{"nrhp_refnum":"01001502","name":"First Presbyterian Church","other_names":["Preble Congregational Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Courtland Cty Rd. 108B","address_restricted":false,"city":"Preble","county":"Cortland County","state":"NY","lat":42.735191436000036,"lon":-76.14612617699999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-01-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story wood-frame church on County Route 108B in the Village of Preble, Cortland County, New York. It was built about 1831, moved to its present site in 1859, and remodeled about 1865 and again in 1923.","why_significant":"The church is locally significant under Criterion C as an intact and distinctive example of vernacular church architecture. It keeps elements of its early Federal style exterior and has a Colonial Revival interior added in 1923. The sanctuary has Gustav Stickley furnishings and stained glass from the Henry Keck studio in Syracuse.","narrative":"Set well back from Preble Road in the Village of Preble, this modest wood-frame church began as a meetinghouse built about 1831 in the Wren-Gibbs pattern with Federal style details. It was moved to its present site by horse and wagon in 1859, given Gothic Revival touches around 1865, and thoroughly remodeled in 1923 in the Colonial Revival manner. The 1923 work added a freestanding portico with unusual octagonal columns, a concrete foundation and a full basement. Its original heavy timber frame and two-stage bell tower survive. The plain exterior contrasts with an intimate sanctuary furnished with Gustav Stickley pews and chairs and lit by stained glass from Henry Keck's Syracuse studio. Earl Dennis is named as builder of the 1923 work. The church was listed for its architecture, as a well-preserved local example of how rural meetinghouses were updated to follow changing tastes. A 1970 addition on the south side is not counted as historic.","period_of_significance":"circa 1831-1923","architect_builder":"circa 1831 and circa 1865: unknown; Dennis, Earl: builder, 1923","architectural_style":"Early Republic: Federal; Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Revivals: Colonial Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a religious facility; a non-contributing addition from 1970 houses offices and a children's center.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:52.931546-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/01001502.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001502/387d3f795e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001502/387d3f795e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FIRST_PRESBYTERIAN_CHURCH,_PREBLE,_CORTLAND_COUNTY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FIRST_PRESBYTERIAN_CHURCH,_PREBLE,_CORTLAND_COUNTY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317141","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Presbyterian_Church_(Preble,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453624"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/cortland-county/first-presbyterian-church-01001502/"}