{"nrhp_refnum":"00001424","name":"Van Keuren, Benjamin House Ruin","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Off of Bruyn Turnpike","address_restricted":false,"city":"Shawangunk","county":"Ulster County","state":"NY","lat":41.644322404000036,"lon":-74.31038963899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-11-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The ruin of a Dutch Colonial stone farmhouse on a site of under three acres (2.9 acres), set in woodland off Bruyn Turnpike in Shawangunk, Ulster County, New York. Construction began around 1745 under Benjamin Van Keuren, and a wing was added around 1788.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the ruin is significant under Criterion D for its potential to yield information about eighteenth and nineteenth century lifeways and building practices of one of the community's earliest settler families. Archeological testing has been limited, and the building trench has never been excavated, which could reveal the construction sequence and the methods used by the builders.","narrative":"Set in woodland off Bruyn Turnpike in Shawangunk, Ulster County, this stone house ruin marks the home of Benjamin Van Keuren, an early settler who began building around 1745. The dwelling grew in a typical linear pattern, with a northern wing and an L-shaped kitchen added around 1788. An arson fire in 1980 nearly destroyed it. Today the stone foundation and cellar survive, along with substantial wall sections, both gable-end fireplaces and chimneys, a cooking fireplace and bake oven, and some charred framing timbers. A small stone ruin to the south, believed to be a smokehouse, is also on the site. The site is significant for its archeological potential. Limited testing has occurred nearby, but the building trench has not been excavated, and doing so could clarify the construction sequence, the builders' methods and the daily life of the Van Keuren family. The lot of under three acres was set aside from a housing subdivision for conservation, and local preservationists are working to stabilize it.","period_of_significance":"Ca.1745-1788","architect_builder":"Van Keuren, Benjamin","architectural_style":"COLONIAL/Dutch Colonial","criteria":["D"],"status_note":"A ruin after a 1980 arson fire; the lot was reserved out of a subdivision, and local preservationists are working to protect, stabilize and interpret the site.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.331733-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/00001424.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00001424/b6f87b1a6a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00001424/b6f87b1a6a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_Van_Keuren_House_site.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_Van_Keuren_House_site.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322755","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Van_Keuren_House_Ruin","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4889327"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/ulster-county/van-keuren-benjamin-house-ruin-00001424/"}