(Enlarge) Preservation advocates believe the stone-based house at 10922 Cockeysville Road dated back to the 1850s, and was built by Judge Joshua Cockey II. The building was demolished on Nov. 7, though the prospective buyer says stone was salvaged and may be reused. (Submitted photo)

Who took the old newel post?

That's one of the questions left behind after the demolition of an old stone and frame house in Cockeysville on Nov. 7.

The demolition came not soon enough for the house's owner, and for the man who wants to buy the property to create a parking lot.

But it was too soon for preservationists, who said they were working with the Baltimore County Historical Trust to salvage the stone from the building to create a memorial wall in the vicinity of the two-story structure.

They say they had been told they had until Nov. 14 to salvage what they could.

Becky Gerber, a Cockeysville resident who spearheaded the fight to save the house, said this week she would have at least been pleased to save an old newel post at the bottom of the house staircase -- but alas, it too is gone.

Located at 10922 York Road, the house was built more than 150 years ago, according to Gerber.

It was a plain house, but the post was "the one thing special," Gerber said.

With its decorative embellishments it looked like it dated back to the early 20th century, she said, but the top was hand-finished and the corners were worn by design -- or by years of use.

"It was just a piece of the past," she said, adding that the newel post and most of the banister are now gone.

Despite its humble appearance, the house had historic credentials.

It was believed to have been built around 1852 by Judge Joshua Cockey II, presumably for a blacksmith who worked next door, according to the HisoricalTrust.

The stone may have come from nearby limestone quarries of Cockeysville, where Irish immigrants worked to excavate stone by hand and oxen.

The Trust also believes the 60 slaves that Judge Cockey owned would likely have been involved in the construction, and there is some indication the house may have been used in 1861 by the Union Army as a storage or guard house during their brief stay in Cockeysville.

But the stories of its past weren't quite enough for the Baltimore County Landmarks Commission.

After officials of the Historical Trust learned owner William Casper had obtained a demolition permit on Sept. 13, they nominated the house for inclusion on the county's Preliminary Landmarks List, and also discussed moving it -- but there wasn't enough time to raise the money.

The commission rejected the application, according to Patrica Bentz, the trust's executive director, on the grounds that the house itself "didn't have enough historical aspect to it."

It was bad news for Gerber and Bentz, but good news for the owner, Casper.

Until last year, Casper had rented the house to the same family for more than 25 years. But when the county passed new rental registration laws, it would have cost thousands of dollars to bring it up to code, so Casper opted to sell.

He had a buyer, John Arvon, who wanted to buy the house from him and also the lot next to it, which housed Arvon's auto body shop business, and a lot to the rear.

The historical nomination process delayed the sale, but when it failed, Gerber said she and others in the community went to Plan B.

"We had been talking with the owner for about two months about how and when we would salvage the stone and other items," she said. "We had spent many, many hours meeting with various specialists for their feedback and instruction."

In addition to the newel post, activists wanted to salvage eight knobs and lock sets. Gerber said, luckily, those were retrieved by developer Marty Azola, who is restoring the old Towson jail on Bosley Avenue.

She said Casper was "very nice, very cooperative," but believes Arvon decided to have the building brought down sooner than expected.

"If Mr. Arvon was as truly concerned about Mr. Casper, he would have allowed members of the community and the BCHT to salvage the tons of stone, saving Mr. Casper thousands of dollars in hauling and landfill fees and in tax breaks as a result of the substantial charitable donation that the stone would have made," she said.

But Arvon said Monday that anything of value had been removed from the house before it was bulldozed. He said he saved some of the stone, and it will not go to the dump. He plans to use it and may put it on the face of one of the buildings.

"I don't know who took the banister," he said. "I don't need a banister. They're making me a monster, but I'm not."

Casper said he had a 90-day permit to tear down the house and he wanted it done before the weather gets cold.

"It was nothing but a fallen down shack," he said.

There may be two sides to the story, he said, but advocates for saving the building didn't have his expenses, he said.

"It cost me $1,800 a year to insure the house -- nobody but Lloyds of London would take it -- and $3,000 in taxes. It was ridiculous.

"Kids would get in there and use it as a crack house," he said. "Now it's down and I don't have to worry about it."

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