Skinner-Tinkham House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Skinner-Tinkham House
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South profile and east elevation, 2010
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Barre Center, NY |
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| Nearest city | Batavia |
| Area | 1.5 acres (6,100 m2) |
| Architectural style | Federal, Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 04000291 |
| Added to NRHP | April 15, 2004 |
The Skinner-Tinkham House, also known as the Barre Center Tavern, is a historic brick house in Barre Center, New York. It is located where Maple Street and Oak Orchard Road (New York State Route 98) meet. This house was built around 1830 in the Federal style.
After the American Civil War, the house was updated. It gained some new features from the Italianate architecture style. The building was first a busy tavern along a main road in Western New York. Later, a rich local farmer bought it and turned it into a home.
The Skinner-Tinkham House is one of the few Federal-style brick taverns left in Orleans County, New York. Today, it is empty and needs repairs. However, people have started working to restore it. In 2004, the house and a nearby barn were added to the National Register of Historic Places. This list recognizes important historic places in the United States.
Contents
Exploring the House and Land
The house and its barn sit on a 1.5-acre lot. This land is at the northwest corner of Maple Street and Oak Orchard Road. Barre Center is a small village with a few buildings along the main road. The area around it is mostly flat farmland.
Outside the House
The main part of the house is two stories tall. It is made of brick and sits on a stone foundation. The roof has a pointed shape and two brick chimneys. A smaller brick section, one and a half stories tall, sticks out from the south side. From this, a wooden section also sticks out to the west.
The front of the house, facing east, has a stone trim near the ground. The steps that once led to the main front door are now missing. All the windows on the front have wide stone tops and bottoms. The main entrance has a round stone arch with a special stone in the middle.
Above the center window on the second floor, the year "1829" is carved. This is when the house was built. The roof has wide edges that hang over, supported by wooden brackets. These details give the house its unique look.
On the north and south sides, the bricks are laid in a different pattern. The pointed parts of the roof have decorative arches that look like half-moons. The back of the house shows more of the stone foundation.
Inside the House
The front door opens into a large square room. This room fills the southeast corner of the house. It has a fireplace with its original mantel. A narrow staircase goes up to the second floor. You can still see where a chair rail used to be on the walls.
In the north part of the house are two more rooms. The larger room has a fireplace with a black marble mantel. The smaller room used to have a mantel, but its chimney cupboards are still there.
The south wing of the house has one large room. A fireplace here has been closed up. The west wing has two big rooms. These are separated by a central area with a pantry and closets. A concrete addition at the back was once used as a slaughterhouse.
Upstairs in the main house are three bedrooms. All of them still have their original finishes. A steep, narrow staircase leads to the attic. Here, you can see the original roof supports. These are strong wooden beams that hold up the roof.
The south wing also has one room upstairs, just like the one below it. There is no attic in this part. A cellar, or basement, runs under the brick parts of the house. It has a large stone cistern for water. The cellar floor is made of brick.
The west wing does not have a cellar. Instead, it has a crawl space. In one corner, there is a stone-lined well that is 25 feet deep.
History of the Skinner-Tinkham House
The land where the house stands was first bought by Stephen Skinner in 1827. He bought it from the Holland Land Company. Skinner built the main part of the tavern in 1829. He also built other buildings nearby, like a blacksmith shop and a sawmill.
When the house was built in 1829, Barre Center was a small place. There were only two other simple wooden houses. The Skinner-Tinkham House, being a large brick building, really stood out. Barre Center grew in the early 1830s. However, the Erie Canal changed travel routes. This made other towns more important for travelers.
Skinner sold the house in 1836. The new owners lost it due to money problems in 1837. In 1839, Edward Rowlandson bought the property. He continued to run it as a tavern. Maps from the 1850s show it as "Rowlandson's Tavern." Some changes were made inside the house during his time.
In 1865, Relly Tinkham bought the property. He was a local farmer and had served in the Union Army. By this time, railroads were becoming popular. This meant fewer people traveled by road, and taverns were not as busy. It is believed that Tinkham turned the tavern into a house.
When he changed the building, the first floor kept its tavern layout. But he raised the roof and added the wooden western wing. This wing included a more modern kitchen. He also added Italianate architecture decorations to the windows and doors on the front. The barn, which is also a historic part of the property, was likely built around this time too.
Tinkham sold the house in 1884. For the next 20 years, not much is known about the owners. However, some changes were probably made. Larger windows were put in the front, and a big room upstairs was divided.
Carl and Sarah Hakes bought the house in 1913. They owned it for 40 years, longer than anyone else. They added modern plumbing and heating. In 1957, they sold it to their son, Wilson. He sold it in 1964.
After 1964, different people rented the house, often farmworkers. The wooden wing became filled with old furniture. The main part of the house was lived in but not often repaired.
By the late 1990s, the house was empty for several years. Andrea Rebeck, a historic restoration expert, moved into the house. She helped prepare it for its listing on the National Register. An archaeological dig was also done to learn more about its past.
