By Douglas Farley
Executive Director, Cobblestone Society
While most home construction in Niagara County today is wood frame or brick, which was not always the case. From about 1825 to the Civil War, many homes were built with cobblestones. This unique building method is now a lost art, as many of the secrets of the trade went to the grave with the home contractors of the period.
The story began when massive glaciers that once covered this area melted and receded northward. The melt waters formed the Great Lakes. Ancient Lake Iroquois, the forerunner of Lake Ontario, also receded leaving behind its beach, now Ridge Road – Route 104.
Wave action over thousands of years produced countless smooth, rounded stones, or cobblestones, which were deposited on the ancient lake bed between the Ridge and the shore of Lake Ontario. Early farmers, at first, thought the stones were a nuisance and made piles of the culprits at the edges of their fields along the Lake Ontario Plain.
Historians have recorded construction of about 600 cobblestone buildings in the country, with 700 located in New York State and 50 in Niagara County.
To qualify as a true cobblestone building, the stones had to be all of uniform size and laid in straight rows. Sometimes, the home was built quickly with large fieldstones to provide a quick residence for the builder. Then, a second wall made from cobblestones was added, separated with an air space from the first wall. Walls were usually 18 inches or more thick.
As a rule, the most perfect stones were used as a veneer on the front of the building and the other walls were more irregular. Usually, the back wall was not finished with cobblestones, and the field stones were left exposed. Some folks described this as “a Queen Ann front and a Betty Jane behind.”
This unique style of building became a lost art for several reasons. With today’s prices, it would be enormously expensive for a contractor to spend the three to four years needed to complete the average cobblestone house. Also, the method of construction was a jealously guarded secret. Tradesmen were tight lipped when it came to the profession, and the mixture used for mortar for cobblestone buildings was never shared. Rumor has it that all construction would cease on the job if any observer came within a half-mile of the job site and guards were often posted to keep away rival craftsmen.
Unfortunately, many cobblestone houses are falling to the wrecking ball or just disappearing through neglect. With high heating bills and expensive repairs, some people can no longer afford to maintain these structures. Development has also taken its toll on these once beautiful homes.
Cambria
North Ridge United Methodist Church at 3930 North Ridge Road (Route 93) hamlet of North Ridge, Town of Cambria, was built in 1848. It is constructed of mostly round, evenly colored, lake washed cobbles, laid four to five courses to a limestone quoin. There are few later period additions It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. Olive Beach is credited with introducing Methodism to this. Services were originally held in the nearby DistrictDistrict No. 9 school house. Reuben Wilson donated the land for the present church which is Greek Revival style. The small frame addition was built in 1892. The present steeple was added in 1913 when the old one was struck by lightning. Stained glass windows were added in 1919.
North Ridge United Methodist Church showing detail cobblestone work.
This house at 4965 Ridge Road was built for Whitney Taylor
about 1840. It was constructed of small water-washed stones
about 1840. It was constructed of small water-washed stones
Hartland
The Amzi Bradley Farmstead is located at 8915 Bradley Road. It was built in 1836 by Connecticut native Amzi Bradley in the Greek Revival style. The porch was a later addition. It was placed on the National Register in 2002.
This house at 7928 Ridge Road was built by T.G. Chaplin.
It consists of field cobbles in very even rows with quoins,
lintels and sills of gray limestone. The stone porch is a
much later addition.
This house at 8472 Ridge Road was built for Daniel Chaplin in 1836. It consists of various colored cobblestones and lintel and wind sills of limestone.
House at 8856 Ridge Road was built for Quakers as a meeting house in 1836.The original structure has undergone extensive external alterations with dormers aded on the front with a large enclosed front porch of a much later period. It was built with random-sized cobblestones on all four walls with slightly smaller stones on the front wall.
Cobblestone fence in front of house at 8856 Ridge Road.
This house, in the Greek Revival style, is at 8993 Ridge Road. It was built in 1843 by Harry Harrington, a native of Vermont and consists of various colored cobblestones. Harrington served as town clerk and town justice of the peace prior to his death in 1849. It was later the Pierce residence. Several historic farm buildings are also on the property.
8993 Ridge Road
This house at 9491 Ridge Road was built of various-sized fieldstone
of different shapes and colors. Corner quoins are of red sandstone.
The Philo Newton House is on 117.6 acre farm at 3573 Wruck Road was built in 1830 and is Greek Revival style. Newton was born in Vermont and came to this area in 1830, purchasing acreage from the Holland Land Co. He died in 1874 but his wife remained on the farm until her death in 1898. It was purchased in 1902 by James D. and Edward Seaman. It subsequently changed ownership several times. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
2888 Carmen Road
District 11 Cobblestone School
These are class pictures taken at Town of Hartland District No. 11 School at 2723 Johnson Creek Road in the early 1900s. . District 11 was formed on October 17, 1849. Presumably the building was erected a short time later. The cobblestone building was torn down during the summer of 1910. It's replacement (a wood frame building) was built and was ready for the fall term. Photos courtesy of Norman LaJoie, Hartland Town Historian.
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Bill Criss Blacksmith Shop on Ridge Road
Located in a typical old cobblestone building on the east side of 9215 Ridge Road, this blacksmith shop existed well into the 20th century. Prior to 1910, Mr. Criss was able to serve residents who still needed work done to the equipment of an earlier day. After retiring from his business in the late 1930s he worked for a time as a bridge tender on the Erie Canal. Carl Goodnick purchased the old building and carried on a welding trade there for several years.
Mr. Criss operated his shop here until the early 1900s. Mike Costello, blacksmith, is shown at left, owner Will Criss, front, right.
The cobblestone building was destroyed by wind in 1976.
Information and photos courtesy of Norman LaJoie, Hartland Town Historian
Lockport
5404 Stone Road
6567 Clayton Settlement Road
7354 Dysinger Road
6027 Robinson Road
Market Street, City of Lockport. Demolished by Roman Catholic Church, 1962.
Lockport Union Sun & Journal
Thursday, June 19, 1947 (editorial)
Cobblestone Centenary
One of the last bulwarks of a vanishing era is in the limelight this week as pupils and former pupils of Cobblestone School, District 12, observe the 100th anniversary of the school’s erection on South Transit Road.
The history of the old school is interesting, dating back many years before the present structure replaced a log cabin. That history includes a list of pioneer residents who made constructive marks in Lockport and Niagara County history.
This fact should be in the minds of the present pupils and descendants of those who learned the three R’s at the little school when they stage their reunion tomorrow. May the hardy pioneer spirit of those departed students never die.
(The property was acquired by the Lockport Board of Education when the Town of Lockport School District 12 was annexed to the sick school system. The board passed a resolution clearing the way to sell the school and the site).
Lockport Union Sun & Journal
Friday, June 19, 1953
Cobblestone School Closes Its Doors
Representatives of three generations met at the Cobblestone schoolhouse Thursday event for a partly said, sentimental party. The schoolhouse, which has served 106 years of school children, is being closed for good. The present class probably will be the last to learn reading, writing and arithmetic with its walls.
The Cobblestone School is a landmark of the South Lockport area. It has been standing at its site on the Transit and Hamm Road since 1847. Its main distinguishing architectural mark has been the cobblestone fronting over its field stone exterior walls.
Thursday evening’s party was to bid farewell to the school. Members of the newest class and their parent were there, as were scholars of man years ago. There were more than 60 present.
The school flag was lowered for a last time from the flagpole in the opening ceremonies. The formal closing of the school was symbolized later by the final locking of the door by District Trustee Adolph Moll and Mrs. James Conley, the present teacher.
Mrs. Elizabeth Fraser, a former scholar of the Cobblestone School, recalled its history. Reports on the past trustees and teachers were given by Mr. and Mrs. J. Ward Gregory.
Among the school’s former students present were Miss Mary Robinson, who recalled that her father planted some of the trees in the school yard. Church D. Hall, a past student and trustee. whose memories of the Cobblestone School go back almost 70 years, and Clarence O. Lewis, Niagara County Historian.
As John Hall, master of ceremonies for the party, declared District 12 and the Cobblestone School will lose their century-long identity next autumn,, he added that in the name progress, its students will leave its one small room for the bigger and more modern schools of Lockport. But there are still many who will long remember the old school-house.
At an auction on Feb.4, 1954, the school house was sold to Carl John of 74 Miller Place, Lockport, for $4,100. He said he would convert it into a residence.
Newfane
Capon house and barn, 3999 Old Beebe Road, built 1835 of rounded fieldstones.
This schoolhouse was located on the east side of the intersection of Van Buren and West Washington streets in the village of Olcott, Niagara County It sat next to where the Town Marina is now located. It contained two rooms and was built about 1840 to replace a log school house on Main Street. It was demolished about 1915 when a larger brick school was erected on the same which in turn was closed in the 1960s and later demolished. There is a cobblestone house across the street from the location of the school, first used as a Wesleyan Methodist Church. It has been a private residence for many years. Information provided by William Clark, Newfane Town Historian.
The cobblestone house at the right was an early school in the village of Newfane, originally called Charlotte. It was built in 1840 and stood at the corner of East and Maple avenues, but was only used as a school for about 11 years when a larger school was built at another site. It then became a home but was demolished in the early 1900s. Brooklin's Inn and Suites is not located on this site. Photo and information provided by William Clark, Newfane Town Historian.
1750 Phillips Road
2630 Hess Road
2980 Ewings Road
6043 Condren Road
First Baptist Church, 6047 East Ave., village of Newfane
Newfane Methodist Church originated in 1832 with meetings held in a school house across Eighteen-Mile Creek, south of the village at Adams Mills. This spot is now known as Tompkins Mills. The first permanent church building was erected in 1844 on the same site of the current building at the corner of Main Street and Charlotteville road (East Avenue). Due to structural problems it was demolished ands replaced in 1905. The second building burned in 1931. The current church school building was erectedt in 1956.
6178 Jacques Ave.
Pendleton
5936 Robinson Road
6982 Bear Ridge Road
Porter
914 River Road, Youngstown
2493 Youngstown-Wilson Road
2561 Youngstown-Wilson Road
This cobblestone school house known as District No. 1 was built in the village of Middleport in 1846. A second story was added in 1870. Additions came later and it became the local high school. It was destroyed by fire on February 23, 1910. Its cobblestone construction resembles that of the Universalist Church which was a block away at the corner of Park and Vernon streets.
Another view of the Middleport schoolhouse after a porch had been added.
First Universalist Church at 44 Main St., Middleport was organized in April, 1841. The church was built on land donated by John Craig. It was constructed of smooth, egg shaped stones gathered by the congregation from the shore of Lake Ontario and under the supervision of stone mason Emery Smith. Reverend Linus Everett was chosen to dedicate the church in 1842. In 1870 the Middleport Church was valued at $8 thousand dollars with the only church bell withing the village as well as the first organ. Due to diminished membership, the church closed in 2015 and the building was sold. Many of their books and some other artifacts were donated to the office of the village historian.
7971 Chestnut Ridge Road
9065 Chestnut Ridge Road
8624 Dewhirst Road
4545 Freeman Road
4585 Griswold Road Street
8203 Bunker Hill Road
Somerset
7449 Lake Road
Babcock House Museum
This house at 7449 Lake Road, was built upon a large farm three miles west of Somerset Corners was built about 1848 by Jeptha W. Babcock. The Babcock family is of English descent and the American Branch was founded by James Babcock who emigrated from Essex, England.
Jeptha Babcock was a farmer, the first postmaster in the western section of the town, Supervisor of the Town of Somerset, and a New York State Assemblyman. He was a respected citizen, a Friend (or Quaker) in religious belief, and in politics, a Whig and Republican. A man of firmness and decision, Mr. Babcock never left a stone unturned to accomplish his purpose after having resolved upon a course of action.
Jeptha was born in 1806 in Rensselaerville, Albany County, New York. In November 1829 he married Mary Hoag, a Dutchess County native. Jeptha and Mary moved to Niagara County in 1833. They had four children: Isaac H., Henry H., Mary Jane, and Sarah Elizabeth.
In 1865 Jeptha and Mary moved to Lockport, NY. Mary died in 1869 and Jeptha on October 21, 1883. The obituary in the Lockport Daily Journal, dated October 22, 1883, states “Mr. Babcock was prominently identified with the development of Niagara County.”
The Babcock Homestead was later owned by other families. Each one preserved the architecturally unique house. It is now owned by Somerset Operating Company.
and the late period which includes all structures erected through the 1860′s. The Civil War seemed to have ended the cobblestone construction as only a few were built after 1866.
For travelers beyond Upstate New York, cobblestone houses have the appeal of the unusual. Few people realize here was developed a type of masonry of unique beauty and interest. With but a few exceptions, this type of masonry wall is not found elsewhere in our country.
Building these houses was a slow process. A good mason could lay up about three courses of stone, on one side, in one day. This repsesents about nine inches of wall. They would have two or three houses under construction at once, allowing time for the mortar to set and harden as they worked on the next.
New York State Electric & Gas Corp. acquired the Babcock house August 23, 1982 as part of the property for the new 625 megawatt electric generating plant that was under construction near the shore of Lake Ontario. That year they replaced the roof to make the house weather tight. In 1983 extensive restoration work actually began. NYSEG worked very closely with several leading authorities on historically significant buildings and their restoration. They did as suggested and in many ways, more than was requested.
The bread oven is an interesting feature of the restored home. As workmen were engaged in doing necessary repairs, they came upon a partially constructed brick oven. Pictures were taken, and bricks and mortar were sent to Genesee Country Museum at Mumford, N.Y. With these photographs and fragments, historians were able to create a drawing of what the bread oven was probably like in its original condition. From this research the oven was reconstructed in the restored kitchen.
Wrought iron fixtures acquired from an artisan in Massachusetts are handcrafted replicas of authentic 19th century pieces. Light fixtures that resemble candles adorn the dining room and other areas of the home. Craftsmen covered their wires in such a manner that no wiring is exposed. Wax was dripped to give the resemblance of candles that had run.
The woodwork is a specially prepared “wash” that produces the appearance of aged paint. The woodwork and cabinets are painted a pale gray. On the back of the house, a dirt floor storage shed was replaced with a family room, lavatory, and utility room.
The house is functional for our times, but most of the house was left as it was when Jeptha Babcock worked the soil and was one of the largest wheat growers in this section of the county. His son, Isaac, very well could have helped gather stones for the house.
Since May 1987, according to an agreement between NYSEG and the Town of Somerset Historical Society, the society has maintained and furnished the house. In 1999, AES Somerset purchased the Babcock House and has continued this agreement. It is the Welcome Center for the Town of Somerset, open during the summer and early fall.
2134 County Line Road
The ill-fated Van Wagoner
[Photos taken in 1977]
These photos and others of this house can be found on the Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey website:
https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ny1315.photos/?sp=4
https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ny1315.photos/?sp=4
Niagara Falls Gazette
August 6, 1972
House exudes aura of untold tales
By Marilyn Hayden
Gazette Correspondent
What is there about old houses that fascinates people so? Is it the fact that they have withstood the passage of time better than the humans who inhabit them? Or is it that we indulge in the fantasy of having been part of their story?
The cobblestone house on the New York State Electric & Gas property in the Town of Somerset is one of those houses that evokes so much public interest, because in its uninhabited loneliness there is an aura of tales untold.
Its beginnings go back to the early days of Somerset and was one of the first cobblestones built in this area. Morgan Van Wagoner,* the son of a naval officer in the War of 1812, had the house built around 1847 on 254 acres of prime fruit land. The Van Wagoners and their descendants continued to occupy the house until Albert Harrington bought it in 1929.
Mrs. Arthur Harrington Eaton, who grew up in the house, remembers it with fondness and speaks of the beauty in its hardwood floors and the perfection of the cobblestone design on the front of the house. However, since the power company bought the property in 1957, causing the Harringtons to move, time and vandals have taken their toll and Mrs. Eaton’s husband has discouraged her from revisiting it lest her memories become shattered.
Last year, Richard Ray, a young industrial arts teacher, tried to buy the house for NYSE&G with the thought of moving it to another location. Although it is structurally sound, experts told him the mortar used in placing the cobblestones could not survive the move.
The power company had originally thought to bulldoze the house once construction of the generating plant begins. But local interest and a visit from Mrs. Ruth Porter, the historian of Somerset, quickly discouraged those thoughts.
H.D. Sawyer, district manager of the utility has said that the power company has no desire to create unhappy neighbors, so they are investigating the possibility of either creating a “local point of interest” by restoring the house if the type of power generation permits the public use on the grounds, or by renovating the building so that it can be used by company personnel as an office.
Though it has stood empty for the last 15 years, this 19th century building probably will still be around sheltering humans with the dawn of the 21st century. Maybe that’s why old houses have so much appeal - they are man’s mark on the landscape of time and signify an attempt at that on elusive state each of us thinks about immortality.
(Note: The house was demolished in the early 1980s)
*VanWagoner was born in Dutchess county, N.Y. in March, 1809 and died in Lockport, N.Y. ob January 20, 1890. In 1831 he married Elizabeth Wilbur in Avon, N.Y. who died in 1880. He lived in Somerset for nearly 50 years and was town supervisor many years. He lived Lockport the last 24 years of his life. At the time of his death he was a deacon in the Congregational Church. [From obituary in Lockport Journal, January 20, 1890.]
____
Final Environmental Impact Statement - Permit Application by New York State Electric and Gas Corp. Proposed Cayuga Station. Prepared by U.S. Army Engineer District, Buffalo, N.Y. PP 2-45, 46 (1978):
The Van Wagoner House - The cobblestone house, built in 1848, is located on Hosmer Road, and is now owned by the applicant. A cobblestone tenant house as built sometime after the homestead was constructed, but was razed shortly after 1908. The applicant offered the Van Wagoner house to the Somerset Historical Society, but the idea of moving the building was abandoned dude to the prohibitive cost of relocation.
Although approximately 46 cobblestone houses are listed as standing in Niagara County as of 1965, interest in the Van Wagoner house is strong. The building is considered of much historic interest both at the local and as a county historic landmark. It is a handsome, well-preserved building. The house may also meet National Register criteria. The state of preservation, along with the surrounding middens, meet the integrity criterion.
The house is an example of mid-19th century cobblestone construction and is acclaimed by county and local residents. In addition, the building and surrounding middens probably provide useful information. the onsite inspection of this property revealed several features, including the foundation of a second building (probably the tenant house) and two refuse deposits. Materials of historic interest wee found in both refuse areas, and are listed in the applicant’s cultural resources survey report. The house lies within the circle to be encompassed by traffic for the coal handling system.
This house at 3315 Beebe Road fell into ruins many years ago and was demolished. It was built of field stones by Thomas Adriance in 1835 and was a fine example of Greek Revival architecture. Photo taken in 1977.
This Greek Revival-style house at 4829 Ide Road, Wilson, was built about 1841 by William Aiken with large field stones. The wing was added later. It was demolished in 2005. Photo taken in 1977.
This Greek Revival-style house at 4829 Ide Road, Wilson, was built about 1841 by William Aiken with large field stones. The wing was added later. It was demolished in 2005. Photo taken in 1977.
Morgan- Johnson House, 2533 Cambria-Wilson Road. Johnson was a ship captain when he built this home in 1844. His ship, the Milly Cook, caught fire and sank in Wilson Harbor. The spot is still known today as Milly Cook Cove. The anchor is from the schooner Franklin Pierce which sank in 1840.
The Case homestead at 81 Lake St. in the village of Wilson was built about 1835 of lake-washed cobblestones of various sizes and colors. The quoins are of red sandstones and sills of gray sandstone. For some unknown reason, the front of the house has been stuccoed over, but the side walls have not been tampered with. Bottom photo from Wilson Historical Society collection.
2173 Maple Road
2446 Maple Road
2546 Maple Road
3315 Beebe Road - gone.
The William Woodcock Sr. house at 4831 Chestnut Road, town of Wilson, Niagara county, was started in 1836 and completed in 1840. Stones were treansported from Lake Ontario by wagon. The property remained in this family for more than a century. The front cobblestone facade facing south apparently collapsed many years ago and was never properly restored. It appears the entire surface may have been replaced with “new” stones after removal of the old cobblestones.
The east wall of the house appears to have escaped the problems of the front. The west side is hidden by shrubbery and difficult to photograph, but appears to be okay.
Baptist Church, Pettit Street, village of Wilson was built in 1843 and demolished in 1880.
300 Lake St., village of Wilson
(From Niagara Falls Gazette, January 2, 1932)
The first Newfane Methodist Church was erected in 1844. It was a cobblestone building 40x50 feet, and seated 250. In 1905 it was torn down and replaced by a more modern up to date one. The second one burned down on Feb. 12, 1931. The third edifice was dedicated on January 3, 1932.
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