Adams Basin Inn, Adams Basin, NY

Originally published April 14, 2009

There are quite low ceilings in the Adams Basin Inn; don't be alarmed. There is also an antique sewing machine. And a record player. The Erie Canal runs ten feet away, through the Adams Basin Inn's backyard. And there's a secured WiFi network. One room of the Adams Basin Inn was a tavern in the early 1800's. The current owners, Pat & Dave Haines, have also installed solar panels to provide 40% of the current Inn's electricity. That's the thing about the Adams Basin Inn; this place is a clever mixture of the old and the new, the past and the present. Innkeeper Pat Haines told me that she's got the original Adams Basin Inn taverns liquor license; when getting such license cost a whopping $150. A 3 year liquor license in New York State today costs $27,080.00 with a $20,000 Surety Bond. So as you can see, the times they have most definitely changed. But the Adams Basin Inn, a registered National Historic Site, has remained largely as they have which suits most guests here just fine.

The Adams Basin Inn has served as many things in its day; a rail station, general store and tavern. The space was also deserted for a number of years; probably should have been torn down; however due to the loving resuscitation of the former owner, the Adams Basin Inn was re-imagined and stands today as a tall and proud member of this tiny community. Adams Basin might not pop up on your MapQuest directions; that's because the tiny hamlet is a paltry three blocks long; comprised of 73 total residents; sandwiched between the towns of Spencerport and Brockport in upstate New York. This fact is mere details as the Adams Basin Inn has a number of exciting attractions, dining, entertainment, and history nearby; moreover the fact that Adams Basin is between here and there leaves it as a great spot to just relax and unwind.

The Adams Basin Inn has two very finely detailed breakfast areas; the private dining room can seat four and the tavern dining room has room for ten. A three or four course gourmet breakfast is prepared with fresh ingredients from local farmers; food seasoned with herbs from the Adams Basin Inn's own garden.

There are only four rooms at the Adams Basin Inn, so you're never going to feel squeezed out by space or by too much noise from other guests. Innkeepers Pat and Dave live in the inn directly on the second floor and are always available in a pinch.

When my wife and I descended on the Adams Basin Inn we stayed in the Alexander Milliner Room. Alexander Milliner was a drummer boy for General George Washington's Army in the American Revolution. Milliner also has a great deal of sway in the community around which Spencerport and the Adams Basin Inn was formed. According to lore, Alexander Milliner was the reason that the current street which runs outside the doors of the Adams Basin Inn was named Washington Street at all!

The room in the Alexander Milliner room is very well appointed with simplicity and grace. There was a full sized bed, comfortable chairs, a desk, and an attached private bath. The bathroom of the Alexander Milliner room is actually quite modern with newly installed floor to ceiling windows, a modern looking shower stall, and a mysterious red light in addition to the standard bulb in the room.

Wind whipped around the evening that my wife and I stayed at the Adams Basin Inn and I was suddenly quite glad for the replacement windows which I'd just noticed earlier. The wind was horrendous all night and the whipping noises collided with the sturdy new windows, keeping the last throes of winter far from our bed.

Breakfast at the Adams Basin Inn was very sweet! Fruit drizzled with honey glaze was the first course of our breakfast; followed fast by an orange/fig pastry tapped with powdered sugar. For our main course, we were served crème Brule French toast with a sticky, walnut glazed top. All this food was quite good and filled us up quite well.

We were held back from more engaging conversation of the innkeepers as well as Christy and Greg; two guests visiting from Chicago. We were reticent to leave and as we pulled away, it occurred to me that were there not a blistering wind and April snow (snow!) outside, my wife and I could still be sitting out by the Canal right now, sipping some of Pat's cranberry apple cider, learning from the stories of chief historian Dave; chatting the day away while life breezes by.