Building date: 1835
Original use:
Corner structures: The quoins therefore appear to be uneven in size, as Schmidt records with the statement, "Corner quoins are from eleven to fifteen inches high".
Mortar application and content: Vertical heavy. Vertical pyramids
Types and uses of stones: Stones are laid four to a quoin, but photographs of the front wall show the number to be variable. Some quoins have three rows with a half row at the top and bottom. Others have only 32 rows.
Types and choice of windows:
Structures with similar masonry details:
Masons who worked on building:
Unique features:
Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is Google Earth confirmed; 42°42'16.94"N 76°58'34.19"W. Current owner of record, Correll as of the 2019 Tax Roll.
Town of Torrey and Yates County Maps.
Schmidt records that the stones are laid four to a quoin, but photographs of the front wall show the number to be variable. Some quoins have three rows with a half row at the top and bottom. Others have only 32 rows. The quoins therefore appear to be uneven in size, as Schmidt records with the statement, "Corner quoins are from eleven to fifteen inches high". Roudabush Survey page 122
The Olney-Ryal House, 1250 Route 14, Town of Torrey, is said to have been built in 1835. The owner in 1855 was Daniel Ryal. It features unusual triangular windows that solved the problem of limited space caused by the sloping roof. Also unusual is the large ground floor wing on the north side. Richard Palmer blog.
The Olney-Ryal House at 1250 Route 14, Town of Torrey, is said to have been built in 1835. The owner in 1855 was Daniel Ryal. It features unusual triangular windows that solved the problem of limited space caused by the sloping roof. Also unusual is the large ground floor wing on the north side, as well as the plaster
cornices on the first floor rooms. Porch is a later addition. This house is immaculately well maintained. The walls are built of water-rounded and squarish fieldstones of various shapes, sizes and colors. The original farm consisted of about 78 acres.
In the front wall the mason used rounded and oval cobblestones. The front wall of the wing is built of larger fieldstone. Corner quoins are roughly squared gray limestone. It has a fine view overlooking Seneca Lake. It has been meticulously restored by Mr. and Mrs. Philip Correll.
The Penn Yan Express on November 5, 1884 states: "It is said that Daniel Ryal, of Torrey, has paper on the wall of his house which has been there for fifty years, and is as bright as when it was new. It cost $1.25 per single roll."
Daniel B. Ryal was born in Tioga County, Pa., August 25, 1815, son of Hugh and Nancy Ryal. He came to this area in the late 1830s and married Caroline, daughter of Otis Barden, on April 29, 1838. They had two sons. One died in infancy. She died on June 21, 1840 shortly after the birth of a second son, Otis Barden Ryal, on June 15, 1840. He died at Yorktown, Va., November 30, 1863 while serving with Company I, 148th Regiment, New York Volunteers.
In 1841 Daniel married Susan W. Rugg and they had a son and four daughters. He died March 15, 1889 and was buried in the family plot in Hopeton Corners Cemetery in Dresden.
Daniel and Susan joined the Methodist Church at Milo Center in 1843. For 32 years religious meetings were held at their home. He was a farmer. In 1875 he was was one of four trustees of Torrey School District 5.
One of his daughters, Mattie, who married Jerome B. House, recalled as a child watching boats sail from Seneca Lake at Dresden through the many locks of the six-mile Crooked Lake Canal which raised them to the level of Keuka Lake. This canal was opened in 1833 and had 28 locks. It was abandoned in 1877 when it was replaced by the so-called "Corkscrew Railroad." This later became the Penn Yan branch of the New York Central Railroad. Mattie and a party friends rode the first train.
Mattie was educated in district schools and was granted a teacher's certificate when she was only 16. She taught for several years in rural schools in Yates and Steuben counties.
Deeds were found containing the names of Frank and Bettie Olney plus Dudley and Jane Olney who were forced to sell at auction their interest in the property due to a judgement against them on February 19, 1875. It was purchased on that date by Oscar F. Nutt for the sum of $3,354.48. Nutt Road is the next intersection to the south on Route 14. Richard Palmer blog.
The Ryal Family
Daniel B. Ryal was born in Tioga County, Pa., August 25, 1815, son of Hugh and Nancy Ryal. He came to this area in the late 1830s and married Caroline, daughter of Otis Barden, on April 29, 1838. They had two sons. One died in infancy. She died on June 21, 1840 shortly after the birth of a second son, Otis Barden Ryal, on June 15, 1840. He died at Yorktown, Va., November 30, 1863 while serving with Company I, 148th Regiment, New York Volunteers.
In 1841 Daniel married Susan W. Rugg and they had a son and four daughters. He died March 15, 1889 and was buried in the family plot in Hopeton Corners Cemetery in Dresden.
Daniel and Susan joined the Methodist Church at Milo Center in 1843. For 32 years religious meetings were held at their home. He was a farmer. In 1875 he was was one of four trustees of Torrey School District 5.
An interesting item published in the Penn Yan Express on November 5, 1884 states: "It is said that Daniel Ryal, of Torrey, has paper on the wall of his house which has been there for fifty years, and is as bright as when it was new. It cost $1.25 per single roll."
One of his daughters, Mattie, who married Jerome B. House, recalled as a child watching boats sail from Seneca Lake at Dresden through the many locks of the six-mile Crooked Lake Canal which raised them to the level of Keuka Lake. This canal was opened in 1833 and had 28 locks. It was abandoned in 1877 when it was replaced by the so-called "Corkscrew Railroad." This later became the Penn Yan branch of the New York Central Railroad. Mattie and a party friends rode the first train.
She [Mattie] received her education in district schools and was granted a teacher's certificate when she was only 16. She taught for several years in rural schools in Yates and Steuben counties. 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 first paragraph on page 23.
"Permanent File of Cobblestone Structures".
"Gateways To Cobblestone Houses of Yates County", by Crooked Lake Yorkers, Penn Yan Academy, page 5, 1967.
"A Brief History of Cobblestone Architecture in Yates County, New York", By Richard F. Palmer
Notes on the Ryal Family. Richard Palmer email 4/22/2018.
The Cobblestone Society & Museum Tours:
Ryal House 8th Annual 06/15/1968
- "Cobblestone Masonry", 1966, Carl Schmidt: Name reference, Ryal House
- Page 207
¹ Photography courtesy property owner Philip Correll.
² Image courtesy Cobblestone Museum.
³ Photography courtesy Gerda Peterich. Cobblestone Museum.
4 Photography courtesy Martin and Sheila Wolfish.
5 Photographs courtesy Philip Correll.
