Building date: 1830's [1834 (article below) and 1835 (tax rolls) stated]
Original use:
Corner structures: Chamferred
Mortar application and content: Vertical, slight embellishment
Types and uses of stones:
Types and choice of windows:
Structures with similar masonry details: Chi-2, Chi-3, Chi-5, Rig-1, Rig-2
Masons who worked on building: William Emmons
Unique features:
Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is Google Earth confirmed; 43°05'00.65"N 77°48'50.32"W. Current owner of record, Dillenbeck as of the 2018 Tax Roll.
Town of Chili and Monroe County Maps
"The Cobblestone Houses of Upstate New York", compiled by Dorothy Wells Pease. Research done in collaboration with Hazed B. Jeffery, supplemented with material furnished by Carl F. Schmidt. Reference the second paragraph on page 11.
- "Chi-4 Former Town of Chili Headquarters", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, N.Y., 10/28/1961.
- Sibley-Stuart House historical information document provided by Lee McCanne, County of Monroe, County Historian, 11/12/1968
- "Sibley-Stuart House History", by Barbara Chapman from a taped interview with Raymond and Edna Stuart, January 1981
- Sibley-Stuart House Realtor Sale 1985 Letter
- "Cobblestone Houses That No Wolf Could Blow Down", by Michelle York, The New York Times, N.Y. Region, March 16, 2008
- Sibley-Stuart House historical information document provided by Lee McCanne, County of Monroe, County Historian, 11/12/1968
1834 House is a Treasured Part of Chili's Past, Present, By Emily Morry, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, March 17, 2016
The handsome cobblestone residence at 61 Stuart Road in Chili was built for one of the town's earliest residents, Joseph Sibley. Though his name is perhaps not as well known locally as members of the Hiram Sibley line, Joseph Sibley nevertheless had a significant impact on the development of southwestern Monroe County.
Hailing from Sand Lake in Rensselaer County, Sibley relocated to western New York in 1804, when the area was still a veritable wilderness. Initially settling in Rush, he later moved to Riga and was among the group of pioneers who cleared the forest that once flourished where the village of Churchville now stands. In 1811, Sibley built a sawmill and a gristmill along Black Creek, which he managed for several years, taking a break to serve under Col. Philetus Swift in the War of 1812. The following decade, the town of Chili was formed out of Riga, and Sibley was nominated as its first supervisor. He would later go on to become the area's first county judge.
Seeking a residence that would befit his stature, the prosperous man of note commissioned an established stonemason from England named William Emmons. Emmons constructed Sibley's Federal-style mansion using fieldstones gathered on the property, completing the 4,300-square-foot estate in 1834. The carefully crafted home featured three staircases and 13 rooms, including an upstairs kitchen, a dining room with floor-to-ceiling cabinets, and a generous living room enclosed by double doors.
In 1875, the elegant residence became home to the first of five generations of the Stuart family. Like Joseph Sibley, the Stuarts also made their mark on the local landscape, providing the name for the road on which the home currently stands. The last members of the Stuart line to occupy the house, Raymond and Edna, lived there well into old age. As such, they unfortunately let the building languish. By the early 1990s, when both Stuarts died, the house was in complete disrepair. Holes peppered the roof, while rodents and other wildlife had taken up residence in the historic abode.
The home certainly qualified as a "fixer-upper" when Mary and Brian Dillenbeck came across it while house hunting in 1993. They purchased the residence, banking on the assistance of their home-improvement-savvy parents. It took six months of upgrading the structure, fixing leaks, and repairing the damage caused by the building's erstwhile rodent residents to make the house a habitable home. In the years since, the Dillenbecks have spent a considerable amount of time rehabilitating, renovating, and refurbishing their residence. The endeavor proved trying at times, but for the Dillenbecks, the end result was worth it. As Brian informed The New York Times in 2008, "It's a shame when these places fall into disrepair. When they're gone, they're gone forever." Thanks to the Dillenbecks' efforts, the 182-year-old house that once belonged to one of Monroe County's pioneers remains a treasured part of Chili. Richard Palmer blog.
The Cobblestone Society & Museum Tours:
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Stuart House 11th Annual 06/12/1971
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National Register of Historic Places Registration
- "Cobblestone Masonry", 1966, Carl Schmidt: Name reference, Sibley - Stuart House
- Pages 42 - 43
- "The Era of Cobblestone Architecture", unpublished manuscript 1972. To access the manuscript content about this structure, see 26. Monroe County, Sibley-Stuart House. This structure is not included in the subsequent book "Cobblestone Landmarks of New York State", 1978.
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On file duplicate or unused imagery not included above.
¹ Photography courtesy Gerda Peterich.
² Image courtesy Cobblestone Museum.
³ Photography courtesy Martin and Sheila Wolfish.
4 Photography courtesy Richard Palmer.
