Chase House

James E. Chase relocated to Ontario County from the Schenectady region in 1839 at the age of 23, with a young wife and 75 cents. He attributed his successful rise from this starting point to three qualities - industry, sobriety, and religion (W.H. McIntosh, History of Ontario County, 1876, p. 126). The new home he built in Cheshire in the 1870s was among those featured in the 1876 County History, and included the finest Italianate features - a tower with a patterned slate roof (later removed), a matching barn with cupola, hooded window crowns, and a well-landscaped lawn separated from the street by a fence and gate. In addition to the home he acquired "a farm of two hundred acres of good land free of encumbrances." In the mid-20th century, the home was occupied by C.P. and Adeline Violas, proprietors of the store at Tour Stop 3.