16 Center Street

During the Civil War, the original building on this site was used as a mustering ground for troops.  It had been built in 1826 as a Presbyterian Session House. This structure, however, became the west wing of the barn at the south side of the lot when, in 1878, Dr. Walter Lauderdale, Jr. moved it and built the present brick house.

Dr. Lauderdale was one of five children born to Dr. and Mrs. Lauderdale, Sr. who came to Geneseo in 1837. They lived for years in the house to the west of this one. Dr. Walter Lauderdale, Jr., married Ella Youngs of Geneseo in 1884 and they were the parents of two children, Elliott and Helen.

In 1886, it was noted in the local paper that Dr. Lauderdale, Jr. “has mechanics at work staining and tucking the walls of his brick house.” Dr. Lauderdale died in 1933 and Mrs. Lauderdale in 1934. Their daughter, Helen, conducted an antique shop from this house for many years. In 1969, the house was sold to John and Lois Foos, virtually unaltered since its construction.