MECHANICVILLE - The cobblestone house has been felled. It took the count Monday and was downed by a big bulldozer which quickly stepped into the long-drawn-out battle and punched a gaping hole in the south side, ending for all time any further arguments over whether it stayed or moved on.
As the cobblestones tumbled, so did the Mechancville Historical Society's dream of a junior museum. The aged structure collapsed easily. The stones, with doubtlessly had been laid up with care and ride during many months of labor over a hundred years ago, were scattered, the wood partitions and the lath were splintered, and the big columns toppled.
This morning the cobblestone house was a worthless pile of rubbish.
City Engineer John Sheehan, who visited the site during the morning, said the ground would be skinned back after the debris was removed in an effort to try to locate the fabled "Cuerdon Spring" or well from which General Washington is said to have taken a drink while on his way north on an inspection trip following the war.
Throughout the morning, crowds gathered at the site to watch. Emotions were mixed. Most were surprised at the sudden move. The attached wooden building, the former Ford store and at one time the Sweeney saloon, remains standing. No effort was made yesterday to push it in.
But at noon Monday, the cobblestone house was a meaningless pile of rocks, plaster and wood. In its place, after urban renewal has widened Hill Street, there will be shrubbery, a parking lot and only a memory of the heyday of "Saloon Corners." Richard Palmer blog.