No mystery to the allure of this Sandwich inn

Set in a residential neighborhood, a block from Sandwich Village but away from the traffic of Route 6A, the Isaiah Jones Homestead was built in 1849 by Dr. Jonathan Leonard, a local physician. It was purchased in 1861 by Isaiah Jones, a tack and nail maker, who raised his family there. Innkeepers Katherine and Don Sanderson, who lived in Hawaii for more than 15 years, bought the property a year ago and made it their home. They are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the inn's history.

The boxy Victorian exterior opens into a surprisingly expansive interior. Guests pass through a cozy den in sage green with a DVD library and old postcards into a huge parlor warmed by a crackling wood fire. A massive china cabinet holds stemware that guests are welcome to use. Vases of fresh flowers sit on marble-topped tables. Portraits of former homeowners hang on the walls, along with sailor's valentines of shells and a framed letter from Isaiah Jones dated Dec. 5, 1861, asking for the hand of Hannah Weeks in marriage. In the breakfast room some of Jones's original iron nails and fasteners are on display.

In the Lombard Jones Room on the second floor, named after the Joneses' oldest son, the decor is floral but not feminine. A black carpet over wide-board floors is embroidered with roses. The pattern is repeated in the valances on the tall, deep windows hung with white sheers and - that godsend to late sleepers - light-blocking shades. The queen bed was topped with a beige quilt, black comforter, and pillows with an almost geometric design. There was an antique desk and chair, small flat screen TV/DVD player, glass-front freestanding fireplace, and an upholstered settee, which was not particularly comfortable. Fringed lampshades, antique glass doorknobs, and ornate metal grates in walls and floors completed the Victorian look.