Did you ever vacation at the Sherwood Inn in Essex, New York? If so, you’ve been a guest in our home! That’s right, long before Rosslyn became our home, it operated as a lakeside accommodation for travelers and a restaurant and tavern for everyone. This vintage Sherwood Inn brochure (I’m guessing it dates to the 1950s, but I’d welcome clarifying insights) offers a pretty slick promotion of the spot that many decades later still enchants us.
Sherwood Inn Brochure
Lest your eyeballs struggle with reading the copy in the brochure image above, let’s make it a little easier.
“Sherwood Inn is located in the charming little village of Essex-on-Lake-Champlain, New York. On Route 22, the scenic Lakeshore route and one of the main highways from New York to Montreal, it is served directly by the Delaware & Hudson Railroad.
The Inn, a fine example of authentic Colonial, is more than 100 years old. Carefully modernized by particular owners, it provides the conveniences of the new with out sacrificing any of the charm and dignity of the old.
A private beach and dock provide facilities for swimming, boating and fishing.” (Source: Sherwood Inn Brochure)
Before I dip into the time-tinged prose, I’d like to thank longtime Essex resident Jim LaForest for gifting us this Sherwood Inn brochure. What a welcome surprise when it showed up, transporting me back to a time well before my birth, and a period in Rosslyn’s history that I’m still sorting out. In particular, this brochure excited me because it is the very first visual rendering of the long gone Sherwood Inn Cottages.
The natural beauty of the setting of Sherwood Inn is unexcelled, situated as it is on beautiful Lake Champlain, in the foothills of the Adirondacks. Fronting directly on Lake Champlain, which is 138 miles long and unsurpassed in beauty by any lakes in America, the Inn commands sweeping views over the Lake into the Green Mountains of Vermont. To the rear are the lofty heights of the rugged Adirondacks.
Lovely trees furnish delightful shade. Lawn sports on the well-kept grounds include badminton, croquet and archery. An excellent golf course is available to guests a short distance away. One of the chief winter sports is fishing thru the ice for delicious Lake Champlain icefish. Grand sport and lots of fun!
The guestrooms are beautiful — large and airy, delightfully furnished — many with original fireplaces. A spacious porch across the front of the Inn invites the vacationer to lounge and enjoy the gorgeous panorama before him of Lake and mountains.
Guests are assured a splendid table — all home cooking. Menus are varied and only the best quality foods used.
Fresh eggs, pasteurized milk, and cream and fresh vegetables are procured from nearby farms . We have our own purified water system and water is tested regularly by the New York State Dept. of Health.
A Colonial Taproom with bar and joining outdoor Terrace furnish cheerful atmosphere.
Sherwood Inn is just a short walk from the quaint village of Essex, which has such attractions and conveniences as a moving picture theatre, post office, public library and general shopping district. (Source: Sherwood Inn Brochure)
Sounds like quite a spot! Icefish and a colonial taproom? If only I could unearth some additional photographs from guests of the Sherwood Inn to help illuminate these holiday delights. The Keuhlen family vacation snapshots, for example, offer an intimate, nostalgic glimpse into those days at the Sherwood Inn / Rosslyn. I suspect there are others out there just waiting to be discovered. Maybe one will even demystify the location of the former Sherwood Inn Cottages.
Let’s take a look at the reverse side of the trifold brochure where the Sherwood Inn Cottages at long last make an appearance.
The recently acquired cottages are situated slightly to the side of the Inn and facing the Lake. Each consists of bedroom, shower and lavatory and porch which afford a beautiful view.
Essex is rich in historical lore — this whole region having featured prominently in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. We are within easy driving distance of such points of interest as Ausable Chasm, Fort Ticonderoga and Whiteface Mountain. Lake Placid is only 40 miles away, Montreal 100 miles north, and Burlington, Vermont just across the lake.
Through the summer months, a Ferry runs directly from Essex to Charlotte, Vermont.
Catholic and Protestant churches are within easy walking distance. (Source: Sherwood Inn Brochure)
You’d think that between the photograph of the cottages and the description of where they were situated, it would be clear enough where on the property the three (?) cottages once stood. But the photograph offers no real clues, and the description is overly general. After all. “slightly to the side of the Inn and facing the Lake” offers only the most minimal guidance. Were they built on the front lawn, north of the house? Did they stand somewhere on the upper lawn, perhaps north of the basswood (American Linden) tree?
As often, I conclude this post with more questions with answers. Perhaps one of you will have the missing clue?
Click on the images below to view larger details from the brochure.
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