573 Brooktondale Road

Built ca. 1804 for John Cantine, Jr., this was the first frame house in Brooktondale and was known locally as the “Mansion House.” Cantine operated the gristmill in the creek below the house; he cleared surrounding land for crops to provide work for the mill. In the early 1800s, the attic housed meetings of the first Masonic Lodge in Tompkins County. The house retains much of its original Federal-style simplicity, and its attic reveals early 1800s construction techniques and materials. The Queen Anne-style decorative gables and wrap-around porch were added in 1896. In 1808 General John Cantine was buried in the nearby Quick Cemetery, originally known as Cantine Cemetery.

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