621 Cherry Street

Client: Historic Erie Preservation Trust

Location: 621 West 6th St., Erie, Pennsylvania
Dates: Original building — c.1906; Renovation complete - 2025

This vernacular frame dwelling was designed 1896 by noted Erie architect C. Paxton Cody, AIA (1854-1936) for his father-in-law, Cleveland native Elias Ede (1825-1899). Cody and his wife Ella Esther Ede Cody (1851-1917) also lived here until 1913. (Ella Cody died in auto accident 1917 and Paxton Cody later married Frances Heartwell Kelly 1878-1963).

The exterior of this 4-bedroom, 2.5-bath home features its original clapboard siding and wood trim, restored and repainted. The property also has brand new windows and a new roof. Inside, the house was converted back into a single-family home, complete with a new kitchen and renovated bathrooms. The home also includes all-new electrical, HVAC, and plumbing systems.

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Charles Paxton Cody, named after Lord Paxton designer of famous Crystal Palace in London England the year of Cody’s birth, was born on a farm just east of London at Mt. Elgin, Ontario, Canada. He emigrated to U.S. at age 16 (1870), first in Volcano, WVA as a carpenter for three years, then to Manistee, MI for three years where he became U.S. citizen. He then migrated to the Pennsylvania communities of Edinboro, Edinburg and for some time in Bradford where he engaged in insurance. In 1891, he relocated permanently to Erie to practice architecture that he apparently learned over his 21 years in the U.S. For Cody’s next 45 years in Erie, his prolific architecture practice specialized in residential work, but included some larger structures such as main clubhouse for Kahkwa Club (1917) as well as some work in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. He served as President of Pennsylvania State Association of Architects for three years and after joining the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 1903, he was a founding member AIA Erie Chapter and jointly a member of Buffalo Chapter where he served as President.

Cody was a charter member of Erie Rotary Club, a Deacon of Erie’s First Baptist Church and a contributor on various topics to Erie Daily Times, including a series on “political economy”. Active in the Cody Family Association, he designed its original crest and served as President 1930. A fourth cousin of Col. William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Paxton Cody was among organizers of Buffalo Bill Museum & Memorial, Cody, Wyoming. Among later owners of this property were Erie’s 20th Mayor F.F. Adams, longtime G.E. executive W.E. Horstman (33 years) and dentists Dr. Francis Drake (34 years) and Dr. Ronald Merski (15 years).

This house, bordering the West Sixth Street Historic District, is a good example of the many affordable well-designed homes by C. Paxton Cody in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and now restored by Historic Erie Preservation Trust in 2025 as a place of historic and architectural interest for the benefit of the Erie community.