Building date: Circa 1824
Original use: Schoolbouse
Corner structures: Variable
Mortar application and content: Vertical, slight embellishment
Types and uses of stones: Rough field stones, some of which are split in half, taken from the property on which it rests.
Types and choice of windows: Lintels wood
Structures with similar masonry details:
Masons who worked on building:
Unique features:
Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is Google Earth confirmed; 43°11'23.87"N 76°47'50.12"W. Current owner of record, Butler Historical Preservation Society as of the 2019 Tax Roll.
Town of Butler and Wayne County Maps
Built in the 1820s, the Roe school house in the town of Butler is believed to be the oldest existing cobblestone school house in North America. Now a museum, it is located at 12397 Van Vleck Road at the intersection of Route 89. It was built by Daniel Roe, an early pioneer. It was often referred to as the Watson Schoolhouse. It is believed to be one of the very oldest cobblestone buildings in the area. Rather than using the smooth-washed lake stones characteristic of later cobblestone buildings, it is constructed of rough field stones that were taken from the property on which it rests. Some of the stones were split in half because of their larger size. This structure is very early as shown by the 12 over 8 window panes.
It ceased to function as a school in 1932 and for years was a private residence. It is now operated as a schoolhouse museum by the Butler Historical Preservation Society, which also operates the Butler Church Museum. Both museums are open on the first Saturday of the month from May through October, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. For appointment to see it call Dorothy Wiggins at 315-594-2332 or Lori Howland at 315-594-1844. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since September 17, 2008. Richard Palmer blog.
"Cobblestone Structures of Wayne County" Morse House * excerpt, 1955, Verlyn Edward Klahn, pages 72 and 73. Essay submitted for Hoffman Foundation, Wayne County History Scholarship, awarded 1955. Reprint permission granted by Wayne County Historian. * Klahn spells the house name as Morese on page 71, Butler Township list, instead of Morse on page 73, structure description. Correct spelling likely Morse.
Certificate of Merit is awarded to the Butler Historical Society for dedicated preservation of the historical Roe Cobblestone Schoolhouse by the Cobblestone Society Museum and Resource Center, Childs, NY, September 18, 2010
Wayne Historians Organization (WHO), Historic Sites Inventory Cobblestone house
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National Register of Historic Places Registration
- "Cobblestone Masonry", 1966, Carl Schmidt: Name reference, District #1 Schoolhouse
- Page 157 - 158
 Roe school house 2.jpg ¹ Roe school house in the early 1900s. |  But_1_1.jpg |  But_1_2.jpg |  But_1_3.jpg |
 But_1_4.jpg |  But-1 12397 Van Vleck Rd 1.jpg ¹ |  But-1 12397 Van Vleck Rd 2.jpg ¹ |  But-1 School 1 1.jpg ² October 1996 |
 IMG_1060.jpg ³ |  IMG_1059.jpg ³ |  IMG_1061.jpg ³ |
¹ Photography courtesy Martin and Sheila Wolfish.
² Image courtesy Cobblestone Museum.
³ Photography courtesy Richard Palmer.
