{"nrhp_refnum":"04000752","name":"Edwards Town Hall","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"161 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Edwards","county":"St. Lawrence County","state":"NY","lat":44.32489721200005,"lon":-75.25162761599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-07-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Politics/Government","Social History","Performing Arts","Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick and stone town hall with an opera house on the upper floor, at 161 Main Street in the village of Edwards, St. Lawrence County, New York. It was built in 1896 to a Richardsonian Romanesque design.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a well-preserved example of a late-19th-century rural government building with an unusually intact opera house. It has served as the seat of town government and as the community's social and cultural center. It was rebuilt after the 1894 fire that destroyed the village business district and was built by local craftsmen using local materials.","narrative":"Edwards Town Hall, at 161 Main Street, is a two-story building of local red brick with Gouverneur marble and Potsdam sandstone trim, a square corner tower and a central gable. It was completed in 1896, two years after a July 1894 fire destroyed the village's Main Street business district and the previous town hall. Samuel D.P. Williams of the Ogdensburg firm Williams and Johnston designed it in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, and local contractor William Grant built it for a contract price of $7,650. Local government has occupied the ground floor continuously since 1896. Upstairs, the opera house survives largely as built, with hammer beam trusses, bead board ceilings, an elaborately layered wooden proscenium arch and a painted stage curtain dated 1897. Many of the original oak chairs remain in use. The hall was the center of village entertainment, school programs and social gatherings, which is why it is recognized for architecture, government, social history and the performing arts.","period_of_significance":"1896-1954","architect_builder":"Architect Samuel D.P. Williams of Williams and Johnston Architects; builder William Grant","architectural_style":"Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals (Richardsonian Romanesque)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as town hall, museum and opera house; some water damage to brickwork and a poor chimney are noted.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.346447-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/04000752.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321880","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwards_Town_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5346130"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/st-lawrence-county/edwards-town-hall-04000752/"}