Yor-1, Abbey of the Genesee, 3016 River Rd.

Documentation

Building date: About 1840

Original use:

Corner structures: Red sandstone, solid, chamfered

Mortar application and content: Vertical heavy

Types and uses of stones:

Types and choice of windows:

Structures with similar masonry details:

Masons who worked on building:

Unique features:

Map Location

Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is Google Earth confirmed; 42°51'18.16"N 77°51'16.49"W. Current owner of record, Abbey of the Genesee, Bethany Retreat House as of date (YMD) 190414.

Town of York and Livingston County Maps

Comments, Additional Information, References

Coarse gravel mortar was found to be present in other houses, namely the house on the west side of Morris Road (Gro-1) and the Abbey of the Genesee, River Road (Yor-1). Both of these houses have thicker than usual mortar, which may indicate a relationship between builders - either the same mason or masons from the same "school". Three structures with coarse gravel mortar are all within a radius of about 5 miles from Geneseo. Roudabush Survey page 58.

"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 ninth paragraph on page 12.

The James Gilmore House at 3016 River Road, Piffard, was built about 1840. Over the years it has mistakenly referred to as the Judge Moses Hayden House. But this is not possible as Hayden died Feb. 14, 1828. After his death the property was sold to Gilmore who later built the house. Hayden was First Judge of Livingston County. It is said the stones for the house were collected from along nearby Salt Creek and were carefully graded for uniformity by passing them through a beetle ring for sizing. The Abbey acquired the property in the 1950s from the Gilmore family. It was used as a priests' retreat house for several years. It has been remodeled and is used as a family guest house or group retreats. It represents both Egyptian and neo-Classical architecture. The stately Tudor-style chimneys it once had have been removed. The dormers on the roof are recent additions. It is known as Bethany House. Richard Palmer blog.

Twin chimney stacks and large overhang later additions. Notation on reverse of photograph "Yor-1 Abbey of Genesee 3.jpg" below.

Correspondence from Our Lady of the Genesee Abby, requesting privacy, 3/5/1965, to Mr. Frasch, Director of the Cobblestone Society and Museum. Editor's Note: The Abbey of the Genesee as of the 1019 tax roll still owns the cobblestone structure used as a retreat house; therefore, the privacy request may still be in effect today. If an on-site visit is intended be sure to request permission.

List of Cobblestone Structures, page 4, Township of Conesus, Item #5, in Livingston County dated 1961 (incomplete).

"The Geological Origin of Cobblestone Architecture", by Gerda Peterich. Specific reference to this structure on page 19.

"Cobblestone Architecture in the Rochester Area", by Gerda Peterich, 1953. Reference Hayden House and figure 30. Editor's Note: This digitized version of the original typescript manuscript is reformatted for digital display, edited for errors, and includes blue tinted highlighted links to improve access within the document, to the appropriate structure pages in the Cobblestone Info Base, or to external resources on the internet. This document is one of two known typescript drafts, likely a thesis or essay bound as a book and apparently never published. One is available in the Cobblestone Museum Resource Center, the other in the University of Rochester Art and Music Library. A companion or precursor typed paper of the same title exists, perhaps used for a talk and/or photographic display of cobblestone structures.

---

"Cobblestone Architecture", 1944, Carl Schmidt

Page 49

Three Types of Cobblestone Masonry, the Moses Hayden House, York, N.Y. 1823, Page 76

Three Types of Cobblestone Masonry, the Moses Hayden House, York, N.Y. 1823, Page 77

"Cobblestone Masonry", 1966, Carl Schmidt: Name reference, Hayden - Gilmore House

Page 36

Three types of Cobblestone Masonry, the Moses Hayden House, York, N.Y. 1823, Page 231

Sections Thru Various Stone Courses, Page 255, Three Types of Cobblestone Masonry Page 263, Triple Hung Windows To Portico Page 268

Editor's Note: On page 268 Schmidt spells name as Haydon rather than Hayden in other references.

"Cobblestone Landmarks of New York State", 1978, by Olaf William Shelgren, Jr., Cary Lattin, and Robert W. Frasch, Photographs by Gerda Peterich: Name reference, Hayden House

Page 93

"The Era of Cobblestone Architecture", unpublished manuscript 1972. To access the manuscript content about this structure, see 13. Livingston County, Hayden House, now property of Abbey of the Genesee.

Photographs

Yor-1 Abbey of Genesee 2.jpg ¹ Pease Collection 1940-41	Yor-1 Abbey of Genesee 1.jpg ¹ Photographer unknown.	GP Livingston York Yor-1 1_1 N.jpg²	GP Livingston York Yor-1 2_1 P.jpg²
Yor_1_1.jpg	Yor_1_2.jpg	Yor_1_3.jpg	Yor_1_4.jpg
Yor_1_5.jpg	Yor_1_6.jpg	Yor_1_7.jpg	Yor-1 Abbey of Genesee 3.jpg ¹
Yor-1 3016 River Rd 1.jpg ³	Yor-1 3016 River Rd 3.jpg ³	Bethany 22.jpg 4 Facing east	Gilmore house.jpg 4 Facing south

¹ Image courtesy Cobblestone Museum.
² Photography courtesy Gerda Peterich. Cobblestone Museum.
³ Photography courtesy Martin and Sheila Wolfish.
⁴ Photography courtesy Richard Palmer.