Building date: 1840
Original use:
Corner structures:
Mortar application and content: Vertical heavy, vertical pyramids
Types and uses of stones:
Types and choice of windows:
Structures with similar masonry details:
Masons who worked on building: Otis Legg
Unique features:
Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is Google Earth confirmed; 43°01'21.36"N 77°44'38.44"W. Current owner of record, Matos/Stamatia as of the 2018 Tax Roll.
Town of Wheatland and Monroe County Maps
There is a discrepancy in street address. The Roudabush Survey and the articles below refer to 11 East Genesee St.; however, official property and mailing addresses on the tax rolls are 15 East Genesee St.
Peter Sheffer II built this cobblestone house about 1840 for his son Levi. The houses faces west toward the village from the end of School Street later renamed East Genesee Street. The wooden one-story wing of about 1860 included a dining room, kitchen and woodshed. Higher ceilings, tall windows to the floor and molding details reflect the Victorian era. In 1946, the attractive east wing was added by Mr. and Mrs. Carey Brown with assistance from Scottsville architect Carl Schmidt. The front porch was enlarged around an existing maple tree. A basement garage and upstairs guest quarters were included. In 1954, the east wing was extended further to the rear to add a two-room apartment. Only the house shown above is original. The rest of the cobblestone work was done in the 20th century. Richard Palmer blog.
Cobblestone House at 11 East Genesee Street, Scottsville, By Barbara Chapman, Wheatland Historian
In the fall of 1789, Peter Sheffer and his sons, Peter II and Jacob, made their way from Bloomfield to the area now the Town of Wheatland in search of land. They crossed the Genesee River at Avon, traveled to the Indian settlement at Canawaugus, and then followed the old Indian trail north to Ebenezer "Indian" Allen's cabin. They stayed with Allen for the winter and then purchased his settlement when he moved on to Rochester in the spring.
In 1798, Peter Sheffer II began cutting timber for a new house and barn. The following year, the first frame house west of the Genesee River was erected on the Sheffer farm in Scottsville.
Early in the 1840s, Peter Sheffer II built the cobblestone house at what is now 11 East Genesee Street in the Village of Scottsville for his son Levi. The house was soon passed on to other family members, as Levi and his family moved into the Town of Chili. In 1855 a frame addition was erected on the back of the house. (Another son, Peter III, lived in the cobblestone house on Sheffer Road in the Town of Chili.)
The 1902 Plat map of Scottsville shows the Genesee Street cobblestone as the property of Isaac Budlong, who owned extensive lands and raised beef cattle. Other owners followed.
In 1940 Colonel Cary Brown came from Rochester and purchased the property. Brown was a West Point graduate and became the vice-president of the Ridge Construction division of Kodak. He was very active in civic affairs in the Scottsville area and in Rochester. The Browns named the property Rebel Hill Farm. They hired Carl F. Schmidt, an authority on cobblestone structures, to supervise the accurate restoration of the cobblestone house and design a large addition. After the death of his wife about 1970, Carey Brown sold the estate and moved to Virginia.
The next owners of the Genesee Street cobblestone were VanBuren "Skip" and Susan Hansford. He was a Rochester businessman. They also added on to the house, increasing its size to over 6,500 square feet, and made many improvements to the property, including renovation of the caretaker's house. The Hansfords owned the house until the early 2000s when it was sold to a couple who are both doctors. Courtesy Cobblestone Museum archives and Richard Palmer blog.
From: Historic Preservation Report: Wheatland/Scottsville/Mumford, by Cynthia Howk of the Landmark Society of Western New York, 2003
This house at 11 East Genesee St., Scottsville is a two- story, vernacular Greek Revival residence, c. 1830 (cobblestone); 1855 and later 20th century wood frame additions. Sheffer-Brown-Hansford House. The original cobblestone section of the house has a rectangular plan, limestone quoins, wide cornices and gable end returns. Brick chimney above the south gable.
The window frames feature limestone lintels and sills as well as one-over-one double-hung wood sash. The 1½ story middle section (1855) and the two-story east section (later 20th century) part of the house are of wood construction. This land is part of a tract purchased by Peter Sheffer I, one of the earliest permanent settlers who came to the valley from Pennsylvania with his sons Peter and Jacob in 1789.
Originally built as a modest farmhouse for his son Levi, this residence has been greatly enlarged. A wing was added in 1855, and another addition was made by Carey Brown. During the 1980s it acquired its present configuration during the ownership of VanBuren Hansford. The middle and east sections of the house appear to treble the original size of the residence and, in scale, overwhelm the original cobblestone building. With a notable view of the Genesee river valley to the east, the house sits in an expansive, estate-like setting of open lawns, mature trees and gardens. Courtesy Cobblestone Museum archives and Richard Palmer blog.
The following email reply addressed several questions that arose in updating this structure information. Thanks to Richard Palmer for taking the initiative to contact Barb Chapman, Town of Wheatland Historian.
I have a number of write-ups about the East Genesee Street cobblestone house. It was featured on several house tours back in the day. The information that I have lists the address of the original house as 11 East Genesee Street. It is a huge property that has been added to over the years. It probably now includes lots that would have been numbered 13 and 15. I believe 11 is the correct number for the original cobblestone. The present owners may use 15 as their mailing address.I will quote the information in the booklet for the Cobblestone Society motor tour in 1971.
"Peter Sheffer II built this cobblestone house about 1840 for his son Levi. . . . Levi Sheffer's stone house faced west toward the village from the end of School Street later renamed East Genesee Street. . . . The wooden one-story wing of about 1860 included a dining room, kitchen and woodshed. Higher ceilings, tall windows to the floor and molding details reflect the Victorian era.""In 1946, the attractive east wing was added by Mr. and Mrs. Carey Brown with assistance from Scottsville architect Carl Schmidt. The front porch was enlarged around an existing maple tree. A basement garage and upstairs guest quarters were included . . . . In 1954, the east wing was extended further to the rear to add a two-room apartment."
Yes, only the west house is the original cobblestone structure. All the rest of the cobblestone work was done in the twentieth century.
I hope this answers your questions.
Barb Chapman
Town of Wheatland Historian
Historian contact information
Don't Miss 'Musts' on Home Tour", For Miss & Mrs., by Frances Palmer, D&C photos by Joe Watson, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, 5/11/1958
He Helped to Plan Decades of Growth", by Jan Barber, photograph by Bob Gapsky, The Times-Union, 8/3/1970
Handwritten Notes: the correct order of the eleven pages is not determined.
The Cobblestone Society & Museum Tours:
Mr. Carey Brown House 11th Annual 06/12/1971
- "Cobblestone Masonry", 1966, Carl Schmidt: Name reference, Sheffer-Brown House
- Page 76
 Whe-6 Sheffer-Brown 10.jpg ¹ November 1961 |  Whe-6 Sheffer-Brown 3.jpg ¹ April 1971 |  Whe-6 Sheffer-Brown 11.jpg ¹ April 1971 |  Whe-6 Sheffer-Brown 5.jpg ¹ April 1971 |
 Whe-6 Sheffer-Brown 4.jpg ¹ April 1971 |  Whe-6 Sheffer-Brown 6.jpg ¹ April 1971 |  Whe-6 Sheffer-Brown 7.jpg ¹ April 1971 |  Whe-6 Sheffer-Brown 8.jpg ¹ April 1971 |
 Whe_6_1.jpg |  Whe_6_2.jpg |  Whe_6_3.jpg |  Whe-6 Sheffer-Brown 9.jpg ¹ |
 Whe-6 15 E Genesee St 1.jpg ² |  Whe-6 15 E Genesee St 2.jpg ² |  Whe-6 15 E Genesee St 3.jpg ² |  15 Genesee St. Scottsville.jpg ³ |
 15 Genesee St. Scottsville 2.jpg ³ | .jpg) 15 Genesee St., Scottsville (3).jpg ³ |
¹ Image courtesy Cobblestone Museum.
² Photography courtesy Martin and Sheila Wolfish.
³ Photography courtesy Richard Palmer.
