Reed-Hulburt House
106 Hulburt Road, Fairport, NY 14450
Built Between 1853 & 1857
The Reed-Hulburt home at 106 Hulburt Road was built between 1853 and 1857. This beautifully restored Greek Revival home is featured in The Erie Canal Legacy by Richard Reisem and Andy Olenick. It was chosen then and now for its careful restoration inside and out. It is as close as possible to its original condition.
Greek Revival Architecture
The exterior Greek Revival features are a center entrance with original four-panel door and sidelights. There are cormer pilasters with a broken pediment at each end. Most of the exterior clapboards are original.
A universal feature of Greek Revival houses is an entablature around the top: here there is a wide frieze board with small rectangular windows covered with an iron grille. Above, the cornice has a simple band forming the eave.
In his book, Greek Revival Architecture in Rochester, Carl Schmidt discusses the development of Greek Revival floor plans. He mentions "the addition of subordinate wing at right angles to the axis of the main rectangle, sometimes with porches across the front of the wing.". This house has a long wing on the west side.
The west front porch has original plaster walls with molded architrave around the door, which sticks out like ears at the top. The windows are double-hung sash with six-over-six windows that have been stripped, restored and repainted. Most glass is original.
The foundation is of glacial cobbles and boulders. It's about four feet thick at the base narrowing to two feet for the top half.
Thomas Hulburt Owned an 80-Acre Farm
Thomas Hulburt bought this house in 1858 from Richard Reed, a lawyer who built it. Hulburt eventually owned 80 acres, mostly a farm with orchards overlooking the canal. The present development, Olde Orchard to the south of the property, was named for the Hulburt Orchards, which was a popular picnic spot in the late 1800s.
Thomas Hulburt was a village trustee when the village was incorporated in 1867. He laid out Hulburt Avenue to run from his driveway to Church Street. Prior to this the only road to the village was along the canal. Hulburt Avenue made travel to the village easier. Before he died in 1919, Hulburt sold 57 acres to the Fairport Development Corporation. Thirty of these acres became the Fair Acres Subdivision, which included the south end of Dewey and Miles Avenues and James Street.
Landmark Status
The Reed-Hulburt house is a beautiful anchor for the southwest corner of the Fairport Village, reminding those who travel on Hulburt Avenue of the vision of early settlers such as Thomas Hulburt. The Fairport Historic Preservation Commission (FHPC) designated this property in March of 2009. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
For more information on the FHPC and designated landmarks, go to the village preservation page or the village website.