Cobblestone Railroad Pumphouse
Why it's listed
Built around 1845 beside the Auburn & Rochester Railroad in the hamlet of Fishers, this small pumphouse is made of rough field cobbles laid in horizontal rows, with limestone quoins, sills, lintels and a simple stone cornice. It measures fifteen feet square and seventeen feet tall. A stream once ran beneath it, and water was pumped through an underground pipe beneath the tracks and Main Street to a standpipe feeding a water tower, where steam locomotives took on water. The pumphouse is the only surviving piece of a trackside complex that also held a depot, a water tank and other railroad buildings. It is the only pumphouse among about 660 known cobblestone buildings in New York State. Original plans and specifications survive, which is unusual for anonymous vernacular masonry. Charles Fisher, the first station agent, may have built or commissioned it. The building is now vacant, and its machinery was sold off in the 1930s and 1940s.
Significance in brief: It is argued to be architecturally significant as a largely intact example of utilitarian cobblestone construction in New York State, and the only pumphouse among roughly 660 known cobblestone buildings. It is locally significant as the sole survivor of the Fishers trackside railroad complex. Rare surviving construction drawings and specifications add to its importance. An amendment added Transportation as an area of significance under Criterion A.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 92000551, listed May 22, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Main St., Victor |
|---|---|
| County | Ontario County |
| Listed | May 22, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92000551 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | ca. 1845 |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th Century; cobblestone masonry |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as vacant and not in use; openings on the west and south elevations are boarded up, and no original pumping equipment survives. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 43.00858, -77.46692 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 92000551.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5138824
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.