Martin Harris Home

We stopped by the Martin Harris Farm which was just down the road from town.

The Martin Harris home is actually a private residence so tours were not allowed inside of the home but you can wander around the exterior of the home.

The home is made of little rocks it was so beautiful and with all the flowers. Just a gorgeous site.

In case you can't read the sign

Martin Harris's home was a one-and-a-half story, white frame house, which stood on this site. When Martin moved away in 1831, it was occupied by William Chapman. That house burned down in 1849 and was replaced by the present lake-stone house, which dated from 1850. 

Lake-stone buildings were first built in this area by English artisans who came here to work on the Erie Canal. After the canal was completed in 1825, they found employment by constructing stone houses. Approximately 700 of these structures were built in this part of the state.

Many of the stones for this house were hauled from the shores of Lake Ontario by wagon often a two or three day trip because of the heavy load. The stones were then sorted and sized with the most uniform stones used for the front, the less desirable stones for the sides, and the least desirable ones for the back. If you examine the house closely, you can see the intricate trowel work around each stone.

I can't imagine the amount of work and time in sorting the stones and then placing them on the walls.

A field across the street from Martin Harris home.

I thought it was interesting how the Chimney portion only went up part way on the side of the home. It is tapered off as it goes to the top. When I first looked at it I thought maybe the other part fell off but I think it was designed like this the closer I looked.