First Presbyterian Church of Ulysses
Welcome to Trumansburg! Our first stop is the First Presbyterian Church of Ulysses, located at 69 East Main Street. Trumansburg is home to one of the oldest Presbyterian congregations in Tompkins County, with regular services beginning as early as 1800. The congregation’s first meeting place was in a modest log structure built in 1811, approximately three miles south of the village. The congregation purchased land from Abner Treman (1761-1823) to replace the log chapel with a larger frame building on the current site in 1819. The present brick edifice was erected between 1848 and 1850 and was likely designed by local architect Daniel Elmore (1805-1888). This Greek Revival-style building features a temple-front entrance with an impressive pediment. Its expansive porch is enclosed by fluted Doric columns. A clock tower and steeple sit atop the low-pitched roof. The building has undergone several restoration campaigns, including renovations during the 1940s and in 1973. The clock tower, steeple, and exterior woodwork were repaired during the 1990s. Immediately adjacent to the church is a small rectory, also fashioned in the Greek Revival style. The church is listed on the New York State and the National Register of Historic Places. LISTEN HERE
The Trembley House Hotel
Located at 59 East Main Street is the former Trembley House Hotel. The Trembley House, named for Leroy Trembley (1830-1901), was constructed in 1871, just one month after a disastrous fire destroyed most of downtown Trumansburg. Trembley chose brick, a more fire-resistant material, for the structure. The building was renamed the Cornell House when Trembley sold the property to Charles Plyer in 1881. The building was used as a hotel, under various owners, until operations were shut down in 1913 due to financial instability. The Trumansburg Masons, Fidelity Lodge #157, purchased the building in 1914, and it has served as the local Masonic Temple ever since. The building was also home to the Ulysses Philomathic Library from 1935 to 2001. The Italianate details of the Trembley House represent a departure from the Greek Revival design of the First Presbyterian Church. Italianate architecture was popular in Tompkins County from the 1860s to 1880s. The Trembley House’s horizontal roof line, decorative brick corbelling, and rounded-arch window surrounds are hallmarks of the style. Also notice the elaborate wrought-iron balcony. Exterior-cast and wrought-iron details were fashionable during the latter half of the nineteenth century in Trumansburg. This trend will be highlighted by other commercial structures featured on this tour.LISTEN HERE
R.A. Moog Company Building
Located at 47 and 49 East Main Street is the former site of the R.A. Moog Company, producer of musical instruments and the first electronic synthesizer. Numbers 47 and 49, which currently serve as a single unit, are two of five Italianate-style brick structures that occupy the block. This section of Main Street was constructed following a fire that tore through Trumansburg in 1864. During the first half of the nineteenth century, most of Trumansburg’s central business district was comprised of densely packed wood buildings. After a series of fires repeatedly leveled the village, business owners who chose to rebuild increasingly chose brick as their primary building material. This is echoed by the design of the Trembley House, which was built seven years later. Architecturally, the block is notable for its complete cast-iron storefront. The storefront was manufactured by “Cheney, Rochester,” whose work can be found throughout Central and Western New York. During their early history, 47 and 49 were occupied by various retail ventures, including a photography studio, a dry goods store, and a gift shop. R.A. Moog purchased unit 49 in 1963 and began manufacturing theremins, musical instruments that were precursors to electronic synthesizers. In collaboration with Herb Deutsch, the R.A. Moog Company produced the first synthesizer in 1964. In an effort to bring awareness to R.A. Moog’s musical legacy, the Village of Trumansburg installed a historical marker in his honor outside the building in 2016. LISTEN HERE
Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts
Located at 5 McLallen Street is the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts. The Conservatory is one of the finest examples of high-style Greek Revival architecture in Tompkins County. The building was constructed in 1851 to serve as the First Baptist Church of Trumansburg. Beginning in the 1820s, this prominent knoll has been the site of the First Baptist Church Society’s three structures. The first was moved around 1844; the second burned to the ground in 1849. Immediately after the fire, architect Daniel Elmore (1805-1888) was chosen to design and construct the new church. In 1902, a rear addition was built to provide classrooms, a kitchen, and dining room. Save for the removal of its spire in 1924 and belfry during the 1950s, the building has maintained a high degree of architectural integrity. The architectural details of the church, including the Doric portico and detailed entablature, are highly sophisticated in nature. The classical appearance of the principal façade takes cues from the works of famed Renaissance architects Serlio, Vignola, and Palladio. The property was acquired by the Conservatory in 1982. The Conservatory offers a range of music and dance lessons, as well as public concerts and art exhibits.LISTEN HERE
6 McLallen Street
Located at 6 McLallen Street is a modestly scaled Greek Revival-style structure. This building is remarkable both for its architecture and the disparate uses it has served. Number 6 McLallen Street was originally constructed as a lecture room to serve the community’s Baptist congregation when its church was lost to fire. Dedicated on July 8th, 1849, it was financed by member subscriptions and built on land owned by Lemuel D. Branch, brother-in-law of James McLallen. In 1903, the property passed to the Trumansburg Band for use as a practice hall. Beginning in 1927, the Stewart Funeral Home stored its inventory of coffins here. In the 1950s, the front doors were widened and a cement driveway was installed for its next use: an automobile garage. Architecturally, the Doric temple front is unique in the area, while its Greek Revival style is shared by the Conservatory of Fine Arts across the street. Local bluestone was used to construct the foundation.LISTEN HERE
David King McLallen House
Located at 3 Congress Street is the David King McLallen House. David King McLallen (1803-1877) was the son of John McLallen (1773-1844) and Mary King McLallen, the first couple to marry in the young village of Trumansburg. David was a man of many talents and professions during his early years, serving as a physician to Trumansburg residents and as a business partner to his brother James. David married Louisa Hoskins in 1834, at which time he built the brick residence standing before you. The 1830s were defined by a noteworthy shift in architectural tastes. The Federal style, which was fashionable during the late Colonial era and the first three decades of the nineteenth century, was giving way to the Greek Revival style, which would remain popular among regional builders up through the 1860s. The architectural and structural details of the McLallen House underscore the fluidity of this transition. Because of its advantageous location on the corner of McLallen and Congress streets, the McLallen House boasts two principal facades, both featuring characteristic Federal and Greek Revival-style elements. The McLallen Street façade, with its side-gabled orientation, is distinctly Federal, with a few Greek Revival flourishes. The entrance punctuating this façade is embellished with rectangular sidelights and a flat toplight, details typical of the Greek Revival style. The Congress Street façade, which appears more Greek Revival by virtue of its gable-forward orientation, features a doorway framed by Federal-style elliptical fanlights and sidelights. According to surviving records, the rear clapboard ell was also included in the original construction. LISTEN HERE
Comstock House
The original owner of this Federal-style home, built in the 1810s, was Oliver Comstock. A doctor, Comstock went on to fill several important positions in village, county, and national affairs. Comstock served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1813 to 1819, and Congress Street got its name for this resident of distinction.LISTEN HERE
11 Congress Street
This elegant red brick Federal-style residence was built circa 1835. It was constructed for the family of George Spink (1804-1877) and Martha L. Congdon Spink (1806-1885). George Spink was a merchant who was also involved with the founding of the Grove Cemetery Association in 1847. The neighborhood of stately homes was known as McLallen Hill, for John McLallen (1773-1844), who had settled in the village in the 1790s and whose family members were involved in early village civic and commercial affairs.LISTEN HERE
19 Congress Street
Ithaca architect Clinton Vivian (1861-1930) designed this charming Colonial Revival home for the Isaac Holton family in 1905. A rounded, two-story bay capped with a gable with fish-scale shingles and an elliptical window under the eaves are the dominant architectural features of the front side of the residence. Isaac Holton owned Trumansburg's Holton Pharmacy, which he founded in the 1880s. The home remained in the Holton family for almost six decades.LISTEN HERE
The Tower House
Located at 29 Washington Street is the Tower House. This L-shaped residence was constructed between 1856 and 1861, on land formerly associated with John McLallen’s farm. The design of the home embodies elements of the Gothic Revival style, popularized by New York architects A.J. Davis and A.J. Downing. Gothic Revival architecture was fashionable in Tompkins County from the 1840s to 1870s. Number 29 Washington Street features steeply pitched gables, embellished with decorative vergeboards. The principal façade is punctuated by an entrance on the first floor, cased in a lancet door surround. The most striking feature of the house is its octagonal tower, which acts as a visual landmark for the surrounding neighborhood.LISTEN HERE
William Austin House
Located at 34 Seneca Street is the William Austin House. This elegant Second Empire-style home was constructed in 1870 for William Austin (1832-1909) and his family. Austin served as a lieutenant colonel of the 109th Volunteer New York Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. Following his military service, Austin became a prominent lawyer in Trumansburg. After the death of his wife Ann Eliza Allen Austin (born circa 1846-1847) in 1916, the home passed to their grown daughters. The building underwent a complete restoration during the early 2000s. The character of the building is defined by a slate-clad Mansard roof, asymmetric window dormers, and polychromatic brick masonry. The silhouette of the Mansard roof is mimicked by the roof above the porch. The William Austin House is listed on the New York State and National Register of Historic Places.LISTEN HERE
The Mud House
Located at 22 McLallen Street is the Mud House. The Mud House was built by William H. McLallen (1812-1887) in 1848. William was a son to John McLallen (1773-1844) and Maria Himrod McLallen (1792-1870). This house is unique for its use of unburnt brick masonry, hence its peculiar name. Adobe construction is rare in Central New York, and this house is the sole example of the technique in Trumansburg. The smooth stucco finish is generally unbroken by detail, save for a few Greek Revival and Gothic Revival-style flourishes, including frieze windows and decorative rake boards. Also notable is the use of exposed bluestone lintels above the windows and entrance on the principal façade.LISTEN HERE
4-6 Washington Street
Of these joined buildings, 4 Washington Street is the older structure, built circa 1835. The transitional Federal/Greek Revival-style home was the residence of the John McLallen (1773-1844) family, tied by marriage to Abner Treman (1761-1823) and significant in the early commercial life of the village. The connected building at 6 Washington Street may have been built in 1871, when a fire destroyed a hotel at the site. The joined properties were then known as the Phoenix House hotel. Currently the two structures are apartments popularly known as the "Heartbreak Hotel."LISTEN HERE
38 Old Main Street
Built around 1820, this Federal-style home is one of the oldest structures in Trumansburg. It sits above Old Main Street, which was originally the Ithaca-Geneva Turnpike. A two-story Italianate "high style" carriage house at the back of the property was constructed around 1865. The influential McLallen family, related by marriage to Abner Treman (1761-1823), owned the home until the early 1900s. John McLallen (1773-1844) built the first tavern in the village near his home, and the village itself was known for a time as McLallen's Tavern. LISTEN HERE
Downtown Commercial Block
As many of New York’s villages and cities have grown over the course of the twentieth century, numerous main streets have lost their historic fabric. Such is not the case in Trumansburg. Numbers 1 through 23 West Main Street comprise a charming row of Italianate-style brick masonry buildings that appear much as they did during the late nineteenth century. As with the Trembley House, these structures were built to replace wood-framed buildings following the fire of 1871. These units have retained many of their distinctive Italianate features, including cast-iron storefronts and window hoods, decorative brick corbelling, and protruding cornices. The building at 13-17 West Main Street, the former location of the Biggs Department Store, was constructed in 1912 and is the latest of the group. Designed by Ithaca architect Clinton Vivian (1861-1930), the structure's large picture windows reflect advancements in construction technology during the first decades of the twentieth century. "Silver Dan," a papier mache horse mannequin modelled in France, was prominently displayed on the second floor of the building for many years.LISTEN HERE
Juniper Hill Bed & Breakfast
Located at 16 Elm Street is the present site of the Juniper Hill Bed & Breakfast. Hermon Camp (1787-1878), one of Trumansburg’s earliest and most formidable businesspeople, was the original owner of a large tract of land of which Juniper Hill is but a part. One of Camp’s grandsons, William Pierson Biggs (1865-1947), acquired the land in 1916 for a home for himself and his wife Lydia Haines (1886-1986). A prominent local businessman, Biggs envisioned a fashionable mansion nestled on an estate of nearly four acres. William Henry Miller (1848-1922), Ithaca’s leading architect of the day, created a design for the project. However, legal delays affected the property, during which time Miller had retired. Biggs then gave the commission to architect Clinton Vivian (1861-1930), a former apprentice in Miller’s practice. Among Vivian’s changes are the Federal-style semi-circular portico at the entrance and Georgian Revival dormers that created living space on the third floor. A portion of the property may be the site of a Cayuga burial ground and an early community graveyard.LISTEN HERE
Hermon Camp House
This private residence is quite possibly the grandest building on our tour: the Hermon Camp House, located at 2 Camp Street. The Camp House, designed by Geneva architect Thomas Judd, was built between 1845 and 1848 for Hermon Camp. Camp was born to a leading merchant family in Owego, New York in 1787. He first arrived in Trumansburg in 1805, sent by his brother to manage the family’s newly acquired store. During the War of 1812, Camp held the rank of colonel of cavalry for the Niagara Frontier. In addition to his military service and commercial enterprises, Camp held several positions of authority during his 70 years in Trumansburg, including county sheriff, postmaster, and New York State assemblyman. Camp’s financial success is demonstrated by his monumental residence. The Camp House is one of the finest examples of high-style Greek Revival architecture in Central New York. Its most impressive attribute is its full-façade porch, a feature more commonly found among the palatial manors of the southern United States. Six Doric columns support its imposing entablature and parapet. The Camp House is listed on the New York State and National Register of Historic Places.LISTEN HERE
68 South Street
Originally built in the mid-1850s, this Federa-tyle home was transformed in the 1880s into an exuberant Gothic Revival mansion topped with a three-story tower. In the early twentieth century, a fire destroyed the tower; the entire house was nearly lost in a major conflagration that raged in late August 2013 but was restored to its full glory. Some of the village’s most prominent nineteenth-century families, including the Halseys, Bartos, and Greggs, lived here. Their affluence and rank are evident in the house’s grand scale and a complex design of multiple gables, wrapping porches, and a pedimented porte-cochere. The barn was added in 1981.LISTEN HERE
United Methodist Church
The Gothic Revival-style United Methodist Church was completed in 1857. The church has been maintained over the years, with major renovations in 1911 (addition of a raised floor for the main sanctuary space), 1959 (a basement was excavated for Sunday School classrooms), 1975 (exterior sandblasting and refinishing), and 1993-1994.LISTEN HERE
64-66 East Main Street
Built in 1828, these double apartment buildings were originally warehouses. Notable owners included Abner Treman and Hermon Camp, and secret Masonic society meetings were held in #64 in the early 1800s. LISTEN HERE
Village Hall
The current Trumansburg Village Hall was originally the residence of the Henry D. Barto Sr. (1788-1857) family and built some time between 1820 and 1840. Henry D. Barto was a noted judge, lawyer, and banker. The Barto home was built in the late Federal/early Greek Revival style. The turreted-corner porch is a later Queen Anne addition, and characteristic addition of many village properties in the late 1800s. The building was purchased for Village offices in 1984, and residents at the time considered it "the White Elephant" before it was successfully restored.LISTEN HERE
