6 The Byway Ithaca

6 The Byway is one of several area structures built to serve the housing needs of workers of adjacent mills. Like many of the nearby buildings, it is believed to have been built by Isaac Cradit or his son, Joseph, and to have been built before 1830. This one-and-a-half story home has a gable roof with cornice returns and clapboard siding. A recessed side wing features four three-quarter height columns.   There is a rear shed-roofed extension.  The Federal-style main entryway features narrow fluted pilasters and projecting dentiled cornice. Three four-pane eyebrow windows grace the front facade.  It is believed that the original house consisted of a one-and-a-half story rectangle, the roof of which was later raised, date of alteration unknown.  The smaller, one-story side wing with porch may be contemporary with the larger structure or a later modification. Following the 1975 purchase of 6 The Byway by Joel Bostick, a clerestory window was added to the roof, the side porch was rebuilt and the columns added, the foundation was reinforced, and the front elevation was reclad with new clapboard.

To the rear of this property, adjacent to the gorge, was a turning shop which produced handles for axes, scythes and hammers. It also produced some simple furniture, such as beds and dressers. Built sometime before 1853, the turning shop was powered by water carried in a flume from a dam located upstream.  The house appears on the map of Free Hollow in the 1866 Atlas of Tompkins County, labeled "A. Waldroff."

In 1894, the house was purchased by James Bush, Sr. Bush served as a justice of the peace. For years, trials, hearings, weddings, and other judicial matters were conducted from the living room of this house.  The Bush family owned other properties close by.

Included in Forest Home Historic District with USN 10906.000047. To access the Building-Structure Inventory form (sometimes referred to as the "Blue Form"), from which many of the details above are drawn, follow these Lookup Instructions.