HomeMy WebLinkAbout1843 Trumansburg Rd.pdfBUILDING -STRUCTURE INVENTORY FORM
DIVISION FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION -
NEW YORK STATE PARKS AND RECREATION
ALBANY, NEW YORK (51 S) 474.0479
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY
UNIQUE SITE NO,
QUAD
SERIES
NEG. NO.
YOUR NAME: Jane SchwerdtfegerDATE: December 22, 1983
YOUR ADDRESS: Goldwin Smith ' CU TELEPHONE: (607) 27 �— 4427
ORGANIZATION (if any): Preservation Planning Workshop, Cornell University
IDENTIFICATION
I. BUILDING NAME(S): ,
2. COUNTY: Tompkins TOWN/CITY: Ulysses _ VILLAGE:
3. STREET LOCATION: 18 New York State Route 26 also known as the
4. OWNERSHIP: a._public ❑ h rivate � Williams 1843_ New York State Route 9E
5. PRESENT OWNER Roger and Patricia ADDRESS:
6. USE: Original: residence Present: residence and Mrs. Williams
7. ACCESSIBILITY .TO PUBLIC: Exterior visible from public road: Yes No ❑
Interior accessible: Explain no rivate home
DESCRIPTION Jnundati
8. BUILDING a._ clapboard ❑ b. stone l�C c. brick L9 d. board and batten
MATERIAL: e. cobblestone ❑ f. shingles ❑ g. stucco ❑ other: Shingles on the roo_
9. STRUCTURAL a. wood frame with interlocking joints ❑
SYSTEM: b. wood frame with light members ❑
• (if known) c. masonry load bearing walls ❑
d. metal (explain)
e. other `
10. CONDITION:. a. excellent ® b. good ❑ c. fair ❑ d. deteriorated ❑ .
11. INTEGRITY: a. original site LN • b. moved ❑ if so,when?
c. list major alterations 'and dates (if known):
Since the Williams acquired the property_in 1972, they
have made a,few alterations. They enlarged and screened in.the
.-:porch on the southeast side of the house. One -of the rear northwest
12.' PHOTO: 13. -MAP:
t
..T
Williams page 2
3. Street Location: Trumansburg Road.)
6. Present use: uses one room for her real estate office, J.D.
Gallagher Company, Inc.
11. alterations: rooms had originally been a summer kitchen
which had stairs leading to the attic. They opened up
the attic space and converted it into a loft. They also
built a 121 story addition onto the rear of the house,
using a board and batten shell. The front porch was also
restored according to an 1879 engraving of the house.
The Williams work to maintain and preserve the architectural
integrity of their home as much as possible.
17. Interrelationship of Buildings and Surroundings: the right
is a Greek Revival home and another further north on Route
96. The Williams' home is about four houses south from
the center of the crossroads of New York State Route 96 and
the Jacksonville Road.
18. Notable Features: sloping roof on the house has wide eaves
which are supported by single brackets. priginally, the
main roof and the side porch sported a fancy metal grillework.
on the facade, the four double -hung windows on the first
floor have two over two lights, while the five on the second
floor are double -hung with six over six lights. The brick
above each window is slightly arched, and is contrasted
from the rest of the facade by a double row of brick ends.
The shutters on each window are also curved. The double
doors are centrally-placed and are two-thirds glass with
panelling in the bottom third. The double screen doors
have decorative metalwork and appear to be original. The
bell pull embedded in the door still functions. Two
pilasters matching the square columns on the porch flank
the entrance and appear to support the lintel above the door.
The northwest wall has three bays on both stories; all are
double -hung, and those on the lower level have two over two
lights while above they have six over six lights. The two
casement windows in the foundation are topped by stone
lintels. A stovepipe projects through the wide eaves on
this side.
The Williams' addition on the rear of the house does not
cover the entire original wall; a window on each side of
the second story match the others on this level. The
14. THREATS TO BUILDING: a. none known ® b. zoning ❑ c. roads ❑
d. developers ❑ e. deterioration ❑
f. other:
15. RELATED OUTBUILDINGS AND PROPERTY:
'a. barns b. carriage house ❑ c. garage ❑
d. privy ❑ e. shed XI f. greenhouse,❑
g. shop ❑ h. gardens E&
i. landscape features:
j. other:
16. SURROUNDINGS OF THE BUILDING (check more than one if necessary):,
a. open land ❑ b. woodland ❑
c. scattered buildings ❑
d. densely built-up ❑ e. commercial ❑.
f. industrial ❑ g residential C
h.other.: a field extends to the northeast behind thein
home which was originally part of the parcel accompanying the house,
17.. INTERRELATIONSHIP OF BUILDING AND SURROUNDINGS:
(Indicate if building or structure is in an historic district)
The Williams'. home directly faces a well.=preserved`Greek Revival
residence and a Federal/Greek Revival house further -north on Route
96. Facing it Qn the.left is a`Dutch Colonial Revival home. To
the left of -the house is a modern ranch -style residence, while to
18. OTHER NOTABLE FEATURES OF BUILDING AND SITE (including interior features if known):
This is a two story square brick Italianate home. It is of double
brick construction, with a three to -six inch air space between the
two walls. Its five bay facade is. partially covered on the first
story by a porch with a low pitched hip`roof'supported by four square
columns.''The porch roof'has a frieze band underneath.it. The gently -
SIGNIFICANCE
19. DATE OF INITIAL CONSTRUCTION: circa 1850-1870 Althou h -the recise
:date of the house is as. yet .unknown, - a ,.structure under the name of
'ARCHITECT:
'BUILDER: ,
20: ' HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL IMPORTANCE This property: has a rich.his-
0'
with-it.. Warren G. and Charlotte' Farrington were
listed .'as on and ao ;;were probablythe
�fir.st ;owners � of. the .house.. In. 1858 -,he' and .Cyrus 'l�owe, a local tax
accountant, 'formed a_partnership in=the egg pickling and shipping
business which Howe had begun several years before "Business'in
;;'creased to such an extent that,,in 1870 Farringtonerected a largex.
:building to accoTrodate the, increase in business. Howe, died`in 1871
and Farrington.cdntinued in the same line. His ',building the large,
barn was "destroyed by fire . in March, 1878,.` but'was rebuilt and
`occupied by May,of.the same year.. The southeast,.wall of the barn
has "CEV .6-3--78" .burned -i.nto one of the planks , and w°may refer to one
2 `ootnotes:` '-.1. Peirce, Henry :B. and .D: Hamilton .Hurd, The Histor
of Tioga, Chemung,.Tompkins and Schuyler_ Counties and -Bio -
a hical Sketches of Prominent Men and Pioneers. .Philadel
22. THE 1+I1;: -phia: Everts :and Ensign,, 1 79' PP• 5 5�-5
._ „.".
' 2:`Letter from Walter M.':Brodie, Minzng.'and Metallurgical
Engineer,''Batopilas,,"Chihuahua,: Mexico, 'May 17, 18$7, to
George- Fowler: and ,_Warren Farrington.
r 3. • Nancy, Dean, :-., Jacksonville's �lii.s'torian, :conversation •'
November-: 19, 1983
....,,._,__..1,....r.u=.m.a.,uza..:v:w.:,.,........,....H..�..•..-t.s,,....:u...
Williams page 3
18. continued: had the addition constructed of board and
batten to reflect the barn's construction. It is 12
stories with a medium -pitched roof and a small section
projects from the southeast corner of the northeast wall.
This smaller projection from the addition has a wide win-
dow made of thirty-two panes on the southeast wall, and
one with sixteen panes on the northeast wall. The main
part of the addition has a sliding glass door on the first
level made up of many small panes. The second story
trapezoidal, one pane windows follow the line of the roof
and side walls. A raised deck surrounds the sliding doors.
The entire addition rests on a concrete pad. The southeast
wall also has three bays which match the fenestration on
the northwest wall. For both sides of the house, not all
of the windows have shutters, although all on the facade
do. A centrally-placed door on the first story opens onto
the porch on this side.
The "T" -shaped, 22 story board and batten barn in the rear
of the property is in good condition. Its northwest facade
has two pairs of sliding doors. It has a variety of glass
paned windows on each level. The Williams believe that
the basement level was once the stable area, while the upper
half -story was a hayloft. A beam projects from the roof ridge
on the northwest side over the opening to the hay loft.
The roof is sheathed in metal, corrugated metal, and asbestos
shingles, while the foundation is stone. According to their
1879 engraving of the property, the barn once had a cupola.
Another smaller board and ballen barn/shed also belongs
th the Williams, although it is actually situated behind
1845 New York State Route 96.
A unique wooden silo stands at the northeast corner of the
northwest side of the large barn. It is about 12 stories
tall and its old metal chute appears to be holding up the
structure. Two inch -wide boards curve around its surface
horizontally, and the ends of the boards are held in place
by small square pieces of metal. The silo is capped by
wood shingles, and the entire structure appears to be quite
old.
19. Date of initial construction: "W Farrington" appears on
this site on the 1853 map of Jacksonville. Since 1853
may be rather early for an Italianate-style house to be
constructed, this house may have replaced an earlier one
on the site. In 1858 Mr. Farrington joined in a business
partnership which was very successful economically for him
Williams page 4
19. continued: by 1870. It may be more logical to believe
that the house was built in the 1860s or 1870s to reflect
his prosperity.
20, Historical/Architectural imporatance: of the persons who
helped to finish the rebuilt barn. "The barn measures
fifty by sixty-six feet, with underground apartments that
contain twenty vats six feet in diameter and four feet
high. He packs and sells an average of 170,000 dozen eggs
annually, using for his pickle lime, salt and saltpetre."
The Williams found a wealth of business records from the
late nineteenth century in their barn. It appears that
Farrington and a man named George Fowler formed a pertner-
ship circa 1880 and sold sulky plows and hay carriers.
The latter device attached to a metal track in the roof
of a hay loft, and slid along the track and out the loft
door to be let down by pulley to pick tip the hay bales on
the ground. From the large number of business letters
from all over the United States which Fowler and Farrington
received, this was a popular device. Records from coal
companies and metal foundaries indicate that they may have
constructed their own equipment. Many businesses in the
Midwest also marketed their equipment. Two Spanish export
journals which were published in the United States even
solicited Fowler and Farrington to market their tools abroad.
In 1887 an American businessman wrote to their company
requesting "the best plough for breaking ground in Mexico
where the soil is hard, full of rocks and stones, and
where the mules are untrained and labor ignorant.., and
neither machineshops nor blacksmiths available to make
repairs...." 2
In the early twentieth century, John and Alice Warner
Chase acquired the property and ran a dairy farm and the
"Empire Milling Company." The chutes from which the ground
flours and meals came are still visible in the barn. The
Williams also have Mr. Chase's ledgers from the late 'teens
and early 1920s where he listed all his finances. Here he
mentions the metal cleats attachable to shoes in the winter
which he patented under the name of "ice creepers." He and
Mrs. Chase were both Grange members, and he played a viola
in the Jacksonville orchestra -3 Nancy Dean, the hamlet's
historian, remembers that John Chase was still farming
the land in back of his house in the 1940s.
Williams page 5
20. continued:
Mrs. Williams believes that Mrs. Chase lived alone in the
house for some years after her husband died, until she
was forced to sell it due to financial difficulties.
Then it housed "some welfare people," according to 11'rs.
Williams, until Hubert Dorn bought it in 1964. (Book 452,
P- 333, in County Courthouse) The Williams bought the
property from him in 1972. (Book 502, p. 11)
Both the barn and the house are exemplary architecturally
and historically. This is one of the finest and best
preserved examples of the Italianate style in Jacksonville.
The alterations which have been made do not seem to significant-
ly impinge upon its architectural integrity. Its past owneers
have been prominent businesspersons in Jacksonville and
made significant contributions both culturally and economically
to the hamlet.
21. Sources;
Map of Tompkins County -,New York, From Actual Surveys
Made by L. Fagan. Philadelphia: Horace and Charles T.
Smith, Publishers, 1853
Business records From Farrington and Chase, property of
Roger and Patricia Williams.
Conversations with owners, Roger and Patricia Williams,
December, 1983
Partial Deed search at the County Courthouse
EMPIRE MILLING CO. ,
J. J. CHASE
Custom Grinding, Flour and Feeds for Sate
t R. R. Station Txephumock Falls, N. Y., an L. Y. R R.
T Jacksonviue, N.
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