Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Industry & Commerce, People, Site

Location

1 W Seneca St, Oswego, NY 13126, USA

Lat/Long

43.459558, -76.511827

Grant Recipient

City of Oswego

In 1828, Jonathan Walton built the Stone Store here along the Oswego River waterfront. The Oswego River and Lake Ontario were essential natural waterways for transportation and trade, connecting the City of Oswego to the Erie Canal and larger regional markets. Due to its proximity to the waterways, the Stone Store was consistently occupied by several nautical-related businesses. The ship chandleries and sail lofts of Walton & Willet, Denison & Evertsen, and C. Barnum sold canvas, rope, anchors, paint, groceries, and other provisions. The Ontario Steamboat Co. and Northern Transit Company (also known as Northern Ohio Transit Company) maintained offices here for passenger transportation and freight shipping. Throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the building functioned as a storage space for businesses like the Wright & Boyle Sash, Door & Blind Factory and Kingsford & Higgins. In the years leading up to World War II, the Naval Militia was also based at the Stone Store.

In 1945, William Cahill Sr. purchased this property from Thomson Kingsford and his associates. After establishing himself as a successful local fisherman on Lake Ontario, William Sr. and his family opened Cahill’s Fish Market, and later Captain Bill’s Restaurant, which they operated at the Stone Store until 1998. That year, Coleman’s Irish Pub opened, and when it closed in 2008 the property remained vacant. By 2018, the Stone Store building was restored and converted into the apartment complex “Cahill Landing.”

As of 2022, the marker commemorating the Stone Store stands outside the existing building at 1 West Seneca Street, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and remains a highly recognizable waterfront landmark.