It is ironic that the Bradley-Aspinall House in Pavilion served as an antique shop in its last incarnation because the early Federal-style building is not receiving the respect a prime antique deserves.

The 175-year-old house now stands abandoned and withering away at 10429 Pavilion Center Road where Route 20 intersects in the town just south of LeRoy in Genesee County.

According to The Architectural Heritage of Genesee County published by the area’s Landmark Society, Horace Bradley originally built the two-story, three-bay house in 1829. Consistent with several early structures in the area, the bricks for this residence were manufactured at the brick factory east of Route 19 on the former Leman Bradley farm. Federal-style features include the stepped parapet gable ends incorporating the chimneys and an elliptical brick arch over the center entrance.

The early building initially served as a stop for travelers as well as a residence. Ownership changed seven times as an adjoining structure was added which housed barber, cobbler, blacksmith and auto repair shops over the years. From the 1940s through the ‘80s, it was known as an antique shop operated by property owners Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Aspinall.

The building has been vacant since a death in the Aspinall family over a decade ago and the subsequent sale of the property. No efforts to attend to the deterioration of the abandoned property are apparent – an ignominious fate befalling a historic site along a well-traveled route since pioneer days.