Building date: About 1837
Original use:
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Mortar application and content: Vertical heavy
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Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is Google Earth confirmed; 42°49'35.61"N 78°01'31.54"W. Current owner of record, Petitte as of the 2019 Tax Roll.
Town of Covington and Wyoming County Maps
"The Old Stone House On The Hill", By John and Mary Wilson
Published in the January, 1980 issue of "Historical Wyoming," published in Warsaw, N.Y. by Wyoming County Historian
Once in a while, we come across a packet of yellowed pages that lift the lid on the past and afford us a glimpse into the lives of those who have gone before. A glimpse of their thoughts, their dreams, their loves, their heartaches. Sometimes the thoughts on these faded pages evoke a familiar response in our hearts. The individuals who wrote them become alive to us again - not just names on gravestones but living souls capable of the same emotions that we can feel.
Such a person was Philena Keith Fisher. Who was Philena Keith Fisher? A faded obituary tells us the simple story of her life but the poems that she wrote tells us more. This obituary and a copy of her poems was brought to us by Tom Maimone who had previously purchased them at Mrs. Merle Webster's auction in Warsaw a few months ago.*
Philena was born in Wyoming April 29, 1831, the daughter of Daniel and Louise Holland Keith. Daniel and probably his wife came from Aberdeen, Scotland and had settled in Wyoming when it was a hamlet of only six houses. It was here Philena grew up. Because it was there and because of the refinement of her writing, she probably attended Middlebury Academy. The Keiths were Presbyterians and her obituary reveals that she was a fine musician with a beautiful soprano voice. In the accompanying poem, she writes that standing on the hill she could see the spire of the church where she used to sing soprano in the choir.
At the age of 19 she married Noah J. Fisher of Covington (born March 2, 1828) and went to live in the "Old Stone House on the Hill". He purchased the house from Alexander MacFarland about 1862.
Her husband's father was Thomas Fisher who came from Sheldon, Mass. to Covington in 1817. Here is the census record of the family in the Stone House on the Hill in 1850:
Thomas Fisher - 54 - b. Mass.
Desire Fisher - 50 - b. Mass.
Sarah Fisher - 20 - b. N.Y.
Noah Fisher - 22 - b. N.Y.
Thomas M. Fisher - 30 - b. N.Y.
Mary M. Gater - 36 - b. N.Y.
Martha Gater - 9 - b. N.Y.
Charles Garter - 7 - b. N.Y.
Philena Fisher - 19 - b. N.Y.
Lucius Olmstead - 24 - b. N.Y.
Only a stone house could have resisted the pressure of such a family!
Noah Fisher's obituary reveals that he too, was an accomplished singer and that the Fishers were well known in the area for their musical talents. We are told that their home was the focal point for the musicians of the region, so we can imagine that the rafters of the old stone house on the hill must have echoed with song on many occasions. According to this record, for nearly 40 years, their home was a veritable conservatory of sacred music and all the music lovers who frequented that happy home felt as did the sweet singer of Isreal, "Oh come, let us sing unto the Lord anew song, let us make a joyful noise unto the God of our Salvation."
Although apparently it was a happy marriage, strong family ties led to separate burials. He was buried with the Fishers in the Pearl Creek Cemetery and she with the Keiths in Wyoming. We do not know for certain who built the stone house but we are quite sure that it was built in the l840's.[Note: 1835] Thomas Fisher's ownership of the land on which it stands goes back before the records begin in 1841 in the County Clerk's office in Warsaw, so it's likely that he had it built. If so, it was in the Fisher family for over one hundred years. It has stood there, silently for nearly 140 years but if it could speak what stories it could tell of the people within its sturdy walls.
"The Stone House on the Hill", By Philena Keith FisherWhen the day is gently fading,
And the busy day is o'er
I put down my work or reading,
And I close the open door. Then I take a quiet journey
To the land of long ago;
See once more the dear old faces
Of the loved ones I used to know.
With what cheer they come to meet
I the twilight soft and still,
As I reach the dear old homestead,
Dear Stone House upon the hill.Hand in hand we walk together, up the path
that windeth through
Beds of blossoms, bright and fragrant,
Laden with the evening dew.The tall locusts nod their welcome,
As I pass across the sill
Of that home where love enfolds me,
Dear Stone House upon the hill.From the window facing eastward,
From the windows facing west,
I can see the waving cornfields,
See the woodland's leafy crest.From the top of the long gulf hill,
Pointing heavenward, see the spire
Of the old Church where I used to
Sing soprano in the choir.There the brook winds through the gulf road,
On its journey to the mill,
Sweet memories lie about thee,
Dear Stone House on the hill.All the world for me grows brighter,
And sweet peace my heart doth fill,
When I've been to the old homestead,
Dear Stone House on the hill.
Noah and Philena moved to Warsaw in 1876 where they lived until 1898 when they returned to Wyoming and remained there until Mr. Fisher's death on March 3,1901. Mrs. Fisher lived with her daughter, Mrs. William Fisher for 15 years prior to her death on March 12, 1915 at the age of 84. She was survived by five other daughters - Mrs. Grace Blasdell of Oakland, Calif., Mrs. W. E. Webster of Warsaw, Mrs. Louis Lower of Brooklyn, Mrs. Jean Weill and Miss Gertrude Fisher of New York; a son, Thomas Fisher of Covington; twelve grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Her obituary appeared in the Wyoming Reporter, March 17, 1915.
Her son, Thomas, retained the stone house and farm in Covington until his death. It then remained under ownership of his children for several years. His son, Charles, owned and operated the farm until he died in 1951. Then the surviving children sold the property. Richard Palmer blog.
"Genealogies of the Covington Cobblestone Houses", by Doris A. Bannister, Historical Wyoming, Vol. 61 No. 1, July 2014, pages 26-27 of pages 23-28. Copyright permission granted 10/24/2022.
- "Cobblestone Masonry", 1966, Carl Schmidt: Name reference, Fisher - Morehouse House
- Page 203
 Cov-2 Petitte 1.jpg ¹ |  Fisher cobblestone house.jpg ² |  Cov-2 Petitte 2.jpg |  GP Wyoming Covington Cov-2 1-1 N.jpg ³ August 1969 |
 Wyo_4_1.jpg |  Wyo_4_2.jpg |  Wyo_4_3.jpg |  Wyo_4_4.jpg |
 Cov-2 Petitte 3.jpg |  Cov-2 1132 Silver Lake Rd 1.jpg 4 |  Cov-2 1132 Silver Lake Rd 2.jpg 4 |  Cov-2 1132 Silver Lake Rd 3.jpg 4 |
 1132 Silver Lake Road Covington 81 29 2.jpg 5 |  1132 Silver Lake Road 2C Covington 2.jpg 5 |  1132 Silver Lake Road 2C Covington 283 29 2.jpg 5 Notice how rear of the house is just rough field stone. |  Covington 1132 Silver Lake Road 1.jpg 6 |
 Covington 1132 Silver Lake Road 2.jpg 6 |  Covington 1132 Silver Lake Road 3.jpg 6 The same house as it appears today. Notice how rear of the house is just rough field stone. |
¹ Image courtesy Cobblestone Museum.
² Image courtesy Wyoming County Historian. The old Fisher cobblestone homestead at 1132 Silver Lake Road, Town of Covington, held many happy memories of the 19th century. It was built about 1837 by Nathan Miller who died in 1841. In the early days 10 people lived here.
³ Photography courtesy Gerda Peterich. Cobblestone Museum.
4 Photography courtesy Martin and Sheila Wolfish.
5 Photography courtesy Larry Warren, Councilman Town of Covington.
6 Photography courtesy Richard Palmer.
