Benham House Hotel

The Benham House was Penn Yan’s grandest hotel when erected circa 1858. It was named for its builder, Dewitt Clinton Benham.

The Benham House was the residence of Penn Yan dentist and freethinker Charles Elmendorf in his later years.

Additionally, national prominent freethought lecturer Robert Green Ingersoll lodged at the Benham in September 1889. He was accompanied by his wife and two daughters, which was unusual as he almost always traveled alone on his lecture tours. (This was a more sentimental journey, for it was Ingersoll's only return to the county of his birth.) On Tuesday, September 24, the Ingersoll party visited the nearby village of Dresden, beholding his birthplace and the former church where his father preached. On Wednesday, September 25, Ingersoll gave a free lecture to some 8,000 spectators at the Yates County, New York, County Fair in Penn Yan.

The Building and Site. The structure had various owners for more than a century. In 1960 it was razed, to be replaced by the bank branch that occupies the site today. More information on the building and its site are available here.

Thanks to Richard MacAlpine for research assistance.

The Benham House in downtown Penn Yan, for some years the residence of prominent citizen, longtime dentist, and freethinker Charles Elmendorf.

Newspaper Clipping Announces Ingersolls' Arrival

This clipping from the Penn Yan Express of September 25, 1889, documents the Ingersoll party's arrival at the Benham House the previous day. After receiving the visitors described in the clipping, Ingersoll and his daughters traveled to Dresden to view his birthplace and the former church where his father had preached. Ingersoll delivered his County Fair speech on September 25. Image courtesy of Richard MacAlpine.

151 Main, Penn Yan, today

The Benham House site where Charles Elmendorf once resided is now occupied by this early-1960s bank branch.

Benham House Site Today

During the years he lived at the Benham House, Charles Elmendorf enjoyed a very short commute. This photo, taken from the location of his dental practice at 124 Main, looks one block down Main Street. The bank branch now occupying the Benham site is partly visible, in front of the red brick Post Office with fan top windows.