Servoss House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Servoss House
|
|
South elevation and partial east profile
from NY 31E across canal, 2010 |
|
 Location in New York
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Town of Ridgeway, NY |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Lockport |
| Area | 10 acres (4 ha) |
| Built | 1830 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 08000104 |
| Added to NRHP | February 28, 2008 |
The Servoss House is a historic home located in Ridgeway, near Medina. It was built between 1830 and 1833. This house is special because it shows off the Greek Revival style. It also sits right next to the famous Erie Canal.
What makes the Servoss House truly unique is its building method. Instead of a regular wood frame, its walls are made from flat wooden planks stacked on top of each other. This style is called "horizontal-plank frame." It's similar to another old house nearby, the Benjamin Franklin Gates House. The Servoss House is still in great shape today. Because of its history and unique style, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
Contents
Exploring the Servoss House and Its Land
The Servoss House sits on a large 10-acre piece of land. It is on the east side of Fruit Avenue, where the road curves near the canal. The house is about one mile west of Medina. It's also halfway between Medina and the border of Niagara County.
Outdoor Features and Surroundings
Right next to the house, along the north bank of the canal, is the Canal Trailway. This path is great for walking and biking. It used to be the old towpath for boats on the canal. Across the canal, you can see Telegraph Road (NY 31E). This is a main road connecting Medina to Middleport.
Many old maple and locust trees grow around the house. There are big grassy areas in the front and back. A driveway leads from Fruit Avenue to the back of the house. In the woods to the northeast, there's an old smokehouse. This smokehouse is important because it adds to the house's historical look. Most of the land around the house is wooded. Farther out, you'll find open fields.
How the House Is Built
The main part of the house is two stories tall and has three sections. It also has smaller parts, called wings, on each side. All parts of the house are covered with clapboard, which are overlapping wooden boards. The roofs are covered with asphalt shingles. The main part and the two-story east wing have hipped roofs, which slope down on all sides. The smaller west wing has a gable roof, which is pointed. A small garage sticks out from the east wing.
The way the house is built is very interesting. It uses a method called "horizontal-plank frame" or "stacked plank." This means the walls are made from layers of wooden planks stacked flat. Imagine 2-inch by 6-inch planks laid flat, one on top of the other. They are nailed or pegged together at the corners and around windows and doors. This method was thought to keep the house warmer and protect it from strong winds.
Outside Details of the House
On the front of the house, at the corners, you'll see flat, decorative wooden columns called Doric pilasters. These columns start at the same height as the tops of the second-story windows. Above the windows, there's a wide, flat area called a frieze. Here, you can see pairs of decorative supports, called brackets, holding up the roof's overhang, known as the eaves.
Both side wings have porches that run the full length of the wing. These porches have sloping roofs. They are held up by hand-carved Doric columns. The roofline of the east wing also has these decorative brackets.
The main front door is on the right side of the house's front. It has a fancy wooden frame around it. Inside this frame, two flat columns stand on either side of the door. There are also tall, narrow windows next to the door, called sidelights. Above the door and sidelights, there's a small window called a transom.
Inside the Servoss House
When you walk through the main door, you enter a central hallway. To your right is the main staircase. It has a simple handrail and balusters (the small posts that support the handrail). To the left, there are two large living rooms, called parlors. The first floor of the west wing is one big living room. The east wing holds the kitchen.
Upstairs, on the second floor, you'll find four bedrooms and a bathroom. The bedroom in the west wing has a vaulted ceiling, which means it's curved like an arch.
The floors throughout the house are made of wide pine planks. All the original wooden decorations inside are carved from cucumber tree wood. The frames around the doors and windows are simple but decorative. The baseboards, which run along the bottom of the walls, are wide and molded.
The History of the Servoss House
Christopher Servoss and his family moved west in the early 1820s. They wanted to take advantage of the new opportunities the Erie Canal offered. Christopher bought a large piece of land, about 235 acres, from the Holland Land Company. This land included where the Servoss House stands today. First, he built a simple log cabin. Then, in 1830, he started building the main house. Carpenters and masons who had worked on the canal helped him. The house was finished by 1833.
Why the Unique Building Method?
It's not fully known why they chose the unusual horizontal-plank system. This building style was more common in other parts of the Northeast and Canada. People believed it helped keep houses warmer and protected them from harsh winter winds. This method also needed less skill from the builders but used more wood than regular timber-frame houses. So, it might have been a good choice for new areas where skilled carpenters were hard to find. However, wood and sawmills were plentiful. The easy access to large amounts of lumber from the canal might have also made this method cheaper.
Owners and Preservation
For over a hundred years, the Servoss House stayed in the Servoss family. Very few changes were made to the house during this time. However, parts of the land were gradually sold off. In 1940, the house was sold outside the family. After a few other owners, it was bought by its current owners in 1952. They have worked hard to restore and preserve this historic home.
