(Tours now available. Read more about scheduling a tour below.)
The Stone-Tolan House Historic Site is the oldest building in the county, built in 1792 and c.1805. For over 200 years, it’s been many things to many people. To Orringh and Elizabeth Stone it was home and work; a farm and tavern. To neighbors, it was a place to gather for a drink in the tavern room, and plan the government for their new town of Brighton. To the traveler, it was shelter from the wilderness of early 19th century New York.
The house has never been moved, it’s firmly rooted on the original site. The neighborhood is now comfortable suburban splendor. But Mr. Stone’s tavern stands where it always has, witness to the changes and reminder or our rural roots.
What will this place be to you? Decide after you’ve experienced the tavern room, kitchen (that’s the part built in 1792), parlor-bedroom, summer kitchen, orchard herb and kitchen gardens, smokehouse, and privy.
Based on the family life of pioneers Orringh and Elizabeth Stone, the Stone-Tolan House represents the private and the public activities of a household and rural tavern on the frontier in Brighton, NY between 1790 and 1820.
Tours
Drop in tours now available!
- Tuesday and Sunday afternoons (excluding holidays) from April through December.
- Tours start at 12 noon, 1 pm and 2 pm.
- No reservation necessary, suitable for up to 6 people.
- $5 per adult, $1 under 18.
Tours are available at other times by group reservation. Email Cindy Boyer at cboyer@landmarksociety.org with your preferred date, time and number of people to receive a group or school tour request form. Suitable for 5 or more adults.
Explore the over 200 year old rural tavern and farmhouse, as well as the site of the town of Brighton’s first meeting. Discover what it meant to be a good citizen in 1805, and how that affects our choices today. See the tavern room, the kitchen, traveler’s bedroom, pantry, parlor bedroom and more.
Stone-Tolan House Historic Site
2370 East Avenue
Rochester, New York
[Get Directions]
For more about the history of Brighton, to which the Stone-Tolan house is intimately linked, visit Historic Brighton‘s website.