Building date: Demolished
Original use:
Corner structures:
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Structures with similar masonry details:
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Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is Google Earth confirmed; 42°59'52.63"N 77°30'13.29"W.
Town of Mendon 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, 1941. Reference the nineteenth paragraph on page 16.
Subject #23, pages 14-15, "Survey of Cobblestone Masonry in the Rush - Mendon Area", by Richard Burton Wood (1934-1992), May 18, 1955. Essay submitted to Dr. Hersey, Art 146, Class of 1956 University of Rochester.
I am aware of the W. Wood Blacksmith Shop location that you have described in the hamlet of Mendon on the north side of Victor-Mendon Rd. There is a house at that location now and I think it was originally a cobblestone blacksmith shop in the 1850's. I talked to the owners of the house about 35 years ago and they didn't know anything about the history of the building. About the only piece of information I have that I can think of is the 1960 Town of Mendon Tax Assessment with a poor B & W photo. You can tell that it is a cobblestone building though. Also, the photo is attached to the Tax Assessment card showing the footprint of the 1/2 story wood frame house with a stucco flat roofed building attached to the east side and a cobblestone shop attached to the back of the stucco building. The building at that time was owned by Carl Kossow and before him was Earl L. Ernst. The date given is 30+ years, but I don't believe that. I also have a photo of the house that was taken about 1990 and it does not show the cobblestone portion.
I also have a 1972 Mendon Tax Assessment with a poor B & W photo showing the stucco portion and a piece of the cobblestone portion. It is called a "one-story garage and storage" and is 43 ft. x 23 ft. x 29 ft. It was sold in 1973 to Alan Hurley.
In the 1875 census for New York - Mendon, I find William Wood living in the hamlet of Mendon and is listed as a blacksmith. His dwelling is listed as framed. He was also listed as a blacksmith in the 1880 Census. He was not listed as a blacksmith in 1905 Census as an 80 year old man. He died in 1909. Diane Ham, Mendon Town Historian, email 12/29/2019.
- "Cobblestone Masonry", 1966, Carl Schmidt: Name reference, W Wood Blacksmith Shop
- Page 60
 Men-13 W Wood Blacksmith Shop 1.jpg ¹ 1960 Click file name to enlarge image. |
¹ Image courtesy Diane Ham, Town of Mendon Historian, Monroe County.
