Between the years of 1825 and 1860 a distinctive building style developed that used simple but durable, attractive and easily accessible local materials. This style is known as cobblestone architecture. Almost all examples of this style are with-in a 70 mile radius of Rochester, and roughly follows the path of the Erie Canal, which was being constructed at about the same time.
The many surviving buildings of this style are sought after as homes of historic value. There are also a few churches and other public buildings that are still standing. Here in my home of Webster there are a few examples, including this one, which now incredibly has been transformed into an auto parts store.
The building was constructed 1845 in the Village of Webster as a Universalist Church. In 1925, strangely, it was converted for use as a garage and auto repair shop, and then in the 60's it became a auto parts store.
The photo below shows detail of the cobblestone exterior. If you find this fascinating, like I do, you may want to check out this document that provides a lot more detail about cobblestone architecture.
Also, the guidebook "Cobblestone Quest" from Footprint Press (www.footprintpress.com)provides much more detail on this building style and offers 17 self-guided driving tours spanning from Niagara Falls to Syracuse, so you can see the diversity and beauty up close and learn the history of each building as you view it.
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