Cobblestone Houses in Steuben County

                 

Two Cobblestone Houses in Steuben County

                                By Richard F. Palmer

                                  rp2235@gmail.com                                  

This home at 120 W. Washington St., Bath, was built in 1851 by mason James Plaisted for Steuben  County Judge Washington Barns. Wellington Salt was the architect. It is a fine example of Greek Revival architecture. Once it was owned by Henry Hull, editor of the Steuben Courier, a local newspaper. The use of cobblestone construction was rare in this area. The porch is a 20th century addition. The walls are 22 inches thick and the house has four fire places. The large basement was once servant's quarters and is said to have been a hiding place on the Underground Railroad.

Built about 1850 by mason James Plaisted for Colonel Ira Davenport as the gatehouse to his estate, this building also served as the office for the nearby Davenport estate on Cameron Street in Bath. It stood until 1970 when it was demolished to make way for the Southern Tier Expressway (Route 17). In 1964 the structure was given to the Davenport Public Library which in turn granted permission to the Steuben County Historical Society to use as its archives and research center.   It was basically of  Greek Revival style,  touches of Queen Anne Style architecture obviously added later.

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                                "Stonen" at Hornell

Steuben County's other cobblestone house, called “Stonen” at 91 Hill St. in Hornell, was built in 1855 in  Tuscan Villa style by David Wellever, a local brick maker, for E.T. Young who came from France. The washed cobblestones were hauled here from the shores of Lake Ontario. Some elements such as the large windows on the main floor and brackets are of 1870s vintage. The windows are said to have come from France. The porch which provides shelter at the main door and a balcony for the upper-level French doors, has a bracketed cornice and a wrought iron balustrade at the upper level. At either side of the porch are French doors with half-round lights in each door leaf and a console-supported stone hood. Cut limestone is also used for the quoins, lintels, and sills. The house is on a large lot amidst mature trees, on a steep-sloping site overlooking the city. The front door is connected to the street by a cascading sidewalk and stair. At the street frontage is a ca.1900 concrete retaining wall inlaid with rows of cobbles which mimics the exterior walls of the house.

                             "Stonen" in 1873   

                                             "Stonen"as it appeared in the early 20th Century