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.
Search
Owners & Occupants
This house was likely built between 1840 and 1850. There was some speculation that it was originally on the canal and relocated to Main Street. Documentation has not been found to support this claim.
There have been a number of owners or occupants since it first appeared on the 1852 map. In 1852 it was the parsonage of the Rev. Daniel Johnson of Free Methodist Church and by 1858 that of Rev. Durand. The 1872 map indicates the owner was Mrs. Mary J. Marcellus.
Mr. & Mrs. (Mary A. Walker) Truman Butts, a farmer, purchased the house and had it moved to Clinton Place in order to build a large house at that location - 138 S. Main. It appears they remained owners of the Clinton Place home for a few years and may have rented it out.
Abe Taylor, a succesful barber in Fairport might may have lived here c. 1900. He later built a house at 134 S. Main Street. Austin Conant who built a number of houses in the Village likely rented for a few years before building his house on Beardsley. One of his beautiful houses was the Conant - Boyland House at 30 West Street, which is both locally and nationally designated landmarks.
Thomas A. Clark, a landscaper owned it c. 1924, selling in 1927 to Margaret and Harry D. Emery.
Dr. John Kraai and his wife Elizabeth bought the home in 1950. Later his mother Cornilia Kraai lived there. The Kraai's owned the home until 1972, when the elder Mrs Kraai was deceased. Richard D. Young, a Kodak film director then bought it and owned it until 1985. The current owner purchased from Mr. Young.
The breezeway and garage were added in 1976. The 1948 assessment forms noted that part of 146 S. Main owned by Jane R. Blood was annexed to 10 Clinton Place. A two-car garage was built on that section and later moved forward to its current location.
This close-up shows the cornice returns on the front gable and wide frieze-bands on the house and side wings.
-19
