336 Forest Home Dr Ithaca

This is one of three adjacent stone structures, 332, 336, and 340 Forest Home Dr, built by local stone mason William C. Mitchell, who originated from Scotland and was living in this house for the 1950 census with his wife, Maud.  Although constructed at different times, they are all situated close to the road, and are all built of similar materials. This particular house was built during the Depression, at a time when several other homes on this section of Forest Home Drive were constructed.   

This square, one-and-a-half story dwelling was described ca. 1990 as having a hip roof, large central dormer, enclosed front porch, and raised basement. Exterior walls are random ashlar with cut stone blocks. The dormer is plastered with cement which is embedded with mica flecks. The garage is constructed of concrete block, with a decorative stone facing designed to match the appearance of the rest of the house. There are two fireplaces: one is in the basement family room, the other is in the first floor living room, and features terracotta panels and is dated 1937.

The house is situated on a small level lot, bordered by Fall Creek at the rear.

William Mitchell is listed as a stone mason in the Ithaca City Directory beginning in 1913-14.  According to his nephew, Harold Mitchell, William came to America from Scotland ca. 1904, and was highly regarded as a stone carver, working on Warren Hall and other building projects at Cornell University. According to local residents, the three houses were constructed of various stones left over from University building projects, including brownstone, sandstone, limestone, and granite.

The land on which this and the two adjacent houses he built now stand, was acquired by William C. Mitchell and his first wife Catherine in 1915 from George B. Fish. The Mitchell family owned the entire property for over 50 years. In 1938 they acquired a small adjacent triangle from the neighbors to the west, Claude and Miriam Pendleton, apparently in order to rationalize the boundary. After Catherine died, there were property transfers within the family and periods when some of the houses were occupied by tenants according to Ithaca city directories. After William died in 1965, his daughter Isabelle (Mrs. Joseph Thomas) was executrix and managed all three houses. She sold 336/340 as a single lot in 1966 to Carl and Elsie Root and continued to live in 332 with husband Joseph until they retired in the early 1970s.  She sold 332 in 1974.

The architectural  description is adapted from a provisional NYS Building-Structure Inventory Form (sometimes referred to as the "Blue Form") for this building that was prepared as part of a Forest Home Improvement Association (FHIA) project completed around 1991. See https://www.fhia.org/wp-content/uploads/BlueForms/336FHD_BlueForm_1991_sm.pdf
[Note: This building is not in the Forest Home Historic District.]

Other sources:
* Ithaca Directories from https://www.tcpl.org/archives?field_ar_categories_target_id_op=or&field_ar_categories_target_id=149
* Tompkins County Clerk online database of property records at https://countyfusion3.kofiletech.us/countyweb/login.do?countyname=Tompkins
* 1953 survey map drawn by Carl Crandall of the property with three houses built by William C. Mitchell. In Tompkins County Clerk database with control # BF024437-001