{"nrhp_refnum":"09001287","name":"Brook Chapel","other_names":["Brook Presbyterian Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"6th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hillburn","county":"Rockland County","state":"NY","lat":41.12604162500003,"lon":-74.17364535399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-02-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Other-Ethnic"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Brook Chapel (Brook Presbyterian Church) is a light wood-frame church on 6th Street in the hamlet of Hillburn, Rockland County, New York, built in 1893 and expanded in the first half of the 20th century.","why_significant":"The chapel was built for Hillburn's non-white residents, specifically members of the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation, who previously had no place to worship. Since its 1893 dedication it has been the center of the community's religious and social activities. The form also notes its Gothic Revival character and largely intact early interior finishes.","narrative":"Brook Chapel is a small wood-frame church on 6th Street in Hillburn, Rockland County, New York, just west of Route 17. Dedicated in 1893, it was built for Hillburn's non-white residents, chiefly members of the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation, who had lacked a place of worship. Samuel Edward De Freese, Sr. championed the effort, which began with admission to the Ramapo Presbyterian Church in 1877 and a log chapel before the present building. The original L-shaped gabled structure later gained a rear shed-roofed addition and a front annex, giving it a Gothic Revival appearance with steep roofs, an open belfry, fish-scale shingles and memorial stained glass. Inside, beaver board sheathes the worship space, and the community room keeps its bead-board wainscot and moulded trim from 1893. The chapel remains in religious use and has served as the center of the community's religious and social life, which underlies its recognition for architecture and ethnic heritage.","period_of_significance":"1893- present","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Italianate; Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals: Late Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a religious facility, as listed under current function.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.223503-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/09001287.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09001287/cbbcee0c73-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09001287/cbbcee0c73-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"JFino","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BrookChapel.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JFino</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:BrookChapel.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321424","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brook_Chapel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4974326"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/rockland-county/brook-chapel-09001287/"}