"Riverside!"

I recall as a youth taking a bus to Binghamton before construction of Interstate 88, and the driver announced that the next stop was across the river from Sidney on state Route 7. The stop after that was on Main Street in the village. It has been quite a while since a bus driver has made such an announcement to passengers.

Back in the late 1700s, Riverside was a stopping point for passengers or travelers. At that time it was on the main stagecoach line of the former Catskill Turnpike.

In our time, we’ve heard the buses arrive and stop in Riverside. Back then the sound was of horses’ hooves. A traveler could stop at The Riverside Inn around 1795. Later on it became known as the DeCalvin-Buker house. One can find it today along state Route 7, still privately owned.

The house was built by James DeCalvin, and although it was referred to as a tavern, there was never a bar in the structure.

What is now the front of the house was the rear entrance and the turnpike was only several feet from what were twin front doors. Once the turnpike was abandoned, the method of entrance to the house changed at some point.

Before the turnpike was abandoned, and Route 7 built, the grounds around the house extended to the riverbank of the Susquehanna and probably catered to loggers moving their timber downstream to places such as Baltimore and Washington.

DeCalvin built the structure to serve as an inn. He had stayed at some of the hostelries along the turnpike, with their brawling clientele and dirty rooms. DeCalvin built this inn so travelers of better repute could stay in a clean, wholesome atmosphere.

In the early years, the inn had seven fireplaces and exquisitely carved woodwork. One of those fireplaces was in the cellar and was used to smoke meats.

All the rooms in the house were spacious and featured 10-to-11-foot ceilings.[an error occurred while processing this directive]