Building date: 1838
Original use:
Corner structures: Regular. Tooled
Mortar application and content: Vertical heavy. Vertical pyramids. Mortar between stones is depressed at the top and cut off at the bottom.
Types and uses of stones: Irregular rough. Stone courses are not consistent in number. The rows vary from 2 - 3 per quoin.
Types and choice of windows:
Structures with similar masonry details:
Masons who worked on building:
Unique features: In 1915 the stucco second story was added.
Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is Google Earth confirmed; 42°51'22.70"N 77°00'39.58"W. Current owner of record, Encore Geneva Center, LLC as of the 2019 Tax Roll.
Town of Geneva and Ontario County Maps
The house at Preemption Rd. and Route 20 & 5 has undergone modifications over the years. The pillars on the side porch were once in the front and the porches were changed to their present condition. The quoins are regular, but the stone courses are not consistent in number. The rows vary from 2 - 3 per quoin. Mortar between stones is like the majority of local houses, depressed at the top and cut off at the bottom. Roudabush Survey page 85
The Tuttle House at 3610 Pre-Emption Road at the intersection with Routes 5 and 20 west of Geneva, was built by Lt. Col. Joseph Hammond Tuttle, whose father operated a log tavern at the crossroads from 1790 to 1833. He inherited the land and meticulously planned his new cobblestone home. The papers on which he outlined his construction plans are still in the house.
"The walls," he wrote, "are to be built of cobblestone or fieldstone, the comers of cut stone..." The house was built in eight months, between March and November, 1838 by Clark Morrison, Amos Siglee and Samuel O. Coddington for $1,550 excluding materials which were supplied by the owner.
The south wing was removed in 1907. In 1915 the stucco second story was added and the Grecian columns were moved to the east side by its owner at the time, William Fordon. Today the Cobblestone Restaurant is noted for fine dining. Richard Palmer blog.
Detailed build specifications contract for Fordon House dated 3/3/1838. Editor's Note: The pdf file for this document is large due to seven pages, six pages of which are legal size documents written in ink by hand. Higher resolution is required to improve legibility. Therefore, longer than normal load time to view may be experienced. A transcription of the document is available for easier reading. Facsimile of document and first draft of transcription provided by Richard Palmer.
"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, 1941. Reference the second paragraph on page 22.
Started as Tuttles's Tavern, "Lone Sentinel of Historic Past Overlooks City", By Mildred Jennings, The Geneva Times, page 3, 7/25/1964.
"An eyeful of cobblestones", by Richard Palmer, Photos by Gerda Peterich, Syracuse Herald-American, May 30, 1965.
The Charm of Old Country Homes, "A White Pillared Mansion Overlooks Seneca Lake", Photography by Fred Powers, Democrat and Chronicale, date unknown. Attribution not provided.
The Cobblestone Society & Museum Tours:
Tuttle - Fordon House & Lafayette Inn 5th Annual 06/12/1965Historic Structures Visited, 5th Annual Cobblestone Tour Brings 1,100 to City, by Mildred Jennings, The Geneva Times, page 6, 6/15/1965
- "Geology and the Development of Upstate New York's Distinctive Cobblestone Architecture", D. Brooks McKinney Ph.D, Emeritus Professor of Geoscience, Department of Geoscience, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY
- Page 99, second paragraph
¹ Photography courtesy Mike Fordon, Geneva. As the building appeared in 1912. Children in photo from left are William Frederick Fordon II, Helen Dorothy, John Cameron and Christine Honor Fordon. Their parents were William Frederick and Jessie Baxter Fordon. Richard Palmer blog.
² Image courtesy Cobblestone Museum.
³ Photography courtesy Gerda Peterich. Cobblestone Museum.
4 Photography courtesy Martin and Sheila Wolfish.
5 Photography courtesy Neil Sjoblom. Richard Palmer blog.
6 Photography courtesy Richard Palmer.
