'Blood, Sweat and Tears' lauded in preserving Ontario County's past
Most communities have historic buildings that need structural help if they are to survive for future generations.
And when individuals and organizations are dedicated to the preservation of significant architecture as well as landscapes, the results can be transformational and worthy of special recognition. Every year the Landmark Society of Western New York Inc., one of the oldest and most active preservation organizations in America, identifies deserving restorations within the nine-county area that the organization covers.
In Ontario County, the Landmark Society’s 2020 Preservation Awards include the Sands Constellation Theatre, Fort Hill Performing Arts Center, which received an Award of Merit for the rehabilitation of the long-vacant auditorium in the 1928 former Canandaigua Academy on North Main Street.
Also earning praise this year and a special citation is Ed Varno, executive director emeritus of the Ontario County Historical Society in Canandaigua, who retired after 25 years of creative and energetic oversight.
In West Bloomfield, Alicia and Todd Campbell have received the organization's newest award, the "Blood, Sweat and Tears," for their hands-on restoration of three pre-Civil War buildings – a home (1835), a cobblestone insurance office (1841), and an adjacent commercial building (1840) on the north side of Routes 5 and 20, near the intersection with County Road 37 and Route 65.
“The new Blood, Sweat and Tears Award was launched to recognize people who were doing repairs and restoration work themselves,” said Cynthia Howk, the Landmark Society’s architectural research coordinator, as opposed to hiring contractors for the job. “This category will most often include homeowners who are doing repairs, often over a period of years. It also includes owners of other buildings that are being repaired. For most it means the repairs continue over a period of several, even many years, as the owners typically have other employment and have to do the repairs in their free time.”
“Complete surprise,” is how Todd Campbell describes learning that he and his wife will be recognized during the virtual award ceremony at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6. The Landmark Society will present the Campbells and many other recipients with an award certificate, suitable for framing.
The couple, who came to West Bloomfield 27 ½ years ago, first restored their early 19th-century home, receiving the Landmark’s Historic Home Award in 2012. Howk describes it as a handsome and immaculately restored Federal-style, white clapboard house. The award is bestowed on owners of private residences for their “continued care of and commitment to the preservation of an architecturally significant house over a minimum of seven years.”
The Campbells took on another challenge with their purchase of the cobblestone building at 9018 Routes 5 and 20 in December 2007.
“The northeast corner was collapsed, the basement was filled with water due to holes in the foundation, and structural members were unsound,” said Alicia of the building’s condition.
Additionally, she said, much of the original interior details were missing or covered by drywall.
“The first time I saw the inside of the building there was no floor and Alicia was in the basement on a ladder working on the fieldstones,” said Pat Talley, the West Bloomfield town historian. She said she was amazed that Alicia, whose background is in engineering, had learned to do this repair work. That knowledge came through hands-on classes, research, help from local professionals, and a lot of practice, learning by trial and error but which also provided the skill.
Alicia was trained in historic techniques by master mason Marty Naber, of Honeoye Falls – another local resident whose exceptional work over four decades has been recognized by the Landmark Society, with one of its Craftsman Awards.
Talley treasures what people do in West Bloomfield when they do it “in the old way.”
Work on the cobblestone included its floors, roof, masonry, trim, paint, window repair, and plaster consuming the couple’s free time.
“Nothing is as easy as you anticipate. We had plastered before but working on a stone building is completely different,” said Todd Campbell, now the town supervisor whose career was in sales and marketing.
His advice to other owners of historic buildings who undertake their restoration: “Read, research, and ask questions of those who have done it before.” He said they often relied on Landmark Society resources such as its library and guidance on selecting a contractor or other specialists to work on an older building.
Over eight years the busy professional couple spent their weekends and evenings painstakingly restoring the landmark building, which they opened in 2016 as Campbellstone Antiques, with a focus on antique furnishings. Alicia also fabricated handmade floor cloths and custom mats for historic and contemporary homeowners.
The two buildings are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation.
But the Campbells were not done.
In progress
Todd and Alicia’s next challenge was to begin the restoration of the red-painted brick Greek Revival-style building at 9016 Routes 5 and 20, located between the cobblestone and their home. It had served many commercial enterprises and currently has two apartments on the second floor. Their hope is to open the main floor for a business. The front windows have been redone and a brand new entry door is in the works.
With the new restoration work, the Campbells have stepped back from operating Campbellstone Antiques except by appointment. They are eager to lease the cobblestone building which, with a special-use permit, can be used for many small businesses, such as an insurance office. Which it once was: Over its entrance an inscribed marble stone records its first occupant, Ont. & Liv. Mutual Insurance Office A.D. 1841. E.A. Hall and R. Peck are two of three faintly visible names also on the oval plaque.
Converting the building to a residence is not an option. While there is electricity in the building and a furnace, due to the lot size and lack of a septic tank, there is no water. The adjacent building is fully equipped, providing easy access to plumbing.
New uses for old buildings
Modern use of any building also depends on local zoning and the specific uses allowed for each building, under that local law, said Howk.
“Both of the West Bloomfield buildings are of modest size, but have highly visible locations and had been previously used for commercial purposes,” Howk said. “Other uses, that require modest space, could include offices for a realtor, attorney, accountant, designer, artist, or other professionals.”
One fairly new development in real estate is “the growing interest in properties located in rural/less populated communities due to two factors, Howk said.
One: People who can work, remotely, from any location – not just from the community in which their business headquartered; and
Two: The present COVID 19 pandemic that has created a much-improved market for buildings/sites in less-densely developed communities (hamlets, villages, towns), as people seek less-populated locations for living and working.
“People who can work anywhere via a virtual/remote setup are seeking the type of location such as these two West Bloomfield buildings offer: close enough to a city with amenities (such as Rochester), but far from the highly populated urban centers such as Boston, New York, and other major cities,” Howk said.
To learn more
Visit The Landmark Society of Western New York Inc. at www.landmarksociety.org or 5 Castle Park, Rochester, NY 14620. Call 585-546-7029.
To see all the Preservation Award recipients, register at the landmarksociety.org/awards to receive a free invite to the Dec. 6 virtual ceremony via Zoom.
To reach Campbellstone Antiques, call 585-820-3406 or 585-820-1683 or visit www.campbellstoneantiques.com.