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Nunda Historical Society |
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Nunda Historical Society |
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One of the area's most splendid structures is the present day Nunda Community Home on the corner of Massachusetts and State Street. The building was once the home of the Isaac J DePuy family. Later it became the Nunda Community Hospital and then, in the Nunda Community Home. This article , taken from the Mrch 26, 1903 Nunda newspaper called the "TRUTH", provided area residents the first glimpse of this remarkable home.
Please note that the image is a postcard, not the original image that accompanied the story. The rest of the story is as found in the TRUTH. We added a story from the TRUTH in the following year about a "Unique Dance" held at the DePuy Property.
TRUTH here with presents a half-tone cut of Banker I. J. DePuy's beautiful $20,000 mansion, situated at the corner of State and Massachusetts Streets in this village, the interior of which is not all yet completed.
J. Foster Warner of Rochester is the architect and W.H. Havens, Nunda's well know carpenter, has been foreman of the entire job above the stone work, having about fifteen men under his supervision during the erection of the building and giving his entire attention to the work.
Mr. DePuy can well be proud of his beautiful new home, for it is safe to say that there is not another building of its kind anywhere in this section of the state, although of course there are more costly mansions than this one in the state. But Mr. DePuy had this house built to his own liking, using the best material for everything, sparing no expense in anything which might increase the lasting qualities of the building. He has builded upon a firm foundation in every sense of the word, and as none by capitalists like himself can do, and this mansion will stand as an almost everlasting tribute to the memory of the one who has had it erected.
Plenty of time has been taken to erect the building right. Ground was broken about September 1st, 1901. The dimensions of the building are 55 feet wide by 95 feet long and the building stand 40 feet from peak of roof to top of stone table.
There were fourteen cars of blue stone used for the foundation. There were 146,000 New York hydraulic pressed gray stone bricks, laid in cement mortar, composing the material for the exterior of the building. There were five carloads of cement used for the brick work and 114 loads of sand used. The outside brick work was done by Charles Morrow and Alec Frazier of York and the inside brick work was laid by Robert Lippencott of this village and James Shaughnesy of Dalton.
The roofing of the main portion of the house is of Brownville, Me., No. 1 (best) slate, laid by Gogging and Knowles of Rochester. The porch roof is entirely covered with copper, laid by _______ ( the paper is creased here and the line cannot be deciphered) of this village. There are five porch columns of the same brick as the outside of the house, 16 inches square, the remainder of the porch columns being turned in solid white wood 12 inches in diameter.
There are 42 doors and 47 windows in the entire house. The windows on the first floor are triple French plate; on the second floor, double French plate. The hall and dining room outside doors are of whole panel French plate. Throughout the entire house is triple nickel trimming.
Twenty-two rooms, not including the closets, constitute the living apartments of the house, 11 being down and 11 upstairs. The ceilings downstairs are 1- feet in height and on the second floor 9 feet high.
The cellar is cement bottom and is built under the entire house, including the porch. It is divided into six apartments. Two of these apartments are built of hydraulic pressed white brick the remainder of the partitions being built of blue stone.
There is not painting anywhere on the interior of the entire house, the natural wood work being finished in the natural wood throughout. Downstairs the double parlors are finished in polished quartered oak. The dining room is in cherry finish and four rooms are in white maple finish down stairs. The inside decorating is being done by Colby & Ament of Rochester. There are two bath rooms of modern type, including latest approved shower baths and toilet room. The bath room on the first floor is tiled, wainscoting and floor, laid by Nell Bros. & Kern of Rochester, the wood work being finished in white maple. The laundry, pantry and woodhouse are finished in Georgia pine. There are double floors, right sawed, throughout the house except in the dinning room and kitchen, the former being in cherry and the latter in white maple.
A large refrigerator, porcelain lined, with double glass doors, sets in the wall of the pantry. All cupboards in the pantry have sliding doors. The china closets between the dining room and the kitchen are 10 feet long and 7 feet 4 inches high, with doors opening on each side. There are front and back stairs leading to the second floor.
Upstairs there are three rooms finished in quartered oak, the remainder being in chestnut, including the bath and toilet room, which is also tiled.
All the lumber used was bought of W.G.Palmer of North Tonawanda.
The walls throughout the house are plastered with paragon patent mortar. Expensive paper in beautiful tints, will cover the walls of the main rooms.
The house will be heated throughout by hot water, with twenty-one radiators, this work and the plumbing being done by Caffery & Evans of Rochester. Every foot of the plumbing and heating above the ground floor is of copper pipes.
The electric work in the house in conducted to the different rooms through iron pipes, Wheeler & Green of Rochester having charge of the wiring. Lighted by 85 incandescent lights, the mansion will be one mass of brilliancy which must command the attention of the public.
This beautiful mansion will be entirely completed, it is expected, about July 1st, but Mr. DePuy does not intend occupying it until about the first of September. It is Nunda's finest and most costly building and is not only a credit to Mr. DePuy, the owner, Mr. Havens, the superintendent and all of the workmen employed, but to the village of Nunda. May the family live long to enjoy the comforts of this elegant home is the wish of TRUTH."
Source:
The "TRUTH" Vol 1 No 47, March 1903, Liv Co NY, Edw. W. Koppie, Editor and Publisher.
Postcard published by W.Y. Robinson. Undated, but probably pre 1906. Note the spelling of the DePuy name.
Brewster and Hope DePuy of Nunda provided this newspaper article to us. It is taken from a transcript of the newspaper article given by Katherine "Tib" Thompson to Marjorie Ostrum in 1989 and passed on to Sarah DePuy Ryan, the granddaughter of Isaac J DePuy, the builder of the home. The Nunda Historical Society thanks the DePuy family for sharing this article with us.
The article below was from a September 1904 issue of the TRUTH.
Through the generosity of Banker I. J. DePuy, a novel ball has been arranged for by the Woman's Relief Corps to be held Oct 7th in the elegant, costly, new barn which Mr. DePuy is erecting on his premises and which will be all completed by that date. It will be a sort of "barn warming" at which time the new structure will be dedicated in unique form.
The W.R.C. which organization is making the arrangements, state that they expect to have the celebrated Italian Orchestra of Rochester to furnish the music and Caterer Gillette of this village will furnish the refreshments, all in the barn.
But this barn is not an ordinary affair. It is about 84 feet in length and is built more substantial and of better material than most houses in Nunda. It is built of Canandaigua dark gray pressed brick, with cement floor at the bottom and Georgia pine up stairs. It is a regular palace on the inside and it cost a good round sum to build it. Much of the material is the same as that which his new $20,000 house is built of.
The W.R.C. appreciates Mr. DePuy's kindness in allowing the barn to be opened with a grand ball, and the cause is a worthy one, for this organization does a great deal of noble work which the public never hears about. It is hoped that the unique ball will prove a financial success, as it is sure to be a grand social success."