History

Duncan Hines and The Sherburne Inn

The Sherburne Inn has had many celebrities grace its threshold (Duke Ellington, Bobby Rydell, Minnesota Fats, Jim Braddock, Peter Falk, The Ink Spots, and Johnny Cash, to name a few). However, one of the more interesting celebrity stories about The Inn involves Mr. Duncan Hines.

Mr. Hines, before he was known for his cake mixes, was a salesman for a printing company in the 1930s. Mr. Hines traveled across America eating at country inns, after which he would include his “reviews” in annual Christmas cards. His friends and family were delighted with the reviews and encouraged him to write a book about his restaurant experiences, which he ultimately did. At one point Mr. Hines found himself at The Sherburne Inn here upstate New York. He so enjoyed The Inn’s fare that he included it as a “select” place in his first book, Adventures in Good Eating, published in 1936.

The Inn’s “relationship” with Duncan Hines didn’t stop there. In 1961 (after Mr. Hines’ death), The Inn received the Duncan Hines Silver Anniversary Service Award for its outstanding food and accommodations and because it was singled out by Mr. Hines in his book. Proprietors at the time — Harvey and Nellie Young — traveled to Chicago to receive the award, and were proud to do so.

(Pictured above) Harvey and Nellie Young accepting the Duncan Hines Silver Anniversary Service Award in 1961.

(Pictured above) A close-up of the Duncan Hines Silver Anniversary Service Award certificate

Grand Opening, 1917

The Sherburne Inn, the building that still today sits at the corner of West State and South Main Streets in Sherburne, NY, was opened to the public on June 19, 1917. Its predecessor, The Sherburne House, burned to the ground in 1915, after which philanthropic residents of Sherburne financed a replacement that is the current structure.

Excerpts of articles in the Sherburne News trace the Inn’s history. The first article announces the Inn’s grand opening in 1917:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sherburne News, June 14, 1917

The following account of the Inn’s festive opening was published the next week:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sherburne News, June 21, 1917

The Sherburne News also reported on the Inn’s modernization in 1941:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sherburne News, November 17, 1941

The Sherburne Inn has changed hands many times since 1917, often with success in offering fresh vegetables from its own garden and fresh dairy and eggs straight from the farm; and sometimes unsuccessfully for reasons that will remain in the annals of history. In any case, it is clear that this building — and its possibilities — have stayed always in the minds of residents as the heartbeat of our community.

If you have a memory of The Sherburne Inn, please share it with us on our Memories page.