This is brilliant! Thank you! How did you find this?

Yeah I noticed that, I’m hoping some historical record of the building exists that might shed some light

It’s a good lead. I’m going to see if I can find out who the owner is and contact them. Could be one of many old taverns in the area, but it’s worth a shot. I can’t imagine that many buildings in the area date back that far. Thanks for the help!

I’m not sure whether the story itself has a name, and I’m trying to track down a written source, as I came across it orally. I can summarize the story below with all the relevant details.

Setting: Early 1800s, Buxton Massachusetts. A blizzard has snowed multiple townsfolk in the Old Buxton Inn, described in the story as a tavern. They are drinking and playing games, expecting to be snowed in until morning. There is a knock at the door late into the night. The bartender opens the door, and is shocked to see a man standing there, in clothing not of the period, reminiscent of a late 1700s ship captain. The man enters the tavern, and denies any drink, but requests tobacco. To pay for the tobacco, he plays cards with the townspeople, apparently winning a fair deal of money. They have a great time with the man, who is good natured and stoic. In the morning, the snowstorm is over. The lady who owns the tavern enters from the upstairs and requests that the guests be on their way, since the storm has cleared. Then she notices the man, and marvels at his resemblance to the man drawn on the sign outside the Inn. “You look incredibly like Charles Buxton” she says, to which the man smiles and says “I do not know this man. Perhaps I can meet him so I may see his likeness?” She replies that he cannot meet him, as Charles Buxton has been dead for nearly a century. Instead, she leads the entourage outside, where the face of Charles Buxton is shown on the sign. The people all marvel at the sign, and how uncanny the resemblance is to the man next to them. However, after gaping at the sign, they turn to see that the man beside them has disappeared.

I’ll summarize the story, but note that it is an oral one, and I’m still in the process of trying to find a literary version, if it exists.

Setting: Early 1800s, Buxton Massachusetts. A blizzard has snowed multiple townsfolk in the Old Buxton Inn, described in the story as a tavern. They are drinking and playing games, expecting to be snowed in until morning. There is a knock at the door late into the night. The bartender opens the door, and is shocked to see a man standing there, in clothing not of the period, reminiscent of a late 1700s ship captain. The man enters the tavern, and denies any drink, but requests tobacco. To pay for the tobacco, he plays cards with the townspeople, apparently winning a fair deal of money. They have a great time with the man, who is good natured and stoic. In the morning, the snowstorm is over. The lady who owns the tavern enters from the upstairs and requests that the guests be on their way, since the storm has cleared. Then she notices the man, and marvels at his resemblance to the man drawn on the sign outside the Inn. “You look incredibly like Charles Buxton” she says, to which the man smiles and says “I do not know this man. Perhaps I can meet him so I may see his likeness?” She replies that he cannot meet him, as Charles Buxton has been dead for nearly a century. Instead, she leads the entourage outside, where the face of Charles Buxton is shown on the sign. The people all marvel at the sign, and how uncanny the resemblance is to the man next to them. However, after gaping at the sign, they turn to see that the man beside them has disappeared.

That’s the entire story, with every detail I could muster.

Sadly, the location, date, name don’t seem to match up. While the story is from the early 1800s, the tavern is supposed to be much older, by nearly a century. Additionally, the Ohio one was only renamed Buxton in 1865 after a man named Horton Buxton purchased it.

This could very well be it. Thank you very much

This is a tremendous lead, thank you. I forgot that Maine was part of Massachusetts so recently