Historic Preservation Month Property - 315 Thornell Road

In celebration of Historic Preservation Month, we will feature one of Pittsford’s unique, historically designated landmark homes each week. This week’s home is a former one-room school house located at 315 Thornell Road at the corner of East Street. This Greek Revival style brick structure was built in 1845 by the Pittsford School District as a school for grades 1 – 6 and was originally known as the “Johnny Cake School” for the name of the road at the time. By 1882 it was known as School #3.

The school served the children of Pittsford’s farming families for 100 years, closing its doors in 1946 with a class size of about a dozen students. In 1947 the building was auctioned off and the Rylott Brothers were hired to convert it to a one bedroom home which included a living room as well as a kitchen converted from the building’s former coal bin.

Today, this one-story 884 square foot home is a charming reminder of Pittsford’s history and is the residence of the Williams family. Mr. and Mrs. Edward and Rachel Williams purchased the home in 1956 and over the years added a second bedroom to the interior, remodeled the kitchen, and in the 1960s added a detached garage to the property. The home was designated a Pittsford Landmark in 1996 and is one of only three one room school houses remaining in Pittsford today.

Town of Pittsford residents, if you live in a home or own a building with unique or special architectural character, or that is of historic or aesthetic interest to our community, please consider preserving its integrity for future generations via the historic designation process. Our Design Review and Historic Preservation Board members will be glad to guide you through this simple process. For more information, see our Landmark Designation Guidelines or call the Town of Pittsford at 248-6265. For a Landmark Designation Application form click HERE.