Guest Reviews
"This Inn is a country treasure. The house and grounds are beautiful, one of the finest Inns in the Finger Lakes region. A visual museum, the inn has something to look at with every turn. I couldn't wait to sink into the bed after my spa experience in the La Mer Room bath. A princess experience at best".
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The House
The Dane Emerson House was built in 1900 and is a fine example of Queen Anne Victorian architecture in all of the Finger Lakes. Much of the original character has been preserved in the oak, pine and chestnut trim, leaded glass windows, 9’ 10” ceilings, and walls that measure over a foot thick. Every effort has been made to restore or reuse the materials originally used in the house and barn construction. Interior doors and trim stored in the barn for decades, have been creatively included back in to the house interior.
The Dane Emerson House was built by three of the six children in the third generation of the Snyder family whom originally owned and cleared the land. The sisters, Hattie, Della and Margaret, ran the farm successfully for many years after the death of their parents and one of their male siblings, and were noted farmers in the area. The oldest brother became an early superintendent of schools in Texas and did not return home. The younger brother, Frank, returned to the farm and his sisters after serving in the Coast Guard from 1893 to 1912 as a decorated officer in the Spanish American War.
Hattie, Della, Margaret and Frank all lived at the farm until their deaths and none of the four ever married. During their lifetime, the farm was granted the distinction of a “Hundred Year Farm” in the late 1940’s. The farm was left to Cornell University after all four siblings passed away. Cornell sold the farm to the Heinz family who continued to operate the farm until they sold it to the Mara family in the early 1970’s. The Mara’s loved the property and were responsible for much of the updating and restoration of the farm and its outbuildings.
The current owners purchased the property in 2006, including 55 acres, a good section of Inlet Valley Creek and other registered trout streams.
Today the property operates as a unique bed & breakfast/ inn on 55 beautiful acres.
The Barn
The gorgeous and beautifully preserved, classic upstate New York barn is one of the finest in the Finger Lakes region. Built by Frank Snyder in 1906, upon his return home from the Coast Guard, the barn measures 100’ x 60’ on two and a half stories covering some 14,000 square feet of space. Frank Snyder graduated from Cornell University with a degree in mechanical engineering and served as a decorated officer in the Coast Guard during the Spanish American War. Snyder had the structure built as a “show barn” to house his carriage horses and small Jersey cattle herd. He maintained this gentlemen’s farm as a hobby after his retirement.
Local history maintains that the majority of the wood for the structure was imported from Scandinavia and brought to Newfield by rail. Instead of being left “raw” or unfinished as many working barns were, many of the walls of the barn are covered in original, beautifully-crafted, tongue and groove paneling. All of the wood in the barn is milled instead of the more common rough-hewn lumber. A truss-beam system allows for the ceiling to be supported without beams running from floor to ceiling. The loft opens to an uninterrupted space, with unique upper windows and two cupolas. Major support columns measure 13.5” x 11” and are single pieces of wood. The floors are all 2” tongue and groove planking. The corners of the horse stalls are built of old ship masts or beams carved to be reminiscent of such, perhaps as a tribute to Mr. Snyder’s days in the Coast Guard. Local history provides that well in to his 80’s, Mr. Snyder could often be found sweeping the broad overhead beams of the barn (some 18’ in the air) without safety lines or precautions.
The intent of the new owners is to preserve the original structure and integrity of this historic barn, while updating its use to include a small local event center.