{"nrhp_refnum":"01000045","name":"Ulster Heights Synagogue","other_names":["Congregation Knesset Israel of Ulster Heights"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Ulter Heights Rd and Beaver Dam Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ulster Heights","county":"Ulster County","state":"NY","lat":41.77998053400006,"lon":-74.51740408999996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-02-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small wood-frame synagogue building at the intersection of County Route 52 and Beaver Dam Road in the hamlet of Ulster Heights, Ulster County, New York, completed in 1924 by the local Jewish farming congregation.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a representative example of the small vernacular synagogues of the western Catskills, with a simple rectangular form and an overscaled stepped parapet. It also reflects the Jewish agricultural community that settled the Beer Kill Valley in the early twentieth century and remained a farming community. The building has been a religious, social and cultural center for that community.","narrative":"Ulster Heights Synagogue is a small, three-bay wood-frame house of worship at the corner of County Route 52 and Beaver Dam Road in western Ulster County. A cornerstone marks its completion in 1924. Ten Jewish farming families raised money, bought the land in 1922, and hired local carpenters, plasterers and painters, some of them congregation members, to build it after early setbacks with rotted lumber. The building is plain, with a gable roof hidden behind a tall stepped parapet on the front. A 1940s portico with fieldstone walls and a double stair, plus a member-carved ark and wrought-iron railings, were later additions. A mid-1950s wing added a community room and kitchen, and vinyl siding now covers the original clapboard. It is listed as a representative example of the modest vernacular synagogues of the western Catskills and for its link to a Jewish farming settlement that remained agricultural through the twentieth century. It continues to serve its congregation.","period_of_significance":"1924","architect_builder":"various (see item 8); local carpenters included George Moshier, his son John, and Floyd Gorten","architectural_style":"no style (vernacular synagogue)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a synagogue; altered by a 1940s portico, mid-1950s community room addition, replaced doors, and recent vinyl siding.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.209711-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/01000045.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000045/4ba52bba8d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000045/4ba52bba8d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ulster_Heights_Synagogue.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:Ulster_Heights_Synagogue.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322751","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Heights_Synagogue","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7879964"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/ulster-county/ulster-heights-synagogue-01000045/"}