We are very fortunate to have in this historic area, several "Cobblestone Clubs", helping to preserve this historic treasure. They’re so common around here that we often take them for granted. They were all built before the Civil War as the area boomed with the opening of the Erie Canal.
"The cobblestones, brought south by glaciers, and rounded by Lake Ontario wave action, were a nuisance to the early settlers who tried to farm the land, until they hit upon the idea of using them as an inexpensive building material. Bricks were expensive to manufacture, wood could be shipped away on the Erie Canal as a cash product, but the cobblestones were free for the picking.
Building with cobblestones evolved into an art form, with each mason developing his artistic creativity over time. Early buildings were rough structures built with the field cobbles. Random cobblestones of mixed colors, shapes and sizes were combined to create each wall. As the artistry developed, the masons sourced their cobblestones from the shores of Lake Ontario by ox cart over the frozen land in winter. The cobblestones were then sorted by children or women in groups called sorting bees. The masons, or sometimes the farmers themselves, built the structures with uniform stones, stripes, herringbone patterns, and creative flourishes that said “this is my artistic canvas and stones are my medium.” Cobblestone homeowner Margaret Deans counted the stones in her home and estimated that it took 14,402 cobblestones!"
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Newton, Philo Cobblestone House (added 2002 - Building - #02001334)
3573 Wruck Rd., Hartland
Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Architectural Style: Greek Revival
Area of Significance: Agriculture, Architecture
Period of Significance: 1825-1849, 1850-1874, 1875-1899, 1900-1924
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Domestic
Historic Sub-function: Single Dwelling
Current Function: Domestic
Current Sub-function: Single Dwelling