Building date: 1837 - Demolished 5/29/1952.
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Map views courtesy Google Maps. Approximated location is Google Earth confirmed; 42°43'08.46"N 77°00'03.05"W.
Town of Perry and Wyoming County Maps
Ellery Hicks Foundry, Robeson Cutlery Factory history sheet. From the personal research of cobblestone historian Karen Crandall.
History of the Town of Perry, N.Y. by Frank D. Roberts, published in 1915.
This two-story, three-bay cobblestone building on Main Street in Perry was built as a foundry about 1837. About 1828, John Gregg erected an implement foundry on the site occupied by the stone building later a part of the Robeson Cutlery factory. On Nov. 24, 1837 Gregg sold the property to Ellery Hicks. Within a year or two following the sale, a severe electrical storm came through. The foundry building was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. It was a serious financial loss to Mr. Hicks who was not financially able of erecting and equipping a new plant to take its place.
Sympathetic with his misfortune, the community came to the rescue. A public meeting was called. On a set farmers hauled in enough cobblestones to construct a much larger and more fire proof building. Stone masons, carpenters and others donated their time and talents in this public spirited venture and within a short time the new building was erected, at no cost to Mr. Hicks. Although it changed hands several times this business lasted for more than 60 years.
In the spring of 1898 after the foundry business had moved to Jamestown, the Robeson Cutlery Co. moved here from Camillus. This firm was established in 1879 by Millard F. Robeson, a traveling salesman. [From pages 69-73, 89-91, History of the Town of Perry, N.Y. by Frank D. Roberts and Carl G. Clark, published in 1915 in Perry.] Richard Palmer blog.
"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 fourth complete paragraph on page 13.
Historical Wyoming, P. 123. July, 1952
"In May, it was revealed that the old cobblestone building of the Robeson Cutlery Company, Perry, would be demolished. The landmark on Perry's Main Street, dated back to the 1830's, and has long been admired for its simple but attractive facade. Its destruction was ordered only after efforts failed to strengthen the sagging floors and walls. It was one of a very few small number of cobblestone structures still in use in the County, most of them a century or older." Richard Palmer blog.
Landmark is No More, The Castilian, Castile, Thursday, May 29, 1952
The old cobblestone building on Perry's Main Street, belonging to the Robeson Cutlery Company, is no more. The building, built in the year 1837 this week was razed to make way for a new one-story addition to the Cutlery firm on the same site and original foundation. Richard Palmer blog.
- "Cobblestone Masonry", 1966, Carl Schmidt: Name reference, Perry Foundry
- Page 205
 1853 Wyoming County Perry Excerpt Map.jpg ¹ Editor's Note: The unit of measure for the map is in "perches". A perch is an English linear measure used to define land area, = 16.5 feet. |  Per-2 Robeson Cutlery Company 1.jpg ² The reaper works of Wyckoff, Tuttle & Olin, ca. 1880. |  Per-2 Robeson Cutlery Company 2.jpg ³ Close up of original cobblestone portion of the factory. |  Wyckoff Tuttle Foundry.jpg Around Perry, by Christina B. Nolan, Arcadia Publishing 2010, page 54. |
 Perry+foundry-1.jpg History of the Town of Perry, N.Y. by Frank D. Roberts, published in 1915. |  WyomingCounty Main St. Perry.jpg 4 |
¹ 1853 Wayne County Perry Excerpt Map courtesy Library of Congress.
² Image from "History of Wyoming County", N.Y., page facing page 244, F. W. Beers & Co., 1880. Cobblestone part of the plant is in center left, foreground.
³ Image from "History of the Town of Perry, N.Y." by Frank D. Roberts, published in 1915. The name Robeson Cutlery Co. is clearly visible over the entrance in this photo. Courtesy Richard Palmer blog.
4 Photography courtesy John Vrooman, from Cobblestone Museum archives. This photo was taken shortly before demolition of the cobblestone building in 1952. The cutlery continued in operation until 1965 when it was closed. Richard Palmer blog.
