The Gothic Cottage

The Gothic Cottage is located at 7 Albany Street in the village of Cazenovia. This iconic building currently serves to house the Town Offices, but its survival was not always guaranteed.

Also known as Bob-O-Link, the Gothic Cottage was built in 1847 as a wedding present for Henry Ten Eyck from his father, Jacob. It was designed in the Gothic Revival style. Following the Ten Eycks, a series of local families owned the cottage until it was purchased and donated to the Town of Cazenovia by Anna B. Oakman in 1964.

At the time the cottage was donated to the town, it was in need of extensive repairs and upgrades before it could serve as a functional municipal building. CPF board members Dorothy Reister and Juanita Stork stepped in to initiate a preliminary study of the needed improvements, and then partnered with the Gothic Cottage Restoration Committee to begin raising awareness about the necessity of preserving this historic and architectural gem.

Over the course of several decades, CPF remained heavily involved with the Gothic Cottage restoration project, contributing funds to the Eastlake study and spearheading local involvement. The CPF Upland Journal chronicled every improvement, from the early sub-surface drainage project to the shutter-scraping and painting party organized by local historian Peggy Ladd in 1980. Following its restoration, the cottage was featured in Old House Journal and served as an educational site for art history students from Hamilton college.

In 2013 the Town of Cazenovia issued its intent to begin another round of updates on the cottage with the purpose of improving its functionality as a Town Office building. While the exact future of the structure remains uncertain, its current beauty and listing on the National Register of Historic Places is a testament to the strong local commitment to preserving the rich history of Cazenovia.