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About Us
Woodside Hall
Woodside Hall is a family owned business that makes family the main priority.
Woodside Hall's Mission Statement
The guiding philosophy for Woodside Hall, LLC is to provide seniors with a long-term homelike environment that offers support and services that can help them maintain as much independence as they are able to manage safely.
History
Additional Information
Constructed on the site of a former wigwam in 1829 by Judge Samuel B. Moorehouse, the stone Greek Revival manor features a highly unique Egyptian Gate easily seen in the winter from almost any point on Main Street from the single traffic light eastwards.
In 1836, Judge Morehouse suffered a reversal of fortune, and when he had sold Woodside to Samuel W. Beall, took up his residence in a modest cottage in the village.
Judge Morehouse, “after a few years”, was able to buy Woodside back again, and he continued residence there until his death in 1849.
It was during the Beall years, in 1839, when President of the United States Martin Van Buren visited and wandering into the gardens with a companion, was unable to find his way back to the house.
In 1856, Mrs. Morehouse sold Woodside to the Hon. Joseph L. White, a New York City lawyer involved in the Nicaragua Canal; he was assassinated during a Central American visit.
The home was bought by John F. Scott, who sold it to Walter C. Stokes of New York City in 1895. Stokes was the first resident in Cooperstown to own an automobile. His son, Walter Watson Stokes, served in the state Senate from 1933 to 1952. Watson’s wife was Hanna Lee (nee Sherman) grandniece of noted Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman.
Ms. Sherman (5 Jul 1905 – 6 Dec 2001) was considered by some to be the first ‘supermodel’ as she joined Vogue’s circulation department initially but rose to become one of the most famous models of her day, appearing on billboards throughout the country as “Miss Chesterfield” – although she did not smoke.
She married Walter W. Stokes 14 Nov 1934 and after his passing moved from Woodside to another residence in the Village.
It was during W.W. Stokes’ ownership that the Egyptian Gate was built.
When Walter died in 1960, the house was bequeathed to the Episcopal Diocese of Albany, effective on the death of his widow. Instead, his son Walter Jr. sold it in 1965 to Ida Wilcox of Cherry Valley, NY for use as an adult Home.
In 1980, George Degraca, of Buffalo, bought it and continued the use until late 2006 when it ceased to operate as an Adult Home. It was sold to Rochester businessman, Michael Mercier. He placed the property on the market immediately and never took residency there.
In 2008, it was acquired by a local Cooperstown family and was refurbished for use as an Adult Home, certified by the New York State Department of Health and opened in December of 2009.
