{"nrhp_refnum":"100007414","name":"Thousand Island Park Historic District (Boundary Increase/Decrease)","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Generally bounded by Coast Ave. East, Coast Ave. West, Prospect Ave., Park Ave. and Sunset Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Thousand Island Park","county":"Jefferson County","state":"NY","lat":44.288333,"lon":-76.025833,"geom_source":"wikidata"},"listed_date":"2022-02-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of 305 structures, mostly frame summer cottages, covering about 145 acres at the southwest end of Wellesley Island in the town of Orleans, Jefferson County, New York. It was founded in 1875 as a Methodist camp meeting ground and developed into a planned resort community.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district holds an outstanding concentration of largely intact late nineteenth and early twentieth century resort architecture, with elaborate and often unique wood detailing. It is described as the largest and best surviving late nineteenth century religious colony in the region. It also has cultural associations, including a 1894 seven-week stay by Swami Vivekananda and visits by temperance figures.","narrative":"Thousand Island Park occupies the southwest end of Wellesley Island in the St. Lawrence River. Founded in 1875 by the Rev. John Ferdinand Dayan as a Methodist campground meant to encourage social interaction between Americans and Canadians, it began as a colony of tents and grew into a village of closely spaced frame cottages with open verandas, arranged along walks that converge on a village green. By 1890 it had nearly 600 cottages and 7,000 summer residents. A fire in 1912 destroyed the Columbia Hotel and about a hundred other structures, most of which were not rebuilt. Today 305 structures survive, with early Gothic-influenced cottages, Queen Anne houses, and Neoclassical and Colonial Revival buildings such as the library. The district was listed for its intact resort architecture and for its social history, including Swami Vivekananda's 1894 stay. Only eleven modern buildings do not contribute to its historic character.","period_of_significance":"1875-1920","architect_builder":"various","architectural_style":"Gothic, Eastlake, Queen Anne, Neoclassical and Colonial Revival resort architecture","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied; mostly privately owned summer cottages on land owned and maintained by the Thousand Island Park Corporation. Eleven modern buildings are listed as non-contributing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.06357-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/82001177.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/100007414/b5eb0b98e7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/100007414/b5eb0b98e7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Roy Googin","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thousand_Island_Park-Victorian_Homes.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Roy Googin</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thousand_Island_Park-Victorian_Homes.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318290","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Island_Park_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7797043"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/jefferson-county/thousand-island-park-historic-district-boundary-increase-decrease-100007414/"}