The History of the Westline Inn

The History of Westline cannot be told without relating to the Day family. The Days are of Scottish descent, and the founder of the American branch came in the second ship of pilgrims that landed on Plymouth Rock.

Ralph B. Day, born October 1835, was reared on the Day homestead in Dunkirk, New York. He built Westline around his chemical works in the late 1800's. The chemical factory turned the timber into charcoal, would alcohol, and acetic acid. Upon his death in 1899, his son, Edmund L. Day took over his interest in Westline.

The town of Westline, at one time, boasted a population of seven hundred people and many nationalities. Edmund Day, well known humanitarian that he was, would got to the New York City docks and help many immigrants who needed money for their fares or a place to stay. He provided homes and jobs for them in Westline. 

Mt.Day's kindness was shown again for the men who worked with the acetic acid. The acid was hot and would burn their feet, so he ordered a train load of wooden shoes to be brought in from Holland. A pair still hang above the fireplace in the bar room.

The Inn was originally the Day home, and was built in the late 1800's. The house was added to several time, and Edmund incorporated his own ideas and eccentricity into the plans. The large, back dining room was theh office of the Day Chemical Company. One of the few time-locked safes in the area took up a large portion of the room. The hooks in the smaller "sun-room" were not for hanging meat, but for hanging wicker furniture which could be moved into the sun. the bar room was first a porch looking out on the gardens and was enclosed in the third addition around 1933. Underneath was what could be the first indoor, heated swimming pool, heated by the boilers in the factory out back. Many was the kid who learned to swim here. The Inn and two other houses were electrified around 1920. The power was provided by a generator in the factory.

Following Edmund's death, Ruth Buffington Enis acquired the house. Ruth and husband, Carl, decided to turn it into a hotel and after considerable modification, opened the Enis Hotel in 1948. Ruth began a tradition of hospitality and good cooking that endeared her to everyone who stepped up to the bar or sat down at a table. Unfortunately there are more stories than can be told in the composition of this article. In February 1975, Ruth sold the hotel to two couples both formerly of Chester County, Pennsylvania.