In 1819, Jacob Dyckman established a fulling mill at this location. By 1826, it had become a woolen mill operated by Stewart and Allen. It was bought by David Edwards in 1866. Mr. Edwards installed steam pipes to aid in the drying of the wool. This is thought to be the first use of steam in any local industry. The mill closed ca. 1892, and the mill proper was destroyed by a spring flood several years later.
The house at 12 The Byway was originally an industrial building associated with the operation of the fulling and woolen mills. It may have served as a dye house prior to being used as an office and warehouse. The office was on the first floor and the basement and second floor were used for storage. In 1906, the structure was purchased by Andrew Lamoureux and remodelled from a warehouse into a one-family residence. The house was sold in 1911 to Miss Frances Bryce Van Zandt, who lived there until she died in 1940. During that time, the structure underwent additional changes -- primarily decorative in nature -- under the supervision of Dr. Earl Sunderville. Miss Van Zandt left the house to Eugene and Agnetha Heckman. In 1958, the Heckmans passed the property to their daughters, Grace Heckman Bull and Ruth Heckman, whose heirs owned the property until 2017.
Included in
Forest Home Historic District with USN 10906.000044. To access the Building-Structure Inventory Form (sometimes referred to as the "Blue Form"), from which many of the details above are drawn, including the estimated build date, follow these
Lookup Instructions.
Other sources:
* The First One Hundred Years of Forest Home. By Albert W. Force, c. 1954 --
https://www.fhia.org/free-hollow/ * Industry and Commerce in Forest Home --
https://www.fhia.org/free-hollow-to-forest-home-2/. Annotated edition from 1974 of Chapter 2 of
The First One Hundred Years of Forest Home by Albert Force.
* Part 2 of Chapter XII: Town and Village of Ithaca in Landmarks of Tompkins County, by John H. Selkreg, 1894; D. Mason & Co., Publisher --
https://tompkins.nygenweb.net/Landmarks/landmarks_ch12a.htm.