A House With History

Though more than a century likely separates the colonial period of the United States and the construction of our house, the history of Revolutionary War events that unfolded in the Mohawk Valley are closely tied to the story of Herkimer and our nation. So, we begin our story there.

In about the year 1700, the present-day Village of Herkimer was merely wilderness, and was inhabited by the indigenous Mohawk and Iroquois Indians. The area was first settled around 1720 with the arrival of Palatine Germans, the most famous of whom is Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer.

In 1776, during the Revolutionary era, Fort Dayton was built on a site a few blocks from the present-day Grand Colonial. The fort provided a place of safety and storage. On August 4, 1777, as Brigadier General of the Tryon County Militia, Nicholas Herkimer led a regiment of about 800 people from Fort Dayton to Oriskany.

On August 6, 1777, he and hundreds of patriots were ambushed by British and Loyalist troops and their Native American allies in the Battle of Oriskany. During the engagement, General Herkimer suffered a severe leg wound. He was carried back to his home where he died 10 days later.

The Battle of Oriskany was later acknowledged for its role in turning the tide of victory in favor of the Americans. General George Washington visited Fort Dayton in July 1793, when he toured the Mohawk Valley. Today, the Herkimer Home is a state historic site and a popular tourist attraction.

The Village and County of Herkimer both took their name from the Herkimer family. Our house, often referred to as the “Grand House,” is situated on a one-acre Revolutionary lot. Its long, rectangular shape was desirable for colonial farming. The property extends north to a babbling brook and forested hillside.

Before it was as we know it today, the topography of this area provided a vantage point for patriot militiamen to keep watch for British foot soldiers and their allies. Relics from Revolutionary War scrimmages are reputed to have been found nearby.

In a nod to the area’s heritage, the American Revolution is the inspiration for much of the hand-framed wall art we chose to display inside Grand Colonial.

The Centennial Exhibition of 1876 was the first official World’s Fair in the United States. It was held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of American independence. It led to a revival of Colonial-style architecture as a means for Americans to reconnect with their colonial past.

Although we don’t know the exact year the Grand House was built, we found evidence of its existence in 1890. In colonial-inspired form, the Grand House boasts a formal entry with a large paneled door centered on the front of the house.

The front door is accented with a decorative crown called a “pediment” which is supported by white-colored columns. Double-hung windows with multi-paned sashes are placed symmetrically on both sides of the front door, and the exterior is constructed of brick.

The oldest known owners of the property at 112 West German Street are Joel Sheaf (1817-1890) and Martha Sheaf (1819-1908). The earliest records we found linking the Sheaf family to the property were from 1886. On March 26, 1853, Joel and Martha welcomed Jerome Farrington Sheaf (1853-1948), a son, into the world.

Jerome and Mary A Durst Sheaf (1860-1918) were married on May 26, 1881. Together they had two children, Floy E Sheaf and Hazel I Sheaf. In October 1890, Joel and Martha sold the lot upon which the Grand House is situated to Jerome for one dollar.

Sometime between 1890 and 1900, the Sheafs moved to Niagara Falls, New York, where they lived out the rest of their lives. As late as June of 1900, the Sheafs rented the Grand House to Albert Orrin McMath (1847-1942) and Frances Evaline Burnette McMath (1849-1920), his wife. Albert and Francis were married on September 29, 1870.

Albert was a well-known local marble merchant. Herkimer Marble and Granite Works, his business, was located at 217 South Main Street. Many of the marble headstones he fabricated can still be found today at Oak Hill Cemetery on West German Street.

Chlorinda Langdon Burnette, Frances’ mother, briefly resided in the grand house with the McMath family. Together with their four living children, Albert and Francis resided in the Grand House until December 1905.

It was then they moved into the Kay house on Main Street and eventually returned to Webster, New York, where they lived out the rest of their lives. After the McMath family left the Grand House, it remained under the ownership of the Sheafs through at least 1911.

A 1906 property map hung in Grand Colonial’s Continental Room shows “MA Sheaf” as the owner. Locally, the Grand House was known as the “Jerome Sheaf house on German Street.”

Daniel Willard Wendover (1863-1918) and Jennie L Hynds Wendover (1863-1937) purchased the Grand House free of mortgage around 1912. They had no children. Daniel worked as both a farmer and locomotive contractor and was retired by 1913. After Daniel’s death in 1918, Margaret A Hynds, Jennie’s mother, resided with her in the Grand House.

Sometime before 1925, Jennie sold the Grand House and moved a short distance to North Main Street. By 1925, the Grand House was owned by Ernest A Rhodes (1881-1941) and Matie E Dechau Rhodes (1883-?). Matie immigrated to the United States from Germany with her parents in 1890. She and Ernest were married on September 14, 1904.

Together they had two children. Ernest worked as vice president of Standard Furniture Company. Standard Furniture Company was founded in 1886, and was once the largest manufacturer of desks and wooden furniture in the United States.

The business was comprised of a series of red brick buildings that sprawled from King Street to West Washington Street, with land extending to Route 5. Although Standard Furniture closed in 1978, one of the original factory buildings still stands today.

In 1930, while still owned by Ernest and Matie, the Grand House and property upon which it is situated was valued at $14,000. Sometime between 1936 and 1938, Ernest and Matie divorced. Beginning in 1938, Ernest resided in the Grand House with Nellie H Rhodes, his second wife.

By 1944, the Grand House was owned and occupied by Thomas Donato (1893-1984) and Clara Foglino Donato (1896-1974) and their two sons, Renato Donato (1923-1975) and Rudolph T. Donato (1927-2015). Thomas and Clara were both born in Italy and immigrated to the United States in 1909 and 1920, respectively. They were married in about 1920.

Prior to their marriage, Thomas was drafted into the United States Army, and served overseas during World War I, between 1918 and 1919. Thomas had his beginnings in Herkimer working as a local barber. In the early 1940s he opened Herkimer Linen Supply and Laundry Service at 204 South Main Street.

Throughout the years, the Donato family shared in the success of multiple businesses in the Village of Herkimer, including Rudy’s Menswear, which offered fine clothing and formalwear. In retirement, Thomas did much to improve the grounds of the Grand House, including clearing the backyard, which was at one time wooded land.

Some of the improvements he made on the interior are still being enjoyed today. The Donatos were the longest residents of the Grand House. They called it home for many decades and passed it through the generations until it was sold in 1997.

In 1997, Darwin L. Putnam and Patty D. Putnam purchased the Grand House and commissioned a renovation soon thereafter. The most notable transformations were the addition of en suite bathrooms in three of the bedrooms, and many upscale decorative touches, including the European wallcoverings, still present throughout the house today.

The Putnams debuted the Grand House to the public for the first time as The Putnam Manor House Bed and Breakfast in the spring of 1997. Revered as one of Herkimer’s finest accommodations, the Grand House was host to political dignitaries and other distinguished guests until the Putnams retired from fulltime hosting and sold it in 2008.

Befitting the Grand House’s prestigious character, John Murray and Dr. Ann Marie Murray purchased it as their private residence in 2008. Ann Marie served as the third president of Herkimer College from August 2008 to January 2014.

Before holding several administrative positions at SUNY Broome and Hudson Valley Community College, she was a long-time professor of mathematics at Hudson Valley. John was an engineering science mathematics professor at Hudson Valley Community College for 42 years.

After her retirement from Herkimer College, Ann Marie was hired as associate provost for program development at the University at Albany in Albany, New York. When the Murrays left Herkimer in 2014, they maintained ownership of the Grand House and leased it as a vacation rental until it sold in 2017.

In 2017, the Grand House was fully refreshed and rebranded as Grand Colonial Bed and Breakfast, and is proudly owned and operated by E2W, LLC. As the newest owners, we are thrilled to once again open its doors to the public.

We invite you to stay as our guest, and join us in experiencing the history, heritage, and future of this landmark house firsthand.