A Short History

Rufus Tanner House bed and breakfast is named after the second owner of this wonderful old Greek Revival farmhouse. It was built in 1864, and Donna and Rick Powell, the innkeepers, are only the sixth owners. Records show that Edwin Nourse, the first owner, lived in the house for six years. He was a dairy farmer and town justice of the peace.

In 1870, Rufus Tanner purchased "164.5 acres of good land, a large barn and a house" from Nourse and paid $9,500 for all. He deeded a portion of the farm to the Elmira State Line Railroad in September 1876, and a train depot and water tower were constructed (remnants of the water tower remain, but there is no trace of the railroad). Rufus operated a dairy farm until he sold to the third owner, Richard Rowe in 1886.

Three generations of the Rowe family lived here for 57 years and during their tenure the size of the original house was doubled, three porches, many outbuildings and a two story chicken coop were added. Indoor plumbing was installed using a spring at the top of the hill and wooden pipes to provide pressurized water. The stately Sugar Maple trees surrounding the house were planted in approximately 1888. In 1921, Truman Rowe sold a portion of the farmland to the Dairymen's League Co-operative Association for construction of a milk processing operation. The Kinner Hill Telephone Company exchange was located in the house and a list of names (circa 1900) with dots and dashes for long and short rings is preserved by Donna and Rick.

The fourth owners, the Kelley family, purchased the farm in 1943 and sold parcels of land for single family homes in 1950-1965. The house was broken up into three apartments and in 1965 was sold to the fifth owner.

Three generations of the Knapp family, the fifth owners, lived in the house for a total of 34 years. The house was returned to a single family home and during this time a portion of the land was sold to the town for use as a gravel pit. In 1991, renovations were completed to equip the house with 5.5 baths and a bed and breakfast was opened.

Today 2.5 acres of the original farm, several outbuildings and the beautiful Sugar Maple trees remain. Donna and Rick bought the house and remaining property in 1999 and continue to operate Rufus Tanner House bed and breakfast. Two of the original outbuildings are used by Rick as workshops for his hobby of wooden sailboat restoration.  He is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, Long Island. He was bitten by the sailing bug as a Boy Scout and nurtured his love of sailing as a member of the sailing club at the Academy. His current project is restoring an antique wooden boat-a Rampage. The boat, named Ghost, was one of only six built by Finger Lakes boat builder, Murray Wright, in Dryden, NY.

Donna and Rick treasure the old farmhouse and feel honored to be custodians of its history and to care for its buildings. As a B&B, the farmhouse provides a secure feeling of being home. Each of the four guestrooms has a bath en suite so guests have privacy. Four "common" rooms are open to guests and porches and decks offer plenty of room to roam. All rooms have five foot windows (many with the original Cylinder glass) and views of the surrounding hillsides and trees.