East New Market
Property Reports
104 Main Street
Helsby Dwelling
The Helsby Dwelling can be seen in a reflection in the J. Millenson Store window.
For more information about all properties at this location see the Northwest Corner.
In 1810 Samuel Corkran purchased a large lot from Henry King that included this site.
He paid $75. In 1810, $75 was a typical price for a lot with little or
no improvements. In 1841 Nimrod Newton purchased the property from
Corkran for $400, which was a typical price paid at the time for
property with a small
frame house. In 1852, a tax record shows Helsby with a house & lot
and storehouse valued at $800 at this location. A deed from 1865
states "said premises has been in the possession of the said Thomas
Helsby from the year 1844". The premises in this context is more
likely a dwelling rather than the land itself. A
dwelling house was known to have stood on this property in 1874 when the lands of Thomas
Helsby were divided. 
The
structure built by Corkran between 1810 and 1841 was
either the Newton Dwelling or this structure, the
Helsby Dwelling. Since I have not located a record that shows a construction date, I am
not able to determine which house was erected first. The second house was
likely built shortly after the owner acquired the property in the early
1840s. The dwelling house owned by Helsby in 1852 survived until
the late 1920s. The 1922 Sanborn Fire Map shows the house as a small 1 1/2 story dwelling with a tin
roof.
In 1934, the house was gone as the lot was described as vacant. James Cheesman (b. 1895) stated that the house was torn down. In 1937 Clarence Saxton sold the lot to Nathaniel "Blunt" Frampton, who built the store called Frampton's at the same spot where the dwelling house stood. The store is now called Hometown Pride Market and Deli.
Below
is a 2008 photo of a rectangular building sided with pressed tin. This
structure is the approximate size of the Helsby Dwelling and is located adjacent
to west and north of where the Helsby Dwelling once stood. Chuck Hurley
carefully analyzed the interior of the structure and found cut-outs for windows
and chimneys. This structure was likely a dwelling or storehouse at some
point. However, when carefully comparing the slope of the roof and the
location of the window cut-outs, to the known photos of the Helsby Dwelling, it
does not appear this is the same structure. The Helsby Dwelling was a 1
1/2 story structure with a least one upper story window directly above the lower
story window. The structure below would provide little room for an upper
1/2 story and the upper window is positioned in between two lower story windows. This structure pictured above and below is
more likely the Newton Dwelling or the
Blacksmith Shop.
The structure to the south of the Helsby dwelling is Helsby's Corner Store. The structure to the north of the dwelling is the Willoughby Funeral Home.