Ruth Howe-Prescott House

In Cadiz, New York, a mile from Franklinville, there is a salt-box house which was built between 1816 - 1819. Mr. E.S. Wright, the owner, put it up for sale and Mrs. Prescott, whose property adjoined the land, bought it in order to prevent undesirable occupants from moving there. She said that when she went to inspect the house, the upstairs bedrooms were papered with 1829 newspapers and the kitchen with flour sacks.

Mrs. Prescott founded the Ischua Valley Historical Society in 1966 with a group of interested citizens. She later sold the salt-box house and land to that organization for restoration and, possibly, to make it into a museum. It was first known as "Project House" but after Mrs. Prescott's death in 1978, was renamed "The Ruth Howe Prescott House" in her honor.

The house is currently as it was when purchased. It is a two story building, the upstairs reached by a steep and narrow stairway leading into two furnished bedrooms. This area is heated by an ancient stove with a very unusual twisted stovepipe. The first floor has five rooms, furnished, and the kitchen features a wellhouse. By opening a type of Dutch door, water could be drawn from the well without going outside - the first modern indoor plumbing! There is also an unused dirt floor cellar. The small barn contains a quantity of antique tools which may be viewed if desired.

Open

The property is open by appointment.  Free admission with appointment, as well as visits to the Miner's Cabin property.  Or join the Ischua Valley Historical Society for any of their meetings. 

Call the numbers above and ask for Cheryl MacPherson Walker at 676-4018 or Maggie Fredrickson at 676-2590.

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