{"nrhp_refnum":"03000249","name":"Dexter Universalist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Brown and Kirby Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dexter","county":"Jefferson County","state":"NY","lat":44.00806131400003,"lon":-76.04424615099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-09-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small Greek Revival wood-frame church at the corner of Brown and Kirby Streets in the Village of Dexter, Town of Brownville, Jefferson County, New York, built in the fall of 1841 at a cost of $1500.","why_significant":"The nomination finds the church significant in architecture as a modest, largely intact Greek Revival church with its original center-aisle plan, interior finishes and pews. It is also significant in social history for its role in community life for 156 years and as a religious property in the Rural Village context of the Fort Drum area. It represents a Universalist congregation that is described as under-represented in accounts of local development.","narrative":"Built in 1841 for $1500, this small Greek Revival church sits at the corner of Brown and Kirby Streets in the Village of Dexter, Jefferson County. It is a single-story wood-frame building with a one-room plan, a steep front gable, cornice returns, a two-tiered steeple holding the church bell, and a cut stone foundation of local Chaumont limestone. A three-sided chancel was added in 1882, stained glass windows and oak pews replaced earlier fittings, and the church was rededicated in 1893. Later changes include masonite siding in 1976, though the original clapboard survives beneath it. The First Universalist Society of Dexter began with 25 members and held services from December 1841 until October 1997, when declining membership forced the congregation to disband. The church was listed for its architecture and its role in community life, as a rural village religious property with a largely intact interior and center-aisle plan. It was donated in 1998 to a non-profit housing organization.","period_of_significance":"1841-1952","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The congregation disbanded in 1997 and the church was donated in 1998 to a non-profit housing organization, which planned restoration into a museum. The form lists its current function as vacant.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:52.92225-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/03000249.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000249/ebba1f2744-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000249/ebba1f2744-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Upstate New York","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dexter_Universalist_Church_Jul_10.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr from Upstate New York</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dexter_Universalist_Church_Jul_10.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318226","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter_Universalist_Church_(Dexter,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14706238"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/jefferson-county/dexter-universalist-church-03000249/"}