{"nrhp_refnum":"66000518","name":"Watson, Elkanah, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3 mi. E of U.S. 9","address_restricted":false,"city":"Port Kent","county":"Essex County","state":"NY","lat":44.52481171350004,"lon":-73.40530282150783,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1964-07-19","areas_of_significance":["Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story stone villa on Lake Street in Port Kent, Essex County, New York, overlooking the western shore of Lake Champlain. Elkanah Watson built it in 1828.","why_significant":"The house is tied to Elkanah Watson, who is credited with creating the agricultural fair. His career also included service as a Revolutionary-era courier and diplomat, canal promotion, banking, and advocacy for a National Board of Agriculture. He built the house after moving to Port Kent in 1828 and lived there until his death in 1842.","narrative":"Overlooking Lake Champlain from a rise at Port Kent, this square, two-story stone house was built in 1828 by Elkanah Watson, who also served as its designer. It has a hip roof with a square cupola, walls of local coursed ashlar stone, and a double-tiered porch across the front. Two circular windows flank the first floor of the east facade, echoed by rounded arches over the doorway. Later changes include stucco over most walls, a replaced rear addition, a relocated central staircase, and remodeled rooms. A small stone icehouse nearby may date from Watson's time. Watson, born in Massachusetts in 1758, carried money and dispatches during the Revolution, delivered the peace treaty to London in 1782, and later promoted canals, banking and education. After turning to farming in 1807, he organized exhibitions of livestock at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, that grew into the agricultural fair. He helped found Port Kent and lived there until 1842.","period_of_significance":"1828 (built)","architect_builder":"Elkanah Watson","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Still used as a private residence; the interior has been altered, the rear extension replaced, and structural cracks noted in the walls.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.627486-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/66000518_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000518/f00b806d5a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000518/f00b806d5a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Mwanner","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elkanah_Watson_House,_Port_Kent,_NY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Mwanner</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:Elkanah_Watson_House,_Port_Kent,_NY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315744","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elkanah_Watson_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5364192"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/essex-county/watson-elkanah-house-66000518/"}