Century Homes and Landmarks

Wilson Greatbatch Home-5935 Davison Road

Built in 1856 this brick building once served as a schoolhouse until 1923 in what was School District 3 in Newstead.

Mr. Greatbatch purchased the property in 1980 and lived there until his death in 2011.                  

He was a self-described “tinkerer” and was the holder of 325 patents. In 1958 he invented the implantable pacemaker-a device which continues to save thousands of lives.

William Asmus Home

This brick building was built in 1836 according to town records and was originally a one-room schoolhouse serving to teach thousands of Town of Newstead students for over 100 years.

The home, although having undergone extensive interior alterations, still retains its schoolhouse charm and hosts carved initials on some exterior bricks, presumably done by schoolchildren. At 900 square feet the Asmus family worked to achieve maximum living space in a small area.  Over the years they have added 2 lofts, a catwalk and a three-season room with hopes of ‘learning’ how to do more with less.

The schoolhouse closed in 1952 and has been a private residence since that time

On September 14, 2023 the Newstead Historical Society designated Hy-Wynne Farms and the Sutton family’s home Century Landmark #12. Originally the home and farm of L.H. Sutton, the property was once also used to stable the horses for Wheat’s Ice Cream Co., which Mr. Sutton was the President of at the turn of the century.
 

Town records indicate the home was built in 1880 but the 1880 map only shows only a small home. The 1909 map shows the land was owned by E.C. Bitterman, and shows a house, a barn, and four outbuildings. According to the abstract H.L. Sutton purchased two parcels of land, one in 1911 and one in 1914.
 

The town lists the home as having 20 rooms, a double gazebo porch, a” Porte cochere”, 8 bedrooms and 2 baths. The” Porte cochere” is what we would call a carport today, built in the day, to protect people from the elements when exiting their carriages. Both the” Porte cochere” and the double gazebo porches are believed to have been additions L.H. Sutton made.
The property is bordered by a stone fence, which was threatened with removal when route 93 went through, because part of the land behind the fence is not owned by the Suttons, but by the state. Fortunately, the fence survived the threat. There are two cobblestone fence posts, like the ones out front remaining on the property.
 

The main barn is believed to have been built in 1888. Originally the property ran all the way up and down Buell Street on both sides of the street, stretching as far back as Hake Road on one side and back to the park on the other side and up to the corner of route 5 and Buell Street where the E.G. Tax building was, which was the former Sutton Garage, owned by L.F. Sutton, L.H.'s son. The property did not necessarily cover every lot but was 400 acres at the time of LH.’s death in 1941. Today it is 49 acres.
 

The main barn caught on fire in the 1920’s and was reconstructed on its foundation. The Knight-Sutton has pictures of the fire. The roof has been redone three times. In 1978 a large riding arena was added by Edwin and Corky Sutton, owners of Hy-Wynne farms, which Edwin began managing in 1969. The current farm stables, boards, and breeds horses, as well as giving riding lessons.
 

In the mid 1930’s. L.H. donated 50 acres to Akron Falls Park for the park and lake, as well as the property for the right of way connecting Clarence Center Rd. across Buell Street through the Sutton Farm into a gully where a bridge would be built spanning the creek by deeding it to the village. Mr. Sutton also donated all the sand and gravel for the dam.
The property adjoining the house originally had a rock garden with a fountain, a greenhouse, a tennis court, a smokehouse, chicken coops, a hog barn, a cow milking barn, silos, a milk house, and in the main barn three levels of stalls.
 

There was also an apple orchard and a small child’s in-ground pool. At one time peacocks were raised there. There were other outbuildings for maintenance purposes. Today many of these buildings have been converted for stabling purposes. There are 65 stalls.
 

The interior of the house has an imposing entrance, with a grand piano at the base of a grand staircase, with a long landing at its top. In the early and mid-1900’s there was a servant’s bedroom upstairs, and a bedroom converted to a painting room for L.H. Sutton’s daughter-in-law.
 

A working farm and a cavalcade of history, since the early 1900’s it is truly worthy of being Century Landmark #12.