HomeMy WebLinkAboutContinuation Sheet - 37 E. Main, Trumansburg.pdfN.Y. Historic Resource Inventory Form - Continuation Sheet
Address: 37 Main Street
Village/Hamlet: Trumansburg
Narrative Description of Property
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The vernacular two-story structure with walk -out basement at 37 East Main Street
is built into the hill that constitutes Main Street, so two stories are visible and the south
(Main Street) fagade and the walk -out basement is accessible on the west fagade. It has a
stone foundation and was constructed between 1864 and 1889, and is the western
building of a three -building block constructed of wood. It is flush with 39 East Main
Street to the east. The building is flanked to the west by utility lines (electric, possibly
telephone) along what historically constituted Mill Street. It is the western building in a
line of commercial buildings constructed on the north side of Main Street that have been
collectively considered Upper Main Street.
The wooden building does not display the aesthetic detail of the three commercial
brick blocks. The roof is flat on the east side with a single gable on the west, and is
sheathed with metal. The exterior walls are clad with fiberboard siding. The first story of
the main (south) facade is clad with vertical siding. A narrow porch runs along the main
(south) and west facades with a steeply pitched roof of the south facade and a shed roof
on the west fagade. The building is situated within only a few feet of Main Street.
Aside from its form and massing, the building retains little of its historic
architectural integrity.
Narrative Description of Significance
Trumansburg has an unfortunate history of massive fires, and buildings that
stretched the length of the north side of Main Street from Union Street to the Presbyterian
Church were consumed in a monstrous conflagration on February 22, 1864. In The
History of Trumansburg (1890), local historians record the fire in the following way:
Compiled by Katelin Olson, August 15, 2014
N.Y. Historic Resource Inventory Form - Continuation Sheet
Address: 37 Main Street
Village/Hamlet: Trumansburg
Narrative Description of Significance (continued)
There was no fire apparatus of any description in the town ... it became apparent
that the town must go not with out standing the almost superhuman efforts of the
people to check the conflagration. Lines of men, women, and even children were
formed, buckets of water were passed, and the advancing flames persistently
fought at every step until delicate women would fall to the ground from sheer
exhaustion....Main Street from the bridge to the Presbyterian Church and Elm
Street to the corner of Whig were filled with the house hold goods and
merchandise of all descriptions ... Thee scene at daylight beggards description.
One half the town in ruins, scores of homeless people searching the saved
property for their belongings. (As quoted by L. Sears, 53).
The Trumansburg New York Incorporation Centennial (1972) notes that many of
the buildings devoured in the fire were of wood and the majority of owners chose not to
rebuild, instead selling the lots. The new owners overwhelmingly constructed their new
buildings out of brick, historically an urban guard against fire, and adopted more uniform
designs and greater set -backs. The three wooden buildings of this block, 37, 39 and 41
East Main Street, do not reflect this new building style. They were constructed after the
fire of 1864 and before the first Sanborn Insurance map of Trumansburg in April 1883.
The Sanborn Map of April 1883 indicates that the upper floors of the building
constituted a house, with a shoe shop located in the basement. In December 1893, the
surveyors indicated building was only in use as a house, but as the May 1898 indicates
that a cobbler was located in the basement, there may have been someone working with
or on shoes throughout the 1883-1898 period. It continued to be used as a house as of
December 1905, now used for storage in the basement. In December 1910, the house is
only designated as a residence, with a narrow addition added to the length of the west
fagade. As this is again indicated in the September 1929, it may be the basement porch
that is still exists on the west fagade. By this last Sanborn map of 1929, the front porch as
also added on the main (south) facade and the building was no longer a dwell. Instead,
surveyors noted it was used for "chair canning." This, however, does not necessarily
mean that the second floor was not residential.
In the 20th century, the building was converted into four apartment units.
Partial History of Ownership of Building
Date Acquired
Book
Page
Ralph J. Everhart
?
Louis Loiselle
January 20, 1995
751
236
Louis R. Loiselle, II
August 29, 2002
2510
2908
(current owner)
August 5, 2003
43794
3001
Compiled by Katelin Olson, August 15, 2014 2
N.Y. Historic Resource Inventory Form - Continuation Sheet
Address: 37 Main Street
Village/Hamlet: Trumansburg
Figure 1: Main (south) and west facades
Figure 2: Main (south) facade
Compiled by Katelin Olson, August 15, 2014 3
N.Y. Historic Resource Inventory Form - Continuation Sheet
Address: 37 Main Street
Village/Hamlet: Trumansburg
Sources
Celebration of the Bicentennial of the United States of America in the Town of Ulysses
and the Village of Trumansburg. Publisher unknown: 1976.
Digital Sanborn Maps 1867-1970. Ann Arbor, Mich.: ProQuest UMI, 2001.
Goldstein, Carol and Tania Werbizky. "9-15-19 E. Main Street," NY
Building Structure Inventory Form, Division for Historic Preservation. Albany,
NY, Spring 1977.
A History of Trumansburg. Trumansburg, NY: The Free Press, 1890.
Martin, Carolyn A. Trumansburg, New York Incorporation Centennial." Trumansburg,
NY: The Trumansburg Centennial Association Incorporated, 1972.
Sears, Lydia. A History of Trumansburg, New York, 1792-1967. Location unknown: I -T
Publishing Corp, 1978.
Tompkins County. "Property Description Report For: 37 Main St E, Municipality of
V. Trumansburg." Image Mate Online. Accessed July 29, 2014.
Compiled by Katelin Olson, August 15, 2014 4