Cornelia Kraai House
10 Clinton Place, Fairport NY 14450
This architectural beauty at 10 Clinton Place is secreted around the corner from South Main Street sitting discreetly amongst its 20th century neighbors.
The Fairport Historic Preservation Commission (FHPC) designated this structure a local landmark in 2017. The home fit three of the criteria for designation: contribution to local history; architecture style; and is an established feature of the neighborhood where it resides.
The Cornelia Kraai Home is an excellent example of Greek Revival with a one and a half stories, low pitched front facing gable, wide frieze band and cornice return.
The 1976 Survey of Architecture in the Village of Fairport rated the property a Green Plus with "great importance to the neighborhood". The 1858 map and research show that the early ownership in 1852 was the Rev. Daniel Johnson. At that time, it was located at 138 S Main Street. The 2014 Survey of the Village rated this house as Red, the highest rating and very important architecturally and historically to the community.
The early maps of 1852 and 1872 show the house was located at 138 South Main Street. The Beck and Pauli lithograph of 1885 shows it at the Main Street location, but it was moved very soon after the liograph was published. Articles in the local paper indicate that Mr. & Mrs. (Mary A. Walker) Truman Butts built a larger home where this house was on South Main. This small, early home was likely moved to make room for the larger Butts' home on Main Street, completed in 1886.
The house was originally located on S. Main Street. It appears here in the 1885 Lithograph three houses south of Clinton Place on the west side of the street.
Cornelia Kraai
Dr. John and Elizabeth Kraai originally purchased the house in 1950. Mrs. Cornelia Kraai, lived there until her death in 1872. Dr Kraai was one of Fairport's very well-known general medical practitioners with his home and office, purchased in 1936, at 84 South Main. It is believed that he visited his mother daily while she resided at 10 Clinton Place.
Contribution to Local History
As the home was moved on or about 1885 along with a large number of other building relocations which took place from 1872 to 1912. Almost all of these involved structures on Main or Church Streets, moved to side streets in order to allow for new construction of bigger homes or buildings along with the increasing prosperity within the community.
In 1848 Fairport’s population was about 200. Early residential development occurred along North and South Main Street, South Avenue and adjacent streets, east of Main along Pleasant and Parker Streets and in the West Street/West Avenue area. By 1867 Fairport was incorporated as a village with a population of 1,000 and then nearly doubled to1920 by 1880.
An early image of 10 Clinton Place take by Marjorie S. Merriman shows the home before the existing garage was moved forward and attached with a breezeway.
Architecture and Style
The Cornelia Kraai Home is an excellent example of Greek Revival with a gable front and wing architecture, noted that symmetric wings are unique to this example as well as the home possesses the classic low pitched front facing gable with a cornice line of the main roof emphasized by the wide band trim bracketed with 2 side wings with partial hip roofs.
While the current porch is not original it does possess Greek revival characteristics of a simple entablature structure of entry width, supported by 2 round Doric Roman Tuscan columns. The final touch are the simple decorative crowns on each of the shuttered 6 over 6 windows.
For more information on the FHPC and designated landmarks, go to the village preservation page or the village website.