{"nrhp_refnum":"01000849","name":"Best, Dr. Christopher S., House and Office","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"34 Clauverwie St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Middleburgh","county":"Schoharie County","state":"NY","lat":42.596426945000076,"lon":-74.33259735799999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-08-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Health/Medicine","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Late Victorian, Italianate-inspired frame house and physician's office at 34 Clauverwie Street in the village of Middleburgh, Schoharie County, New York, built in 1884 with a carriage barn and a garage on the same lot.","why_significant":"The property is significant for its association with health and medicine and for its architecture. It served as home and medical office for two generations of local physicians, Christopher and Duncan Best, from 1884 into the 1980s. It retains an unusually complete interior, furnishings and medical collection from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.","narrative":"Built in 1884 by local contractor Jehiel Brazee, this two-story, flat-roofed, Italianate-inspired frame house on Clauverwie Street in Middleburgh served as both family home and doctor's office. Dr. Christopher S. Best bought it in 1885, and his son Dr. Duncan Best later practiced there until retiring in 1986. The house was enlarged between 1890 and 1912, gaining bay windows, a wraparound porch and a porte-cochere at the office entrance. A carriage barn and an early garage complete the property. Inside, the waiting room, examining room and pharmaceutical area keep their original furniture, instruments and supplies, along with household items, clothing, photographs and medical diaries kept by the family. The Bests were also prominent in local civic life, including the founding of the Middleburgh Telephone Company. Left to the Middleburgh Library Association, the property now operates as a museum that shows village domestic life and rural medical practice in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.","period_of_significance":"1884-1951","architect_builder":"Jehiel Brazee (builder)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Italianate","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Operated as a museum and educational facility; the interior and outbuildings are preserved with original furnishings.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.133213-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/01000849.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000849/71d6bf8ab4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000849/71d6bf8ab4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Lvklock","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr._Christopher_S._Best_House_and_Office.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Lvklock</a>, <a href=\"https://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:Dr._Christopher_S._Best_House_and_Office.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321721","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Christopher_S._Best_House_and_Office","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5304030"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/schoharie-county/best-dr-christopher-s-house-and-office-01000849/"}