I’ve been thinking a lot about the Inn and the history that is connected to this great old building. With her 30 inches of solid stone walls, the inn has evolved over the years into this gorgeous bed and breakfast.
This historic mill is situated on eight acres along Spring Creek and features a pond, waterfall, and beautiful gardens. Spring Creek and Oatka Creek are noted for its challenging fly fishing for Brown Trout. The first historic Trout Fish Hatchery in the United States is less than a mile from the inn.
Ten beautiful uniquely decorated, country-elegant guest rooms are filled with antiques and reproductions. All our rooms have private bathrooms, air conditioning, digital televisions with DVD players and remotes, free wireless internet, and many special architectural features.
The parlor is perfect for good conversation, relaxing, or reading. Upon your arrival, afternoon refreshments and home-baked cookies are served. A fireplace graces the dining room. A Four-Seasons sunroom provides guests with a perfect place to view the Old Mill Pond and the fountain or relax in front of the gas stove. On the banks of the creek are decks, patios, and a nature path along the Spring Creek to Oatka Creek.
A full country breakfast is served daily and includes coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, juice, fresh fruit, homemade granola, and home-baked breads and muffins. A hearty, not entree is made fresh daily from award-winning breakfast recipes.
Little is know about the Mumford-Caledonia area before the Revolutionary War. During the Sullivan Campaign of 1779, Indians lured the army into the heart of their territory. After the soldiers returned with glowing tales of the fertile soil they had seen, settlers started making their way west. Caledonia and Mumford were settled by Scotsmen who came and built mills for woolens, flour, and plaster.
The Genesee Country Inn is located in the Hamlet of Mumford in the Town of Wheatland, Monroe County in New York.
The land were the inn now sits was purchased by Philip Garbutt, a local entrepreneur, in 1833. It is assumed he built his plaster mill on this site shortly thereafter. The mill was run by Dougald McQueen throughout the 1840s. The Garbutt plaster ill was a busy place through 1850s and 1860s since farmers used ground gypsum (and plaster) as a fertilizer. Around 1862, Stephen Sailsbury built a mill on Spring Creek behind the Garbutt plaster mill. During the depression of 1873-1879, the Garbutt plaster mill was closed. It was reopened for a few years in the 1880s but was finally closed by John Garbutt in 1886.
In the late 1880s, George Stewart took over the Garbutt plaster mill and opened a shop where he turned spokes ad hubs for wheels, and hammer handles for a firm in Rochester. He also operated a sawmill between the plaster mill and Spring Creek. The sawmill behind the Garbutt Mill closed in 1881 with the death of Stephen Salisbury. In 1882, the site was bought by W.D. Strobel and L.L. Allen and a new woolen mill was built. Both men operated the Trout Brook Woolen Mill until L.L. Allen retired two years later. Strobel continued on alone. The woolen mills later went out of business due to competition from the large eastern mills and their new equipment. In 1899, Mr. E Turner rented the building and installed machinery for the manufacture of smoking pipes and other novelties. He built a 50 foot high chimney. The pipe factory was closed down in 1904.
The following year, Mr. Gardner from Rochester bought and opened a paper mill. The Gardner Paper Company began operations in May 1905, and their first product was toilet paper. The Gardner Paper Company also bought the old stone mill from George Stewart and remodeled it into a residence for the superintendent fo the plant.
In the 1915, the Gardner Paper Mill was reorganized and the new corporation was called the Mumford Mills. In 1939, The Mumford Paper Mills was colosed, and the machinery was transferred to a new company. The paper mill was torn down sometime afterward.
The Garbutt Plaster Mill was now a residence with the acreage encompassing both the plaster mill and the paper mill. The mill was owned by George Skiivington, and later by Rudy and Jane DeFazio, before being purchased by Greg and Glenda Barcklow in 1982.
the Barcklows turned this plaster mill into the Genesee Country Inn, which they ran successfully until 2004 when Glenda Barcklow sold it to Hal and Fran Robinson. The Robinsons ran the inn until June 2006 when Fran sold it to us!. We were looking for the “perfect place” for six years. On a trip home to visit their families, we visited the Genesee Country Inn and fell in love with the property. We have been here for 15 years and have loved every minute of it!
