If Walls Could Talk...
The Old Stone House, located near the banks of Mill Creek, is the oldest dwelling in Sinclairville. The exact year the house was built, like the historical use of the building, remains a mystery. According to one source, the house was built between 1810 and 1812. Other sources date the construction of the building around 1822.
If the walls of the Old Stone House could talk, they would undoubtedly have a fascinating story to tell. The house was used as a weigh station, a black smith shop and a surveyor’s office. But it is the rumors and stories about the house that add intrigue to its history. The house was rumored to be a station for the underground railroad. Also, the dwelling was the home of the infamous “Poison Pie Lady.” As the story goes, a woman, who did not live in Sinclairville at the time, was charged and convicted of poisoning here husband with Paris green. She had placed the poison in a pumpkin pie she had baked for her husband. The woman was sentenced to be hanged; however, since she was pregnant she was granted a two-year stay of execution. The time would allow her to raise her child to an age in which the child could be adopted out. During the two years, the State of New York abolished execution by hanging and instituted execution by the electric chair. Since she was sentenced to be hanged and not electrocuted, her sentence was set aside. She supposedly moved into the house and with her came the ghost of her husband. The ghost was said to haunt her and the house. The Old Stone House was said to be vacant for many years due to the belief that the ghost still haunted the house.