Bayles’ History of Newport County, written in 1888, includes this section on taverns and hostelries in Tiverton . . .
One of the first public inns in Tiverton – probably the first – was on the highway leading east toward Dartmouth from the Puncatest settlement, now Tiverton Four Corners. The first authenticated date is September 11th, 1749, when the Puncatest Proprietors met at the house of William Manchester, inn holder. The old hostelry was on the north side of the road mentioned, and was a very old structure in 1776, when it was used as a place of rendezvous by one of the companies of the Tiverton militia. Opposite the tavern, on the place now owned by Ephraim Sanford, was the parade ground, where the militia as early as 1749 met for drill.
At a later date a tavern was built about one mile north of the ferry. This building still stands near H.C. Osborn’s, owned and occupied by Mr. Bennett. It was at one time known as the “Jew House.” It is believed that Allen Durfee was the first proprietor. About 1816 he enlarged the original structure by adding what is now the north part, and at the same time building the row of sheds. It is now known as the old “Durfee House.”
In the early days of the present century a hotel was standing near the eastern end of the Stone Bridge, on the mainland and fronting the bridge, for many years known as the “Stone Bridge House.” The most reliable information is that it was built about 1790 by Captain Lawton, and was a famous resort in its early history. In 1847 it was destroyed by fire, but a new house was soon erected on the same location by Gardner Thomas. This house was opened July 4th, 1848, by Grant & Alexander. They were the proprietors two years, and during that time they planted the shade trees that are now shading the old grounds. 
In 1864 Asa Lawton of Newport purchased it, enlarging and greatly improving it an expense of more than $60,000. He opened it in 1865 as the “Lawton House,” running it successfully for two seasons. He sold it in 1867 to a company of thirty men of Fall River. It was controlled by this company until the panic of 1878, when it was sold at a great sacrifice. In 1879 Philander Smith bought it, and after running it five seasons he sold it in June 1884 to Colonel George Alexander who greatly improved and modernized it. Alexander was preparing to open it in June, having it finished and partly furnished, when it was destroyed by fire. A company styled the “Stone Bridge Hotel and Cottage Association” is erecting a new hotel on this site, to be opened in July 1888, under the management of Colonel George Alexander, who is the moving spirit in this enterprise.
The Bay View house was built in 1871 by Philander Smith, who sold it in 1877 to Abner Tallman, the present proprietor.
Continuing the history of these establishments from Bayles’ time, the first tavern is no longer on East Road.
Durfee built a long ell onto the main part of the “Durfee House”, or “Old Crump’s Inn” as it was also known, for a bowling alley and dance hall. Since there was no Town Hall prior to 1840, town meetings were held in this building. And since there wasn’t any jail in Town, part of the building also served as a prison. Before the Town Asylum was built in 1831, the town’s poor were kept in an unfurnished, dimly-lit attic chamber in the house. The house was torn down and replaced by another smaller house in 1902 by George C. Hambly.
The Stone Bridge Cottage was opened in 1888. Stone Bridge Cottage later became known as the Stone Bridge Hotel, and consequently, the Stone Bridge Inn. On the exterior, the greatest change from the earlier building was the enclosure of the piazza that went around the building. The inn changed hands several more times until the Feeney family bought it in 1921. The Feeneys and the Neys ran the inn successfully until 1965, when they retired from the business and sold it to Ralph Cutillo. He ran the inn, restaurant, and banquet facilities until he sold it in 1985 to James Pedro. He ran it as a night spot, but sold out to developers in 1987 who planned to build condominiums there. They went bankrupt, and left the inn abandoned until Pedro bought it again that same year. He had planned to restore the inn again, but it was not to be. Unfortunately, the Inn was demolished on January 15, 1998 due to neglect after being closed for over a decade.
In the 1890’s, Bay View gave up its hotel function and became a house of entertainment for transients featuring weekly clambake dinners. After the nearby Fall River Yacht Club was destroyed in the 1938 hurricane, members of the Tiverton Yacht Club moved to what is now the Standish Boat Yard building. It wasn’t until the mid-1950’s that the Bay View was purchased by the Tiverton Yacht Club to be used as its new headquarters, opening as such in 1956, adding a bathing beach, senior and junior quarters, a separate galley and new clubhouse furnishings. A new wharf, outdoor barbeque, horseshoe and shuffleboard courts were added in the next few years. In 1970, the yacht club closed in the clubhouse front porch area and built a second floor deck over the old front porch. This resulted in an expanded senior area on the second floor and a larger gathering/dining area on the main floor. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the building in 2003 before it opened for the season.