A carpenter, Cotton built the ice-cream parlor and opened it seasonally. He had a dozen café tables and sold vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavors. It was a favorite stop for travelers, teens and knitting mill workers. It was remodeled and became home to the Dobert family from 1940 into the 1970s, and then was used for storage. In 2008 Girl Scout Troop 1181, local volunteers and contractors restored the parlor. It is the only known 1900s parlor left in New York.