{"nrhp_refnum":"72000845","name":"Herkimer County Historical Society","other_names":["Dr. A. Walter Suiter House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"400 N. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Herkimer","county":"Herkimer County","state":"NY","lat":43.02933825100007,"lon":-74.98916706499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-attic red brick residence at 400 North Main Street in Herkimer, New York, begun in 1884 for Dr. A. Walter Suiter and now the home of the Herkimer County Historical Society.","why_significant":"It is the most recently built structure in a unique complex of historic buildings around the Herkimer courthouse. The nomination praises its materials, craftsmanship and unusual late 19th-century design, including distinctive brickwork and interior woodwork in a different wood for each room.","narrative":"This red pressed-brick house at 400 North Main Street in Herkimer was begun in 1884 by Dr. A. Walter Suiter, a physician and surgeon, for his prospective bride. According to the nomination, she eloped with one of the builders during construction, and Suiter never finished the building. It has an asymmetrical plan, a complex slate roof, a corbelled brick cornice, terra cotta ornament and an octagonal-roofed corner tower. The walls are laid in black mortar on a rusticated limestone foundation. Inside, each room was built of a different wood, including cherry, oak, ash, birch and sycamore, and the original finish survives. Local craftsman George Brown carved the oak doors. Suiter died in 1925 and left the house and funds for its completion to the Herkimer County Historical Society, with life use for his sister. The Society moved in during 1935 after her death. The house is the most recent building in a historic group around the courthouse and is valued for its materials, craftsmanship and late Victorian design.","period_of_significance":"1884","architect_builder":"E.C. Cronk, local architect, possibly the original architect; elaborate oak doors carved by George Brown, local craftsman","architectural_style":"Unusual late 19th Century design","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition, occupied and used as a museum; the Historical Society moved in in 1935.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.425298-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/72000845.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000845/2a7f69d057-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000845/2a7f69d057-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Upstate New York","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herkimer_County_Historical_Society_Sep_09.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:Herkimer_County_Historical_Society_Sep_09.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318140","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herkimer_County_Historical_Society","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14706353"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/herkimer-county/herkimer-county-historical-society-72000845/"}