “[The nuns] had a sanatorium. Tourism in this area really began with health; it started with people coming up for good air because the coal smoke in New York City caused all kinds of lung problems. People would come up here and land at Gillman’s Station; the nuns would pick them up in wagons and bring them up here to stay.”

Rue explained that after about 80 years, the St. Joseph community came to an end in the late 1970s.

“The nuns’ numbers started to dwindle, insurance got expensive, and people started to travel in different ways,” she said. “The nuns sold it to developers,” who let the land go fallow and the existing buildings fall into disrepair. 

Rue said on one fateful day, Ivan and his then-wife, Monique, were taking a Sunday drive when they saw the lodge. She said the grass was up to Ivan’s knees as he looked into the window and envisioned a bed and breakfast. 

He bought the property from the developers in 1984 and began the next era of the estate. 

Famous guests

The secluded beauty of the Inn at Lake Joseph has attracted many esteemed dignitaries and celebrities over the years.

 Mrs. Talmadge used to come back and visit, and Wein said there is an old sign from the Bell Telephone system labeled “Mrs. Talmadge Room.” Wein said, “When he was secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, and his family came to stay over one Christmas break.” 

Other famous people who stayed here during their time: David Bowie and Iman, Scott Pelley, Sally Jesse Raphael, and Montel Williams. 

Rue said actress Loretta Swit, best known for playing ‘Hot Lips Hoolihan’ on “M.A.S.H.,” stayed at the Inn while performing a one-person show at the Forestburgh Playhouse about a decade ago.

Remembering Ivan

Rue spoke fondly of her husband Ivan, the man responsible for buying the property and creating the ideal Catskills bed and breakfast.

“Ivan was an entrepreneur, he was creative. He was an artist and he always said that this place was his canvas,” Rue said. “His father and sister each had an art gallery in New York City and so he was very ensconced in the art world.” 

Rue said when Ivan had an idea, he could see the completed idea and would work towards it. “And it was very hard to get him off that sometimes.”

“When Ivan first saw the [the main lodge],” Rue said, “he immediately thought of this as a bed and breakfast. He saw it as a way to enjoy the area (he had a communications business in New York City) and earn a little revenue.” 

He then spent the rest of his life crafting it into the picturesque getaway that it remains today.

When asked if there were any ghost stories told about the property, Rue was quick to answer.

“Oh yes. Ivan had stories of ghosts,” she said, “At one point, there was a room upstairs where several people would think that they saw a young woman sitting at a desk in the room and we always thought it would have been Mrs. Talmadge.”

Rue said her favorite outdoor activity is hiking and she loves being out in nature. She said she wants to walk the property’s two-and-a-half-mile hiking trail with Matt before they leave. 

Perhaps it will be another moment to reflect on their long history with the property and dream about what’s to come after spending a substantial part of their lives on this majestic patch of earth as caretakers of the Inn at Lake Joseph.