Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Cobblestone Buildings in Madison County

             
 History of the Landmark Tavern in Bouckville
                  

    
     The history of the beautiful and historic Landmark Tavern building begins with the efforts to procure a canal route from Binghamton to Utica. This route would join the coal fields of Northern Pennsylvania with the recently-opened Erie Canal.  The farms, hamlets and villages of the Chenango and Oriskany river valleys, through which the proposed canal was to be constructed, had the potential for great prosperity if this new transportation route were built.
     The canal would also bisect the Third Great Western Turnpike (today’s Rt. 20), which ran through the hamlet of Johnsville.  Johnsville was later renamed Bouckville.  Johnsville in the 1820’s and 1830’s was a small cluster of homes and businesses, mainly on the eastern end of the hamlet.  The western end of present-day Bouckville (formerly Johnsville) was referred to as a “cedar swamp” in newspaper accounts of the 1820’s.  Farms in the area had originally been established on the hillsides to avoid disease-carrying mosquitos.  The construction of a canal offered the chance to drain the swamps and create lowland farms that could use the rich alluvial soil of the Bouckville area.
                        The Cobblestone Distillery
      When news of the pending passage of the canal bill became known many people began to plan new business ventures along the canal route.  Local farms were producing an abundance of grain and the grain could be sent to market by wagon, but that was a slow and laborious process.
A better way to transport the grain was to process it into whiskey and then send it to market in barrels on the new Chenango Canal.  As a result, a fine cobblestone building was erected c.1837 on the west side of the canal and a distillery was begun. The following is a listing of owners of the distillery at Bouckville as compiled by Matthew Urtz, Madison County Historian. 1847 – Burchard & Edgarton — Distillery — Whiskey (We do not know if they were the original builders of the distillery.  They are the first recorded in the county files. 
     The information for 1847 comes from the record books of Miss Gertrude Edgarton.  In that book was recorded the sale of 30 barrels of whiskey to be sent on the boat “Utica,” to New York City, by way of the Chenango and Erie Canals.) 1855 – John Woodhull — Distillery — Whiskey (John Woodhull installed a rectifier.  In this process, the spirits or liquor goes through repeated distillation.) 1855 – Woodhull & Seawood — Distillery — Whiskey 1859 – William Woodhull & Joseph Forward — Distillery — Whiskey 1865 – William Woodhull & Joseph Forward — Distilling & Malting — Whiskey & Malt Liquor 1867.
The building was purchased from Woodhull & Forward by Horatio S. Brown, John C. Beach and Charles F. Dedrick and converted into a vinegar manufactory. (In 1868, Samuel R. Mott will buy Dedrick’s one-third interest in this firm and will later own the entire operation and convert it into a cider and vinegar firm – the beginnings of the Mott’s product name.)
                                             Cargo Space
     Many of the items destined for Bouckville were received at the dock owned by Moses Maynard and kept in his storehouse along the canal.  However, it soon became obvious that Bouckville needed a place where local citizens could come and trade the goods which they produced in exchange for necessities and other desired items.
    The push for a new store actually came from Maynard’s wife, Polly, who envisioned a many-sided structure to be built across the road from the “White House.”  When plans were drawn up for the pie-shaped lot, it was realized that only four sides could be built in the available space. A joint-stock company was formed with Moses Maynard as the head of the company and other area investors represented, including James E. and William Coolidge. James D. Coolidge’s son, James E. Coolidge, was to be the architect and chief carpenter for the Cobblestone Store project.
Realizing the limitations of the pie-shaped lot, Coolidge drew up plans for a building that would be truly unique.  The years 1847-1851 were devoted to the planning, gathering of materials and the construction of the building.
                   Building the Cobblestone Structure
    After the set of plans was determined, work on the building began with the digging of the foundation and basement level.  This was a period of pick and shovel work and the digging of such a massive hole must have taken a great deal of time. With the foundation/basement hole completed, a base for the exterior walls was needed before layer after layer of cobblestones could be placed.      
    The base of the foundation and the exterior walls of the basement portion of the building are estimated to be four foot thick. The outside wall of the building had to be perfectly vertical as construction continued, but the inside wall became narrower and narrower until the stone wall at the peak measured 12 to 16 inches wide. 
   This meant that on each floor of the Cobblestone Store, the interior walls would start out tight against the stone and show a wider and wider opening toward the ceiling.  This created a real challenge for the carpenters. At the same time that the stone walls were being raised, the interior was being built by the carpenters.     
  The completed Cobblestone Store building would have a basement area, three distinct floors and a cupola installed on the roof.  Another unique feature of the building is a pair of triangular-shaped windows on the east and west ends of the building.  Decorative and distinctive, they have been a source of conversation for many decades.
   The complexity and detail of this building is best seen in the construction of the roof.  This can still be seen today when viewed from the unfinished third floor.  Many leading architects have come and studied the construction techniques used by James E. Coolidge and marvel at both the complexity and the ingenuity of his design.  Studying each exposed beam, and the way it was used, one can readily see the supporting function of each.
                          Connecting Stories
     On a board found in the Landmark Tavern building and now on display to the left of the modern tap room: “This window cased by David Douglas Hougham on this 17th day of October 1851.  Four carpenters now work on this house.  Written by D.D. Hougham.  Chartered by Coolidge Brothers & Company, Bouckville.  Isaac Forward and his son, Hougham and Henderson – joiners.  A great day – not a cloud to be seen.  A frosty morning – just the same through the day.” When construction reached the cupola level, Mr. Coolidge used a six-sided design, the entire cupola being about 12 feet wide.  
   Legend states that each side was dedicated to one of the six wives that he married during his lifetime.  His fifth wife was alive during the initial construction of the building but died before the structure reached the height of the cupola.  Coolidge married for a sixth time in 1851 (Mary Coburn Smith) and this may have prompted the six-sided design. You can see the entire area around Bouckville from each of the diamond-shaped cupola windows.
    The result of four years of labor was a building unlike any other in the U.S.  It has been featured in numerous articles and books and is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  Each side of the front of the building is 24 feet wide, for a total of 96 feet of road frontage. 
    The frontage faced the Cherry Valley Turnpike, the Chenango Canal and after 1850, the Rome to Hamilton Plank Road, which ran alongside the canal.  The stores on the ends of the building were rectangular in shape, while the two stores in the middle were more pie-shaped.  It became the first mini-mall of its day with a different type of store eventually occupying each section. Each store entrance can be visibly seen today. The Post Office for Bouckville was housed in the Cobblestone Store for many years and the first telephone exchange for the community was also headquartered there.
                              Owners of the Stone Store 
    1847-1851 – The Cobblestone Store was built. April 1, 1851 – James E. and William Coolidge purchased the building from Moses Maynard and his wife. 1861-1875 – William Coolidge.  By 1861, William had purchased the interest of his brother, James E., in the Cobblestone Store and directed the store enterprise until his death on May 3, 1875. June 14, 1876-1882 – Lewis E. Coe.  The property was sold through the estate of William Coolidge by Joseph W. Forward and Mary J. Coolidge – Executors of the Estate.  Mr. Coe paid $795.00 for the property. February 24, 1883 – Lewis E. Coe and Hurd D. Brockett form a partnership.  This was the locally famous store – Coe & Brockett. 
   The partnership continued until the death of Lewis E. Coe in 1897. 1897-1911 – H.D. Brockett and Mrs. Coe following the death of Lewis E. Coe. 1911-1940 – Charles M. Coe – He was the son of Lewis E. Coe.  The telephone exchange was located in the Stone Store during this time period.  The manager of the store for many years was Allie F. White, followed by Mrs. J.M. Daniels. 
   At this time there were also apartments to rent on the second floor. June 28, 1940 – Charles M. Coe to Robert Palmiter and Valerae K. Palmiter.  Mr. Palmiter lived in the building with his family and also ran an antiques business from the premises.  He died in a tragic auto accident in 1968. June 12, 1970 – Valerae K. Palmiter to Andrew B. Hengst, Sr. and Andrew B. Hengst, Jr.  The Landmark Tavern was opened on September 25, 1970. April 8, 1977 – Andrew B. Hengst, Sr. and Andrew B. Hengst, Jr. to Andrew B. Hengst, Sr., Andrew B. Hengst, Jr. and Stephen G. Hengst as joint tenants. 1977 to the present – The Hengst family continues to operate the Landmark Tavern.  This consistency of ownership is evident in the style in which the business is conducted.
                          Safe Haven for Runaway Slaves
      A story told by Brian Palmiter, which had been related by his father, Robert Palmiter, states that the Cobblestone Store had a way to hide runaway slaves during the Civil War time period.  The slaves were supposedly hidden on the Chenango Canal boats by the boat captains.
    When the boats docked at Bouckville, the runaways were secreted to the Cobblestone Store and hidden in a cavity just to the right of the fireplace, which is located in the second dining room of the Landmark Tavern. Brian stated that he can remember seeing a panel in that area that could be slid out.  Behind the panel was an opening where a person could stand up and be hidden.  It has been owned and operated as Ye Olde Landmark Tavern and Restaurant by the Hengst family since September, 1970.

( Information collected by Jim Ford)




Rome Sentinel, July 20, 1940
Bouckville Man Buys Landmark
                ____
Robert Palmiter Takes Over
  Old Cobblestone Store
         On Route 20
                __
    Oneida - Robert Palmiter is the new owner of the old cobblestone store at Bouckville, Route 20.
    The octagonal building was built by Moses Maynard who came from New England to Bouckville in 1800. He built the building 40 years later and during the Chenango Canal and hop-picking days it was a noted meeting place. Maynard also built what is now known as the "White House Hotel."
    After its completion 10 years later, Ira Burham and his son, Linidorf, operated the store, but upon the outbreak of the Civil War, the Burnhams disposed of their business to Deacon William Coolidge, who operated the store until 1875. He also was postmaster.
   Lewis E. Coe was his successor and the Coes owned the property for 64 years. H.D. Brockett became his partner later. Mr. Coe died in 1897, and Brockett carried on until 1911. Charles M. Coe, a son of Lewis, bought Brockett's interest and A.F. White became manager. Later he was succeeded by Mrs. J.M. Daniels.
 Among other buildings of the community during the Cobblestone Store construction was the cobblestone house now occupied by Glenn Washburn, supervisor, and the red brick house, occupied by Mrs. Elsie Washburn.



                                                            View of east wall.
                                                                        _________

Waterville Times
Thursday, July 25, 1940

    Cobblestone Store is Being Restored
                            ____
Octagonal Stone Store Located At 
   Bouckville is of Historical Interest -
    Will Be Used for Antique Shop 
                            ____
    The recent sale of the “Old Cobblestone Store” at Bouckville Corners is of interest throughout Central New York, not only because of its unique appearance but because of its historical interest. An item on the history of the Cobblestone Stone appeared in the Oneida Democratic-Union last week. The article follows:
    “Moses Maynard and family came from the east early in 1800, and settled in the vicinity of Bouckville. About 1840 he built the present hotel known as ‘White House.’ About 1850, he built the cobblestone store. Mr. Maynard was the chief instigator. Mrs. Maynard, commonly called ‘Aunt Polly’ made the remark that if it could be built eight sided, they would help finance the building.
    “Ira Burham  and son, Linidorf operated the store until the opening of the Civil War in 1861. Deacon William Coolidge succeeded the Messrs. Burnhams and continued until his death in 1875. He was also postmaster and the post office was in the store.
                              Purchased in 1875
    “Lewis E. Coe purchased the building in 1876 and he operated it for several years as well as being postmaster. Later he took into partnership, H.D. Brockett. The firm was then known as Coe & Brockett. After Mr. Coe’s death in 1897, Mr. Brockett carried on alone until 1911. Then Charles M. Coe, son of Lewis T. Coe, purchased the property.
    “A.F. White was manager for a number of years. Mr. White was succeeded by Mrs. J.M. Daniels who ably filled the position. Mr. Brockett continued as postmaster, moving the post office into what is known now as the Pierce Auto Parts.
    “The store was owned by the Coe family for 64 years. During that time it as operated as a general store. The stock tried, consisting of nearly everything from peanuts, needles and silk to mowing machines. It was also a very popular place when the old canal boars operated on the Chenango Canal.
    “In hop times, it was the scene of great activity, the farmers bills sometimes amounting to hundreds of dollars. It also housed the post office for many years and was also the first local telephone exchange. At one time, from its cupola, weather signals were displayed for the benefit of the farmers.
                           Octagonal in Shape
    “The building is octagonal, unique in design, containing a dark room. The original double doors with the pulley from the third floor, in the back, were where the molasses and vinegar barrels were hoisted up. Many genial clerks, too numerous to mention by name, have served the public over the counters of this store.
    “After Mr. Brockett left the store, he continued on as postmaster of Bouckville, moving the post office into what is now known as the Pierce auto used parts, until his death on January 14, 1934.
    “About the same time the Cobblestone store was built, the cobblestone house now occupied by Glen Washburn and the red brick house, occupied by Mrs. Elsie Washburn, were also erected.”

    In its last change of hands, early in 1940, Robert Palmiter purchased the property and has remodeled it so far as possible to its original style. He will use it as an antique store. Among other restorations are some of the original doors and windows and the cupola. 
                                                     _____



The 1853 wall map of Madison county shows "Woodhull & Forward, Distillers" on the west side of the Chenango Canal at this point. A news item states it was converted to a vinegar factory in 1867. harles Dedrick  and his partners used the old stone distillery and malt house on the west shore of the Chenango Canal for their vinegar factory. This was located southwest of what is now the Bockville Feed Mill. They also manufactured cider brandy. Brown, Beach and Dedrick started their business operations c. 1863. Samuel Mott took the place of Mr. Dedrick in the partnership and by 1869 had purchased the business interests of his two partners. On Sept. 18, 1891 a- A fire broke out at the lower Mott plant, next to the old Chenango Canal, Bouckville. The large refini8ng and storage building, the cooper shop, and the old stone distillery building were destroyed, along with several other smaller buildings.
                                      Photo courtesy of Diane VanSlyke, Town of Madison Historian
Utica Daily Press
Tuesday, September 29, 1891

A Great Blaze At Bouckville
          ____
Mott’s Cider Mill and Other Buildings
Destroyed, Entailing a Loss Estimated
at Between $50,000 and $100,000

    BOUCKVILLE, Sept. 18 - [Special] The greatest fire known in the history of this village occurred here this evening, by which the largest industry in the place was wiped out. About 20 minutes before 6, smoke was noticed coming from the varnishing department of Mott’s cider mills. The alarm was at once given and a crowd collected, but as there was no apparatus at hand, the flames spread with alarming rapidity.
    The people became almost frantic and hasty appeals were sent to surrounding towns. Oriskany Falls, Hamilton and Morrisville responded, sending apparatus. The flames raged fiercely until nearly 8 o’clock, when they were gotten under partial control. At one time it looked as though the whole village would be burned, and the inhabitants rushed about the streets almost crazed.
    At the lower mills, where the conflagration was located, there are several buildings together. The old distillery, now used as the mill, was a stone structure, about 40x150 feet in dimensions and two stories high. This was destroyed, with the engine house, cooper shop, storage cellar, varnishing rooms and smaller buildings. The factories were the largest in the United States, and in the cellars were 100 cells, each holding about 600 barrels of cider or vinegar. All the refining machinery was destroyed together with an immense quantity of barrels about the outside of the buildings.

    Further destruction was only prevented by the efficient work of the firemen. About 40 men wee employed. The property was owned by Hon. S.R. and J.A. Mott. They were unable to give any intelligent estimate of their losses this evening. The loss is variously estimated at from $30,000 to $100,000, half the amount being covered by insurance.

                  


Early view of Mott’s cider mill in Bouckville, looking south west across the old Chenango Canal. Buildings here had cobblestone foundations.
Photo courtesy of Diane VanSlyke, Town of Madison Historian





               Cobblestone foundation of Bouckville feed mill at  Canal Road today.
                                                     ____

                                                   Hop Kiln Moved to New Site
                                 


                                            
                    
                        Cobblestone Hop House is Preserved


A reconstructed hop house stands on a wooded hillside at 3568 Stearns Road, Erieville. This structure was originally located on the south side of Route 20, just east of the village of Madison. It belonged to G.T. Forward, one of the principal hop growers in the Madison-Bouckville area. (The Forward name is stenciled on a post.) Owner and preservation architect Carl Stearns carefully relocated the structure in the mid-1990s. All wooden components were numbered, removed and reassembled with treenails in the original holes with dust on top. The quoins were reused as required and most of the cobbles were replaced, obtained from a nearby gravel pit. This structure features a cobblestone kiln and a timber frame processing space. For many years Stearn presented a program entitled "The Evolution of a Hop House," at the annual Madison County Hop Festival. Stearns was crowned the fifth King of the Annual Hop Fest in 2000 for his hop preservation efforts. He was further honored by the New York State Barn Coalition for his rural preservation efforts.
                                       _____




This massive cobblestone house is located at 898 Route 31, two miles east of Bridgeport was once known as the "Stone Tavern." It was built between 1840 and 1850 by Edward H. Damon and included a large farm. A door opening on the second floor suggests there was once a grand portico facing the road that has been removed.  It appears on the 1853 Gurdon Evans Map of Madison county. Below, as it appeared in 1962 before porch was removed.



                                           __________

                        Only Existing Cobblestone Octagon House                 

                             
                                   





This is believed to be the only cobblestone  octagon house in existence, at 7271 Main Street in the village of Madison. It was built by James Coolidge 1850 who also built what is now known as the Landmark Tavern in nearby Bouckville. Ground level inspection suggests this house is not a true octagon. However an aerial view confirms that it is. This may have originally been a common rectangular cobblestone house with the cobblestone effect added later. The other existing cobblestone building is a blacksmith shop in the hamlet of Alloway near Lyons,  N.Y.
                                                           ____

                                 Age of the Octagon House

 When Orson Fowler launched his octagon house crusade in 1848, he succeeded, at least for a while. His book went through some nine editions all through the 1850s. His architectural argument was simple: With an octagon form, you use fewer materials and hence less money while gaining more space. A circular form is the best and the octagon comes closest. To pragmatic Yankee builders in New York State more than anywhere else, the argument made sense, hence their overwhelming popularity there over any other state.
    But his argument went further. An octagon also maximized window space, hence light. In the whale oil or burning fluid days before kerosene lamps or electricity, this also was attractive. And we need not overlook the curb appeal of having an octagon house, something all the neighbors could talk about. Having one built out of New York State's native cobblestone construction only made an octagon even more special.
    This octagon features the same plain unostentatious early Italianate styling that Fowler himself proposed in his drawings. The simple cornice with its overhanging eaves is right out of the book. But this house also features exquisite twin column framing on either side of the entrance door, a reminder of the Neo-Classical elegance that was still popular in the United States.
    But one feature this house has that is a radical departure from Fowler's simple octagon is the long rectangular section splitting the octagon in two. Why? Well a simple answer might be a desire for more space without resorting to a giant octagon. But another possibility is that it rectifies a basic problem that all octagons had: lack of wall space against which to place your furniture.
   Simply put, multiple oblique angles plus frequent windows do not leave much space for furniture, a rather serious drawback. How does one fit a dresser in an oblique corner? You can't. So the only space left is the back wall opposite the windows, but then that is where all your doors and rooms have to be. It was a major problem for octagon house owners with furniture.
   This house solves that problem, using Yankee ingenuity, by creating a straight section between the half octagons. The best of both worlds? It certainly makes for a unique house
    It is believed there were between 4,000 to 6,000 octagon buildings constructed, only which only about 400 still exist. For further information on octagon buildings go to: http://www.octagon.bobanna.com/main_page.html
                                 _____

                         House Has Interesting History
                      



 This five-bay Greek Revival style house at 3822 Canal Road, Bouckville, was built by James and Silas Howard. This article is from the Cazenovia Republican of
July 8, 1926
(Excerpt)
    Eighty-five years ago washed sand and gravel were produced at Solsville from the deposit which is now being worked by the Madison Sand & Gravel Corporation. In those days, when houses were built on honor, it was an unwritten law that cobblestone houses should be built with washed material.
    The cobblestone house now owned by Smith Edgarton, near the new plant, was built with this washed material. Te sand and gravel was shoveled from the bank into a two-wheel cart and drawn by an ox team to the bank of the canal, where it was dumped into a water-tight box.
    A few pails of water were thrown upon the material and it was thoroughly shoveled back into the ox cart and down to the job. Three men and the ox team were able to produce about five yards per day. The driver of the yoke of oxen has long since passed on, but the house that he helped build is as sound as ever and presents a forceable argument for the use of washed sand and gravel in building construction.                        
                   
  
                  Out building attached to rear of the house.




    The story of this cobblestone house is found in the writings of the late Helen Howard Peckham. [Courtesy of Diane Van Slyke, Town of Madison Historian]

The Cobble Stone House on Canal Road in Bouckville

By Helen Howard Peckham, June 1991

    The Cobble Stone House on the Bouckville-Solsville Road was built by my great great grandfather, James Howard, and his brother Silas Howard. It took two years to build it 1840-42.

   They used field stones that were very abundant on the farm. The stones were left after a glacier passed through the section from Central New York to Western New York. At the present time there are enough field stones collected in piles to build another house. If more are needed all one need do is plow the garden. It is surprising how many stones turn up each time.

   They were assisted in building the house by a stone mason, Joe Stevens, who might have been one of the men who helped in building the Chenango Canal 1834-37. Many men who worked on the canal settled in the vicinity after the canal was completed.

   The cobble stones used in building the house were similar in size, but varied in shape and color. They were set in horizontal rows with straight horizontal mortar joints. (My grandmother, while working in her flower garden once heard two slightly inebriated gentlemen while walking down the road exclaim one to the other that if they had that house they would paint each stone a different color.)

   Four huge stones (one the floor of the front porch and three that make the floor of the side porch) were brought by flat boats on the canal from the Quarry at Oriskany Falls. The Quarry is still in operation at the present time. James had a canal boat named The Madison and undoubtedly brought the corner stones and the large long one above the front door on it for the house.

   The Howard brothers also operated a brick factory on their land which had once belonged to Abjih Parker and is now owned by Don Livermore. The location is on the left side of the road after crossing the bridge going toward Solsville.

   In l840 the land owned by Leon Livermore and the late William Livermore were part of the Howard farm, about 500 acres.

   In 1874 the part now owned by Leon Livermore, about 100 acres, was purchased by John Livermore and given to his son Newton Livermore (Leon's grandfather) as a wedding present. Later more land was sold so that at the time it became my Mother's there were about 80 acres in the farm.

In addition to the brick mill, they had a saw mill on the Oriskany Creek which originally flowed toward Bouckville through the Howard farm; but when the canal was built its course was changed to flow north as more water was needed to feed the canal in the direction of the Mohawk River than toward the Susquehanna.

   The Oriskany begins on the Cameron farm, runs through a gully on the Bridge farm, and through Leon Livermore's to the lock near Solsville. The lock in the canal is still in evidence. The area on the southwestern part of the Howard farm had been swampy and the canal helped to drain it.

   The first home of James Howard, one of the early settlers in Bouckville, was on the Crooked S Road. This road ran from Indian Opening Road along what is now called Livermore Road and up over the hill (Crow Hill) and down into Bouckville at Root Chapel, which now is the home of Harry Wood. This was the direct route to Bouckville until Canal Road was built after the canal. Root Chapel was the meeting house.

    James' home, reported to have been made of logs, was on the north side of the Crooked S Road at the foot of the hill on land now owned by Leon Livermore. During my life time, evidence of the foundation was still there on the abandoned road.

   When the canal was built it cut the Howard farm in two. I imagine the road was soon built along the side of the canal. Silas Howard was a bachelor. James was married to Sylvia Leland, daughter of Col. Joshua Leland and Waitstill Greenleaf Leland, and had nine children. Silas and James decided to build a stone house, on the new road. It is a very large house, having three sections, but all were built at the same time.

   The front section (three stories) consists of a large living room 32 x 15. I understand that this room was originally two rooms but my grandfather had a partition removed when he moved into the house. It has a fireplace with a glass enclosed cupboard built into the chimney. The windows had 12 panes each with deep window sills, five windows in all.

   When a spark from a passing train caused the barn to burn, the windows were put in the new barn and two paned windows were put in the house. The central hall with sixteen steps leading to the second floor has a scroll paneling in mahogany along the side of the stair way which enhances the beauty of the room.        The front door is a solid wooden one, locked on the inside with only a hook. On either side and above the door are narrow glass windows. In the hall hang the pictures (on the north side) of my great grandparents Alanson and Ann Howard Martin. On the south wall the pictures of my great grandparents James and Sophia Berry Edgarton and my grand parents Smith and Helen Martin Edgarton.

   My grandmother had inherited 1/3 interest in the house and my grandfather bought the remaining 2/3 from Helen's sister, Belle Warren and brother Howard Martin. They moved into the house in July 1883, one month before my Mother, Clara Edgarton Howard was born.

   At my grandfather's death in 1935, my Uncle Albert Edgarton inherited it. After my Father, Frank Howard, died in 1916 my mother and I moved from the White house 1/4 mile away. This house also belonged to my grandfather. (This property was not a part of the original tract of land, but had been purchased from his brother-in-law, Howard Martin, who had inherited it from his father, Alanson Martin.

   My Mother took care of her parents and brother, Albert, during their life time. When my Uncle died January 1, 1979 it became the property of my Mother. She owned it until it was sold to Fred Hilsinger and Mark Salamida in 1990.

   Going back to the rooms in the house, across the living room is the parlor and parlor bedroom. The doors and windows are beautifully carved. The bedroom and the one above it have the only two clothes closets (being built under the stairs). There are four bedrooms on the second floor and a large garrett (attic) over the entire front section of the house. There are two cellars with dirt floors, one holds the furnace and the second was used for storage. A third cellar is under the middle section of the house  and opens into the other cellars. In this cellar, fruits and vegetables grown on the farm were stored, also home canned foods, a pie safe and cistern for the kitchen.

   Above the cellar is the dining room, pantry, small bedroom which later became the bathroom and an entry way to the third section which was at right angles with the rest, but was built at the same time as the rest. The dining room is large with eight doors and four windows with deep window sills which my mother had filled with violets that always seemed to be in blossom. The outside door locked with a sliding bolt. There was no way to lock the house originally from the outside.

   There is a thick wall between the dining and living room which undoubtedly was put there to give extra support from the cellar to second floor. The width of the door casings are 24" and each is made from a single board that wide. In 1957 the large pantry was converted into a kitchen with electric stove, refrigerator, and double stainless steel sinks.

   The pantry open shelves were removed to make a work counter and a place for the stove. Opposite the refrigerator was the electric washing machine, and the door in the back of it was cut to make a Dutch door into the dining room. The two cabinets that swung open to hold 24-pound sacks of flour and sugar were placed under the sink to open as before, but no longer was sugar and flour bought in such big quantities.

   Previously the small bedroom (but I do not remember the date) was made into a bathroom. My grandparents had the wide floor boards in the dining room covered with a hard wood floor which I remember being laid by my Uncle Levi Warren when I was real young. I remember the wainscoting as always being painted white, but the present owners have scraped it and found the wood cherry. There is a passage way which we called the entry that leads from the dining room to the kitchen (what a lot of steps to carry food), and a rolling door that leads to the bedroom above the dining room. My grandfather did not approve of eating in the kitchen.

   The house was heated originally with stoves in each room and a fireplace in the living room and kitchen. As long as I can remember there was a hot water furnace with radiators in all the upright part and the dining room. I do not know when the acetylene lights were put in, but I do not remember kerosene lamps much. Later electric lights replaced the acetylene.

   The kitchen has no cellar under it. It originally had a fireplace, Dutch oven, and a brick archway which held a large black kettle (called a scalding kettle) especially used in time of butchering. (My cousin, Raymond Edgarton, bought the kettle at the auction.) There is a dry sink and a pump used to be beside it to draw water from the cistern. On the other side of the pump there was a hand sink for washing hands, and to the right of that a shelf on which were placed one or two pails of spring water (drinking water) brought in from the milk house. A dipper hung beside them.

   There are four iron hooks in the form of a square on the ceiling from which foods like apples, corn, etc. could be hung to dry. In back of the fireplace there was a room entirely lined in brick which was the smoke house. A big wood box was built outside the kitchen which was filled with wood from the wood shed. A sliding door in the kitchen could be opened to take out wood for the stove. My grandmother wanted a modern kitchen with a wood stove, and she had all the fireplace removed and installed her new wood stove with reservoir. I hope in the future the fireplace can be restored.

    In hop picking season another stove was put beside the other to help in preparing food for about 40 pickers. The wood shed was three steps lower than the kitchen, but all is one building. Wood was stored here, also washing machine etc., and a stairway led up to the floor above where many beds were set up for the hop pickers during late August and early September.

   The house and land has belonged to four generations: Howard, Martin, Edgarton, and Howard. My Uncle Albert Edgarton who died January 1, 1979 left it to my Mother because she had made a home for him.

The following is a history of the families and their relatives who lived in the Stone House:

   James Howard, one of the builders of the house was born January 15, 1799 and married Sylvia Leland on January 30, 1823. Sylvia Leland was born August 5, 1798. Sylvia was a daughter of Col. Joshua Leland and Waitstill Greenwood.

   Joshua Leland, Sylvia Howard's father, brought his family from Sherburne, Massachusetts in the middle 1700's by ox cart. He had intended to settle in Hamilton, New York (then known as Slab City), but his ox cart bogged down in the mud at Fargo Corners, which it is now called, but at that time it was populated by trees and Indians. He decided to build his cabin there.

   The Mosher family now live on the site in a modern home. They grow the most delicious strawberries. Joshua made his living by making potash; which he carried in barrels to Albany. Potash is made by burning timber and slacking the ash. On a trip to Albany, the barrels rolled over onto him and killed him.

   His wife Waitstill Greenleaf Leland had befriended the Indians and they would bring their sick children to her to cure with her home made medicines. She kept her family together by turning her home into an Inn for travelers. The Indians called her the "beautiful white squaw" and worshipped her as a goddess. Her boys had unusual names, all beginning with a vowel: Amasa, Ezra, Isaac, Oscar, Uriah, and Yale. Her girls were: Phoebe, Sylvia and Julia. A little pond near the family home was named Lelands Pond, and a marker at the cross roads marks this historic spot.

   Joshua and Waitstill and several of their children are buried in Pine Woods Cemetery with Joshua's monument on the highest ground as befitting this prominent gentleman. James and Sylvia had nine children:

1. Sylvia Elizabeth Howard Born 10/25/1824 - Died 1900

Married: 1st husband, William Mize

2nd husband, Horace Keeley

2. James Leland Howard Born 9/23/1826 - Died 1888

Married: Helen Dunlap

3. Mary Sophia Howard Born 9/27/1828 - Died 9/1883

Married: Walter DeLong

4. Maria Waitstill Howard Born 9/25/1830 - Died 1868

Married: William W. Edgarton

5. Ann Amelia Howard Born 10/27/1832 - Died 7/28/1899

Married: Alanson Martin Born 7/18/1825 - Died: 10/14/1906

(Both were buried in Indian Opening Cemetery)

6. Catherine Cordelia Howard Born 4/28/1835 - Died 4/1/1905

Married: Edwin Eastman

   Catherine Cordelia Howard, [one of James Howard's daughter's] marriage was rather interesting. She was observed by Edwin Eastman while he was surveying for the soon to be built Ontario and Western Railroad as she ran out of the kitchen door with a pan of dish water and threw it on her brother-in-law, Walter DeLong. Edwin Eastman said, "That's the prettiest girl I ever saw, and I'm going to marry her; and he did in 1855.

7. Henry Dwight Howard Born 10/25/1837 - Died 11/12/1915

Married: Mary Smith

8. Clarinda Adelaide Howard Born 9/6/1841 - Died 11/17/1923

Married: Charles Underwood

9. Melville Greenwood Howard Born 12/12/1843 - Died 1/28/1898

Married: Alnetta Belle Daniels

(Melville was probably born in the Stone House.)

   Silas Howard, brother and co-builder of Stone House, was born October 25, 1808. He was a bachelor and I do not know where he lived in his early life. He was a great hunter and trapper. One winter he caught enough mink to make his niece, Ann, a long cape. He also was a traveler and went around Cape Horn and South America.

   Sylvia Howard died July 3, 1862 and was buried in Pine Woods Cemetery. James died in 1872, also buried in Pine Woods Cemetery. Silas inherited the house but was living with his niece, Ann, at the time in the White house 1/4 mile from Stone house.

Alanson Martin who married Ann Amelia Howard was a very good musician, and wrote many musical compositions. There was a stack of music he had composed sold at the auction. According to a diary he kept which the present owners found in the attic, he had a band that played all over the country for dances, concerts, weddings, etc.

   Ann Amelia Howard, born July 19, 1825, and who had grown up in the Stone House, married Alanson Martin on February 20, 1854. In the following agreement Silas gave the Stone House to Ann and her husband Alanson on January 27, 1878 for which they were to pay $200 each year on April the first. (I have a copy of the agreement.) They were "to furnish him a good comfortable home and suitable board at the home of the first parties (Ann's) for and during the term of his natural life. For the performance of this agreement the said Ann Martin hereby charges her separate estate and the first parties also hereby bind their heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns for the performance of this agreement."

   Until my grandparents bought the house, Henry Dwight Howard brother of Ann Amelia lived in the house. He let it run down considerably.

  Ann Amelia Martin gave the Stone House to her three children, Helen Amelia born April 15, 1855, Isabelle Edna born December 18, 1857, and Howard Edgar born February 8, 1875. Helen Amelia Martin married Smith Berry Edgarton on August 17, 1877. Smith Berry Edgarton was born March 15, 1852. Smith bought out the interest of Belle and Howard and they moved into the Stone House in July 1883.

Silas Howard died on May 7, 1887 and was buried in Pine Woods Cemetery. In his will he mentioned he had already made the property agreement with Ann Martin. Second he left his guns to Howard Martin (son of Ann and Alanson Martin), and lastly the rest of his personal property and money was to be divided in fifteen equal shares to be divided among his other nieces and nephews. One niece, Maria Waitstill Howard Edgarton had died before Silas and her husband, William (a cousin of my grandfather Smith Edgarton) sued the estate for her share.

   The original furniture in the house had to be auctioned off to pay him. Therefore most of the furniture was of my grandmother's, Helen Edgarton, era and not as most thought originally in the house. My grandfather, Smith Edgarton's sister, Mary (Aunt Mate) brought many pieces of furniture when she moved back from Michigan which were antiques.

   When Ann Martin died on July 28, 1899, she was living in the White house where my grandmother was born. Ann was buried at Indian Opening Cemetery, Madison New York. Her husband, Alanson, lived until October 14, 1906 and was buried at Indian Opening.

   He had been taken care of by his son, Howard Martin, who then moved to Norwich, New York.

As previously stated, Helen Amelia Martin, born April 15, 1855 in the White house married Smith Edgarton. He was born March 15, 1852 to James Edgarton who was born on February 1, 1808 and his second wife Sophia Berry Edgarton was born May 14, 1812.

Smith was born in the Guillaume house which I knew as the Sorenson home on the right corner as you turn toward the William Edgarton farm on Crow Hill Road. When Smith was four, his family moved to Armo, Wisconsin and returned to Bouckville when he was eleven. I remember he said, "I have been milking cows ever since." They settled on the Henry Lewis farm (now Joe Bono's). When he and Helen were married on August 17, 1877 they lived on the Craine farm (later owned by Fred Dahn, then Willard Dahn, and now by Vincent Raisa).

1. Their children Irving Dwight Edgarton was born here on July 25, 1878, and married Lyle Main Kellogg on September 22, 1903 who was born on April 14, 1872. They had two sons, Fay Avery and Raymond Smith.

2 and 3. Pearl Alice and Rose Edgarton, twins, were born on October 4, 1880. Rose died January 22, 1882. Pearl married Jared Harry Reynolds on July 7, 1908 and had four children: Ruth Edgarton Reynolds, Leland Denyck Reynolds, Eleanor Alice Reynolds, and Elizabeth Emily Reynold.

I was surprised when one day I was looking in the cellar for some of the white dishes that had been used in hop picking time, to discover a foot stone with Rose on it. Rose, Pearl's twin, lived a little over a year and was buried in Madison Cemetery. When Ernest died, it was decided to get matching footstones so the first one for Rose was put in the cellar.

4. Clara Belle Edgarton born August 29, 1883 married Frank Jesse Howard on February 21, 1906. Frank Jesse Howard was born on February 4, 1884. They had one child (me) Helen Carolyn.

5. Ernest James Edgarton was born July 1, 1889 and died on September 9, 1893.

6. Albert Martin Edgarton was born September 28, 1892 and died January 1, 1979.

7. Marjorie Alma Edgarton was born September 5, 1897 and was married to Willard Edgar Dahn. They had two children, Lois Marjorie Dahn and Norma June Dahn.

   The term White house has been mentioned several times. Alanson and Ann Amelia Martin lived there and raised their three children. It was 1/4 mile toward Bouckville from the Stone house.

Ann Howard lived in the Stone house but she was not born there. When she married Alanson she moved to the White house. Helen Martin, my grandmother, was born in the White house and after marrying Smith Edgarton and living for a few years in Bouckville, they moved into the Stone house where my mother was born one month later on August 29, 1883. Clara married Frank Howard (who was not related to James or Silas Howard), and moved to the White house. Although I lived in the White house. I was born in the Stone house, but after my father died my mother and I went to live again in the Stone house.

   My grandfather bought the White house and land owned by Alanson Martin (about 20 acres) after Alanson died. He also bought a three cornered piece that ran to the "Willows" from Fay Livermore. This piece my mother sold to Ed Wood in 1981. She sold the land across the railroad to Richard Bridge; land across the canal to Dean Kemp and Sid. Fuess, leaving 16.1 acres with the house, barn, hop kiln, garage, hen house, and ice house.

   My grandfather raised hops for many years and hired people from Carthage to pick them. This was a busy time especially in the kitchen. My grandmother hired extra help. They put another stove in the kitchen, and for weeks before made crocks full of cookies and pound cakes, etc., besides preparing three meals a day.

   The pickers ate at long tables in the dining room, and slept; the women over the dining room and the men over the wood shed. There were generally about 36 to 40 pickers. In later years my grandfather hired Italian families who did their own cooking in a temporary shed built each year for them. They slept as the others had, but it certainly made it easier in our house not to have the cooking to do.

   My grandfather dried the hops himself; sleeping in the hop kiln to keep the furnace going to dry the hops and to turn them several times during the night. The hops were placed on the floor above the furnace. The boards of the floor were separated and covered with burlap so the heat could more easily dry the hops. When dried they were moved to a floor lower than the first. When all were dry they were pressed compactly into bales similar to cotton bales. My grandfather loved working the hop yard, and it was said you never saw a weed in his 18 acre hop yard. He loved the hops, but not the product for which they were used.

   Around 1925 a blight developed in the hops and hop raising was given up. My parents moved into the White house before I was born, but I was born in the same room in the Stone House as my mother.

We lived in the White house until my father died April 17, 1916. Then my Mother and I moved to the Stone House. My mother took care of her parents and brother, Albert, who had just been graduated from Colgate University, and who chose to remain on the farm helping his father instead of teaching at Penn State University where he was offered a position.

   When my grandfather died August 20, 1935, Albert inherited the farm. My grandmother lived until May 24, 1940 suffering badly with asthma. Both grandparents were buried in Madison Cemetery. My Uncle Albert died January 1, 1979, and he left the Stone House and farm to my Mother because she had made a home for him. 

Note: Clara Belle Edgarton Howard, born August 29, 1883 is now 108 years old, and is living at the Geriatric Center in Green Cove Springs, Florida. I, Helen Carolyn Howard Peckham, am her only child, born January 1, 1908. I am living at Penney Retirement Community in Penney Farms, Florida. (As of November 2, 1991.

    The house was later owned by the Edgarton family, and Smith Edgarton is said to have help build it. An article in the Cazenovia Republican of  July 8, 1926, noted in part:
 Eighty-five years ago washed sand and gravel were produced at Solsville from the deposit which is now being worked by the Madison Sand & Gravel Corporation. In those days, when houses were built on honor, it was an unwritten law that cobblestone houses should be built with washed material. 
    The cobblestone house now owned by Smith Edgarton, near the new plant, was built with this material. The sand and gravel was shoveled from the bank into a two-wheel cart of about a half-yard capacity and drawn by an ox team to the bank of the canal, where it was dumped into a water-tight box.
    A few pails of water were thrown upon the material and it was thoroughly shoveled. The water with the silt in solution was then drained off and the clean material shoveled back into the ox car and drawn to the job. Three men and the ox team were able to produce five yards per day. 
    The driver of the yoke of oxen has long since passed on, but the house that he helped to build is as sound as ever and presents a forceful argument for the used of washed sand and gravel in building construction.
                                          ____

                       

Located at 7233 Indian Opening Road, west side, Bouckville, this house is of Greek Revival style. The lintel over the door is inscribed: "blt. 1842 by Capt. T. Willamson for Burton Phelps." It is well built with large stone quoins, lintels and sills. Photo by Diane Van Slyke.



                         Date stone over door
                       
                          Our Cobblestone House
                                 By Carol Lorenz
   The lintel over the front door has an inscription stating that the house was built by Capt. T. Williamson for Burton and Phelps in 1842. Burton and Phelps are family names that can be found in the cemetery at the Madison end of Indian Opening Road.  Descendants of these families are still in the area.  Sue Bartlett, the late mother of Mary, nee Bartlett (formerly of Mary's Hairy Business in Hamilton), who lives on Solsville Road near the Madison end of Indian Opening, was born in our house.  Sue's dad was a Phelps; her maternal grandfather, as I remember it, was a Burton.  Mary's dad (Bill (?) Bartlett) still owns the house on the corner of Indian Opening, behind which there were the remains of a cobblestone barn when we first moved here 34 years ago but Mr. Bartlett took it down.  Mary may have some information from her mother about growing up in our house.
   Our house was passed down in the same family from 1842 to 1962.  Some of the owners were Henry B. Phelps, upon whose death in 1908 his wife Mary and a son John L Phelps transferred the house and property to a daughter, Evelyn Phelps Babcock.  Evelyn died in 1918 and her survivors included her husband Charles Lynn Babcock and sons Elwyn, Glenn, and Seward.  Elwyn and Glenn transferred the house and property to their brother Seward H. Babcock.  Seward's wife Edith died in 1953 and he did not remarry.  Widowed and, as we were told, elderly and in poor health, Seward sold the property in 1962 to Charles Vosburgh, who divided it into parcels and sold them the same year at auction.  
   Our house and a little over an acre of land formed one parcel (purchased by a couple, Donald and Katherine Carney -- Mr Carney was a local judge).  The barn and land behind it formed another parcel (purchased by the Johnson family); farmland on the other side of the road was purchased by the Livermore family, and the lakefront property was divided into several smaller parcels.  
   Katherine Carney told us that she and her husband did extensive exterior repairs of walls that were in bad shape.  They also renovated the interior, replacing all the walls and ceilings with sheetrock, painting, installing carpets over the original floors, and putting wallpaper up in many areas.  
   The Carneys sold the house in 1977 to James and Joan Ford, who owned it for five years.  I am sure you know Jim, who retired from teaching secondary school in Madison school as a local historian himself.  The Fords did other work in the house, such as finishing the "borning room," in which Susan Bartlett was born, by putting barn siding on the walls and carpeting the floors.
   We bought the house and property from the Fords in 1982.  We have undone a lot of what was done in the 1960s, removing wall to wall carpeting to reveal the original ash floors, removing the 1960s wallpaper, removing the barn siding in the bedroom and replacing indoor-outdoor carpeting with oak flooring, uncovering the original brickwork and hearth and bake oven in the kitchen.
   On the other hand, we added a large room to the back of the house.  There had been a summer kitchen behind the house before our time.  The Fords enclosed it and created an unheated wood-paneled den (with a wood stove) in that space. In 1988, we tore it down (the do-it-yourself foundation was rotted) and created a large room there.  We also finished an attic over the kitchen that had once been used as a dormitory for seasonal hops farm workers and was a storage area when we purchased the house.





The Phelps farm cobblestone barn about a half mile north of house in September, 1970. Now demolished.
                                         
                            


      Barn with cobblestone foundation at 4291 Bear Path Road, Route
      46, Town of Eaton.





The Cobblestone Trading Co. store at the corner of Routes 20 and 46 at Pine Woods has had many uses since built in 1844 for C.T. Howard as a carriage and wagon shop. The main entrance was on the left side with double doors. During the Civil War it was a tavern and hotel. Bedrooms were upstairs. When the town “went dry” in 1915 it went out of business and was vacant seven years. Then it became a general store, ice cream parlor and gas station. Later it was an antique shop. It was restored in 2017-2018.
                     
                               

         Date stone on north side of building indicates it was built in 1844.


  Stone store as it appeared in early 1900s. Collection
 of Mishelle Magnusson.                               



    Store as it appeared in the 1940s and 1950s when 
   it was also a gas station.                                                                              
                                                                                   ___
             
                               Cobblestone Hop Kiln 








Three other views of the same structure. Colore photo taken Sept. 29, 1957. The Randallsville and Bouckville cobblestone kilns built were built near the Chenango Canal and its feeders, as were many of the other cobblestone buildings in this region. This was on the Alfred Ogden farm. 
Photos courtesy of Henry Drexler




                                                              In 1965 

                      

Ruins of this hop kiln, shown in 1972, was located on the Eaton-Randallsville Road. Another such hop house was located on Route 46 south of Munnsville, now gone. There was also a tool maker’s shop in Eaton, now gone.      

                                                    

A fire last week destroyed the barn and the cobblestone hop kiln at right on the James Nourse farm about a mile north of Pine Woods on Route 46. Thanks to the efforts the Morrisville Fire Department damage was restricted to the two structures mentioned but the fine old building is in a sad state at present. Thus we’re glad we thought to take tis picture last spring when all was as it should be. - Mid-York Weekly, September 23, 1965.



Cobblestone hop kiln on Route 20 between Madison and Bouckville on the Fred Dahn farm, 1912, looking west.  Now gone.    Photo from Diane Van Slyke.


                             

This Greek Revival-style house at 4573 Route 92, Cazenovia, was built about 1844 by James Beckwith, (1796-1885)  a veteran of the War of 1812, with cobblestones hauled in from the shoreline of Lake Ontario. For many years it was the residence of Stewart F. Hancock, a prominent Syracuse attorney. He made extensive alterations and added columns on the south wing.
                                  
                                  
                                      
                           Cobblestone cellar wall on house at 7296 Route 20,
                        village of Madison.
                                       

                          


                                    
                                   

Silas Seymour house, 5658 Geer Road, Lebanon. Stone house with cobblestone addition in rear. Original house built 1828. Farm included 200 acres. It is now called the Bewkes Center, and is owned by Colgate University.  Silas Seymour, the seventh and youngest son of  Eleazer and Anna (Merrills) Seymour, a nail maker, was born in Hartford, Conn., May 7, 1777. Soon after his father's death that same year, the family moved to Stillwater, N. Y. Silas was raised by his brother, William. Several members of the family served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. In 1800, Silas married Sally Gilbert and in 1802 they migrated to  Lebanon in Madison county. His farm eventually encompassed more than 200 acres on Lot 24. It was inherited by his son, Alfred. Silas resided on the farm until his death on August 2, 1845. His wife also died there on October 5, 1850. They were buried in the Campbell Burying Ground. Silas became a useful and influential citizen, always interested in the prosperity of his town. He was first town clerk of Lebanon. The welfare of common schools largely engaged his attention. He remained on his homestead his entire life, and raised 10 children.
                                                                ____


     
                      (As it appeared in 1987)
This smoke house is on the former Crandall farm at 2430 Ballina Road, Town of Cazenovia, along with the house, carriage barn and other farm structures, barns and 124 acres, were placed on the National Register in 1987.  Although the farmhouse reflects the distinctive Italianate design of the post-Civil War period, there are interior Greek Revival architectural features reflecting the possibility the house was completely redone. The smokehouse would date to the 1840s or 1850s.   




 
As it appeared in 2020.  




Adjacent farm house has been restored to its 19th century appearance. Willard Abbott Crandall was born April 6, 1829 on this farm where he spent his childhood. In 1847, when about 18 years of age, he entered Cazenovia Seminary. After leaving there he continued in farming. He married Clara Conable in 1859 and they had a son and a daughter. He became postmaster of Cazenovia in 1890. He died March 13, 1891 and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery.                                      

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