Jackson Blood Cobblestone House
Encyclopedia
The Jackson Blood Cobblestone House is located on South Main Street (state highway
NY 63
) in Lyndonville
, New York, United States. It is a Greek Revival
house built in the middle of the 19th century.
Blood, a prominent citizen of the surrounding Town of Yates
in its early years, built the house with cobblestones
he and his family personally transported down to the site from Lake Ontario
to the north. Its former chimney arrangement suggests that it was one of the first houses in the area to be heated with stoves instead of fireplaces.
During the first half of the 20th century it was subdivided into three rental units, and much of the interior renovated. Later it was restored to a single-family dwelling. In 2005 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. It is the only property in Lyndonville so far listed, and the northernmost entry on the Register in Orleans County
.
garage is located at the rear of the lot.
Three sections comprise the house. The main block is a large rectangular three-by-three-bay
two and a half stories tall. Two one-and-a-half-story wings extend to the north and west (rear). All are sided in rows of lake-washed medium-sized cobblestones set beads of V-profile lime masonry
.
All trim — lintels, sills, quoin
s and water table
— is limestone
. That material is also used for an unusual decorative
feature on the east (front) facade
: a semi-elliptical stone arch with keystone
that springs from the lintels of the second story windows. Above it the shallow pitched
gable
d roof is set off by a very deep plain frieze
and molded
cornice
with returns. The six-over-six double-hung sash window
s are original. A mid-20th century porch with square posts is on the east face of the north wing.
The recessed main entrance, on the northern bay of the main block, contains a large paneled door with sidelights. It opens into a vestibule
where a stair with a simple Colonial Revival
railing climbs to the second story. A single large room is to the south; the north wing contains a dining room with marble fireplace, and the kitchen. The rear wing is a family room. Upstairs, the layout is similar, with a large bedroom above the large first-floor main room.
Most of the house's finishings were added later. The ceilings of the main rooms are modern coved
plaster. The most significant original elements are the wooden doors and their shouldered surrounds. On the second floors of the wing the small sash windows slide up into the wall.
had even been formed, in 1815, as a young man. He bought a farm near the lake and later acquired large tracts of land around today's Lyndonville. When the town, named after Governor Joseph C. Yates
, was formed in 1823, he was named one of its first three commissioners of common schools.
Local tradition holds that the Blood family themselves collected the cobblestones from the lake and brought them down to the house starting with Blood's purchase of a farm in the area in 1830, reflecting Lyndonville's increasing importance within the town over Yates Center due to its proximity to the Erie Canal
and its location along a creek that powered a mill. It was completed in 1846, its tight rows a hallmark of the middle and late years of the cobblestone
trend. Originally it had four chimneys, three of which were purely decorative, to maintain a symmetrical exterior appearance. The fourth was at the southeast corner of the main block. Its extant flue
angles to the east wall, suggesting along with the construction date that the builder was using the new technology of stoves to heat the house, instead of relying on fireplaces.
Blood lived in the house until 1875. A few years before his death, one of his sons, C. Jackson Blood, served as town supervisor
for a term. In the 20th century, the house was subdivided into three rental units. The dining room fireplace was added during this period, as was much of the interior decor. In the 1950s, another renovation reunified the house. There have been no other significant changes.
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
NY 63
New York State Route 63
New York State Route 63 is a state highway in the western part of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 15 and NY 21 in the village of Wayland in Steuben County. Its northern end is at a junction with NY 18 in the town...
) in Lyndonville
Lyndonville, New York
Lyndonville is a village in Orleans County, New York, United States. The population was 862 at the 2000 census. The name was selected because some of the early settlers were from Lyndon, Vermont...
, New York, United States. It is a Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
house built in the middle of the 19th century.
Blood, a prominent citizen of the surrounding Town of Yates
Yates, New York
Yates is a town in Orleans County, New York, United States. The population was 2,510 at the 2000 census. The town in named after Joseph C. Yates, a governor of New York.The Town of Yates is in the northwest part of the county...
in its early years, built the house with cobblestones
Cobblestone architecture
Cobblestone architecture refers to the use of cobblestones embedded in mortar as method for erecting walls on houses and commercial buildings.-History:Evidence of the use of cobblestones in building has been found in the ruins of Hierakonpolis...
he and his family personally transported down to the site from Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
to the north. Its former chimney arrangement suggests that it was one of the first houses in the area to be heated with stoves instead of fireplaces.
During the first half of the 20th century it was subdivided into three rental units, and much of the interior renovated. Later it was restored to a single-family dwelling. In 2005 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It is the only property in Lyndonville so far listed, and the northernmost entry on the Register in Orleans County
Orleans County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 44,171 people, 15,363 households, and 10,846 families residing in the county. The population density was 113 people per square mile . There were 17,347 housing units at an average density of 44 per square mile...
.
Building
The house is located on a three-quarter–acre (3,200 m²) lot on the west side of the street south of the village's center, where Route 63 crosses Johnson Creek. The neighborhood is residential, with the houses dating to the late 19th and 20th centuries. Mature trees dominate the lots, giving way to worked fields on either side of the highway. The terrain is level. A modern, non-contributingContributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
garage is located at the rear of the lot.
Three sections comprise the house. The main block is a large rectangular three-by-three-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
two and a half stories tall. Two one-and-a-half-story wings extend to the north and west (rear). All are sided in rows of lake-washed medium-sized cobblestones set beads of V-profile lime masonry
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
.
All trim — lintels, sills, quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s and water table
Water table (architecture)
A water table is a masonry architectural feature that consists of a projecting course that deflects water running down the face of a building away from lower courses or the foundation...
— is limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
. That material is also used for an unusual decorative
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
feature on the east (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
: a semi-elliptical stone arch with keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
that springs from the lintels of the second story windows. Above it the shallow pitched
Roof pitch
In building construction, roof pitch is a numerical measure of the steepness of a roof, and a pitched roof is a roof that is steep.The roof's pitch is the measured vertical rise divided by the measured horizontal span, the same thing as what is called "slope" in geometry. Roof pitch is typically...
gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof is set off by a very deep plain frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
and molded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
with returns. The six-over-six double-hung sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s are original. A mid-20th century porch with square posts is on the east face of the north wing.
The recessed main entrance, on the northern bay of the main block, contains a large paneled door with sidelights. It opens into a vestibule
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
where a stair with a simple Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
railing climbs to the second story. A single large room is to the south; the north wing contains a dining room with marble fireplace, and the kitchen. The rear wing is a family room. Upstairs, the layout is similar, with a large bedroom above the large first-floor main room.
Most of the house's finishings were added later. The ceilings of the main rooms are modern coved
Coved ceiling
A coved ceiling is a ceiling that has had the visual appearance of the point where the ceiling meets the walls improved by the addition of coving.It can also refer to an arched-dome ceiling, like in a mosque....
plaster. The most significant original elements are the wooden doors and their shouldered surrounds. On the second floors of the wing the small sash windows slide up into the wall.
History
Jackson Blood came to the area before Orleans CountyOrleans County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 44,171 people, 15,363 households, and 10,846 families residing in the county. The population density was 113 people per square mile . There were 17,347 housing units at an average density of 44 per square mile...
had even been formed, in 1815, as a young man. He bought a farm near the lake and later acquired large tracts of land around today's Lyndonville. When the town, named after Governor Joseph C. Yates
Joseph C. Yates
Joseph Christopher Yates was an American lawyer, politician. statesman, and founding trustee of Union College.-History:...
, was formed in 1823, he was named one of its first three commissioners of common schools.
Local tradition holds that the Blood family themselves collected the cobblestones from the lake and brought them down to the house starting with Blood's purchase of a farm in the area in 1830, reflecting Lyndonville's increasing importance within the town over Yates Center due to its proximity to the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
and its location along a creek that powered a mill. It was completed in 1846, its tight rows a hallmark of the middle and late years of the cobblestone
Cobblestone architecture
Cobblestone architecture refers to the use of cobblestones embedded in mortar as method for erecting walls on houses and commercial buildings.-History:Evidence of the use of cobblestones in building has been found in the ruins of Hierakonpolis...
trend. Originally it had four chimneys, three of which were purely decorative, to maintain a symmetrical exterior appearance. The fourth was at the southeast corner of the main block. Its extant flue
Flue
A flue is a duct, pipe, or chimney for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, furnace, water heater, boiler, or generator to the outdoors. In the United States, they are also known as vents and for boilers as breeching for water heaters and modern furnaces...
angles to the east wall, suggesting along with the construction date that the builder was using the new technology of stoves to heat the house, instead of relying on fireplaces.
Blood lived in the house until 1875. A few years before his death, one of his sons, C. Jackson Blood, served as town supervisor
Town supervisor
Town Supervisor is an elective legislative position in New York towns. Supervisors sit on the town board, where they preside over town board meetings and vote on all matters with no more legal weight than that of any other board member .Towns may adopt local laws that allow them to provide for an...
for a term. In the 20th century, the house was subdivided into three rental units. The dining room fireplace was added during this period, as was much of the interior decor. In the 1950s, another renovation reunified the house. There have been no other significant changes.