Description of Historic Place

The James S. Robinson House was built between 1880 and 1890 near the shore of Washademoak Lake, and is a beautifully proportioned Queen Anne Revival house, constructed with fine materials and great attention to detail. The attached barn/carriage house with its classy cupola is equally attractive and well built.

Heritage Value

The James S. Robinson House is designated a Local Historic Place for its association with the Robinson Family and for its architecture.

This house was built by James S. Robinson, one of the four sons of John Robinson, and a grandson of Charles Robinson, whose heritage house is just a little further north along the lake shore. James S. Robinson and his brother Charles began a saw mill on the lake shore in 1871 which operated as the C. & J. Robinson Lumber Company, and this probably accounts for the beautiful lumber and fine woodwork in this house. The residence is a good example of rural Queen Anne Revival architecture exhibiting plenty of dormers and bay windows. The windows are original with four panes of glass per window. There is a central chimney in the main house and another in the ell that joins the main house to the barn. The house and barn have clapboard siding.

Notable features of this building include the fine materials and professional carpentry skills evident in the finely detailed woodwork. It appears to have been “state-of-the-art” when it was built including running water provided by cisterns in the attic that collected rain water or were filled by a manually-operated hand pump. There is a cellar under the entire house, with three foot thick walls made of field stone. A portion of the cellar has been plastered, not an unusual practice when either a summer kitchen or a dairy was part of the operation. Although it had several owners the interior was never changed and much of the original 1890’s furniture and ephemera is still there. Currently this structure is operated seasonally as a tea room and luncheon facility and house tours are offered periodically.

Source: Queens County Heritage Archives – Cambridge-Narrows Historic Places files

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the James S. Robinson House include:

Exterior
- asymmetrical one-and-a-half storey massing;
- lots of dormers and two-storey bay windows with pediments;
- carriage house/barn with cupola unique to the area;
- clapboard siding;
- central chimney;
- original windows with entablatures and four panes of glass each;
- solid field stone foundation/cellar walls.

Interior
- finely finished decorative woodwork;
- original material throughout;
- interior spaces unchanged;
- a collection of period furniture and ephemera.

Grounds
- location on the lake shore offering scenic vistas;
- surrounded by trees;
- long country lane approach to house.