Building date: 1836
Original use:
Corner structures:
Mortar application and content: Vertical pyramids
Types and uses of stones:
Types and choice of windows:
Structures with similar masonry details:
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Unique features:
Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is Google Earth confirmed; 43°09'17.57"N 78°27'51.40"W. Current owner of record, Beamer as of the 2019 Tax Roll.
Town of Shelby and Orleans County Maps
This is known as the Cone-Dewey house at 10181 West Shelby Road and is located just east of the Niagara-Orleans county line near Dewey Road. It was built of field cobbles in 1836 for John Shelp and is one of six cobblestone structures in the Town of Shelby. It includes 145 acres. It was occupied by Shelp and his wife, Mary, and her father, Oliver Cone, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Shelp came from Schoharie county in 1821. Mr. Shelp lived there until he died in 1868. In 2008 the house, two barns, and a milk house on the grounds were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is considered one of the finest examples of cobblestone architecture in western New York. Shelp, came from Schoharie County in 1828. In 1836 he moved his family into the new house and remained there until his death in 1868. He and his descendants were prosperous and productive farmers who expanded and improved the property. In the mid 20th century the house was abandoned and fell into disrepair. It was restored in the mid-1960s. The house contains a huge fireplace originally used for both heating and cooking. A bake oven is built into the side of it. Richard Palmer blog.
According to "Landmarks of Orleans County" John Shelp, a native of Schoharie County, N.Y. was born in 1791. He married Mary A. Cone in 1818. In 1821 they came to Shelby and purchased land on lot 42, a mile west from West Shelby, where they remained till their deaths. He died in 1868 and she in 1883. Also, according to Nelson Dewey whose wife is a descendent of John Shelp the latter built the house.
"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 9.
"Cobblestone Buildings of Orleans County, N. Y.", A Local History, page 89, by Delia Robinson, Edited by Evelyn Lyman and William Nestle. Jointly published by The Cobblestone Society and The Orleans County Historical Association, December 1996.
Original owners: Oliver Cone and John and Mary Ann [Cone] Shelp [Moved in with Oliver in 1838, inherited in 1844]. Subsequent owners: Cone/Shelp descendents (Mrs. Nelson Dewey], 1967 Gamin, 1985 Henry (Hank) and Susan (Sue) Beamer.
Received the "2025 Historic Preservation Award" presented by the Landmark Society of Western New York at the banquet, recognizing historic and preserved properties in the Orleans County area, held at the White Birch Golf course restaurant, Lindenville, NY on Friday, October 10.
Hank and Sue Beamer are the third family to reside in the Shelp-Beamer House since its construction in 1836, having purchased the property in 1985. This house at 10181 West Shelby Rd. is located just east of the Niagara-Orleans County line, near Dewey Road in the town of Shelby. It was built of field and lake-washed cobbles for John Shelp, and is one of six cobblestone structures in the town of Shelby, sitting on 145 acres. It was built for Shelp, his wife Mary and her father Oliver Cone, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. In 2008, the house, two barns and a milk house on the grounds were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is considered one of the finest examples of cobblestone masonry in western New York.Shelp came from Schoharie County in 1828. In 1836, he moved his family into the new house and remained there until his death in 1868. He and his descendants were prosperous farmers who expanded and improved the property.
The rare three-story cobblestone house contains a huge fireplace, originally used for both heating and cooking. A bake oven is built into the side of it. The house is constructed of both field and lake-washed cobblestones, while the quoins, lintels and sills are local limestone. A wooden addition and first floor remodeling took place in the early 1900s, at which time the first-floor interior woodwork was remodeled in colonial revival style oak. Hank and Sue Beamer have lovingly and painstaking attended to preserving this beautiful historic home for posterity.
In addition to the many interesting attributes of the structure, the owners feel the history of its builders is noteworthy. The home was originally built by John and Mary Shelp in 1836. Mary's father Oliver Cone was from East Haddam, Conn. and served as a Minute Man in 2nd and 5th Connecticut regiments during the Revolutionary War. He settled in Orleans County in 1817 and was one of many Revolutionary veterans who were early settles in Shelby. He later resided with John and Mary in the cobblestone house and is interred in Mount Pleasant Cemetery on Salt Works Road, West Shelby.
Nominations are reviewed by the Preservation Awards Committee, each awardee receives a photo plaque and several citations from various elected officials, according to Doug Farley, Director, Cobblestone Museum.
Extract from Orleans Hub article "Cobblestone Museum announces annual preservation award winners", By Ginny Kropf, correspondent. Posted 13 September 2025. 6 local sites to be recognized during Oct. 10 banquet.
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National Register of Historic Places RegistrationNew York State Rehabilitation Tax Credits Homeowner Case Study, Preservation League of New York State, 2010-2011.
- "Cobblestone Masonry", 1966, Carl Schmidt: Name reference, Cone - Dewey House
- Page 141
- "The Era of Cobblestone Architecture", unpublished manuscript 1972. To access the manuscript content about this structure, see 99. Orleans County, Shelp-Gamin House. This structure is not included in the subsequent book "Cobblestone Landmarks of New York State", 1978.
 Before 1900 Addition B&W.jpg ¹ |  Westward View Winter 1923.jpg ¹ Winter 1923 |  Aerial Picture Copy.jpg ¹ |  GP Orleans Shelby She-2 1-1 N.jpg ² August 1969 |
 GP Orleans Shelby She-2 2-1 N.jpg ² August 1969 |  She_2_1.jpg |  She_2_2.jpg |  She_2_3.jpg |
 She_2_4.jpg |  She-2 Gamin 1.jpg ³ |  She-2 Gamin 2.jpg ³ |  She-2 10181 West Shelby Rd 1.jpg 4 |
 She-2 10181 West Shelby Rd 2.jpg 4 |  She-2 10181 West Shelby Rd 3.jpg 4 |  She-2 10181 West Shelby Rd 4.jpg 4 |  John Shelp House, West Shelby.jpg 5 9/19/2019 |
 IMG_0022R.jpg ¹ 10/14/2021 |  IMG_0021R.jpg ¹ 10/14/2021 |  IMG_0030R.jpg ¹ 10/14/2021 |  IMG_0025R.jpg ¹ 10/14/2021 |
 IMG_0024R.jpg ¹ 10/14/2021 |
¹ Image courtesy cobblestone home owners Hank and Sue Beamer. Submitted by email 12/28/2021.
² Photography courtesy Gerda Peterich. Cobblestone Museum.
³ Image courtesy Cobblestone Museum.
4 Photography courtesy Martin and Sheila Wolfish.
5 Photography courtesy Daniel Case.
