Sunwood Inn

The piece of property on which the steamer dock was built along with the property above the road was owned by William Wilder De Larm from 1891 to 1902. It was then sold to Ella Bronwell. A. Dolbeck owned the water rights to the three-acre parcel, retaining them until James Leach purchased the property (James was A. Dolbeck’s son-in-law), and then he sold them to James.

The building known as the Sunwood Inn was actually a horse barn that was part of the house built next door (the Streeter home). The property was purchased by James Leach from Ella Bromwell in 1908 and he had the home built. He ran a livery stable out of the barn later to be known as Sunwood Inn. The steamer dock property was part of the same purchase. James Leach ran a store down over the cliff from his home, where it seems he had quite an array of items for sale. Many of his customers came off the steamboats docking in Hague to begin their summer vacations on Lake George. He delivered these passengers by stagecoach to whichever hotel or boarding house they were staying in.

It is not clear what year the property was sold to George and Pauline Newton and turned into the inn. It was operated by Pauline Newton and could accommodate about 25 guests. The Newtons turned James Leach’s store into a restaurant and ice cream parlor. In about 1922, the state road 9N was built. It would have run right into the restaurant/ice cream parlor, so the Newtons moved the building down to the steamer dock and it continued to operate.

Sunwood Inn, however, was not as fortunate. The new highway cut off access to the inn and it closed. The Newtons offered housing and to the new pastor in town while the Catholic Church was being built. Services were held in the ice cream parlor for a couple of months as the congregation awaited its completion. After that, Sunwood became a private home. James “Jackpot” Leach went on to own and operate many of the hotels and businesses in Hague as well as Ticonderoga and Minerva. He led a very colorful and profitable life.

As for the physical building, it burned to the ground in 1999. Rich Sandman and Susan De Larm Sandman bought the property; they built a new home there in the spring of 2010.

The information for this article was contributed by the following:

The Ticonderoga Sentinel archives 

Bernie Clifton 

Clifton West

Bruce De Larm’s website

Warren County land records and map department 

Archives from the Blessed Sacrament Church 

Researched by Sally De Larm Rypkema, April 2010