{"nrhp_refnum":"73001162","name":"Newtonville Post Office","other_names":["First Baptist Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"534 Loudonville Rd. (NY 9)","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newtonville","county":"Albany County","state":"NY","lat":42.72227470400003,"lon":-73.75685302699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-03-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A rectangular red brick building at 534 Loudonville Road (Route 9) in Newtonville, Albany County, New York, built in 1852 as the First Baptist Church and now used as the Newtonville Post Office. Builders named in an inscription are J.H. Lockrow and I. Waterman.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a landmark with some architectural and historical merit. Its well-proportioned, simple vernacular design is tied to prominent figures in the village's early history, including John Newton, who built the church. Tradition holds that Rev. William Arthur, father of President Chester A. Arthur, preached there between 1855 and 1863.","narrative":"Standing on a hilltop beside Route 9, the old road from Albany to Saratoga, this red brick building began as the First Baptist Church of Newtonville. John Newton, who settled the area around 1840 and gave the crossroads its name of Newton's Corners, built it in 1852 after the congregation organized in 1849. An inscription, now hidden under cement, names J.H. Lockrow and I. Waterman as builders. Tradition says Rev. William Arthur, father of President Chester A. Arthur, preached there while living in the village from 1855 to 1863. The church congregation was short-lived, and the building later served as a school, bus garage, farm machinery sales office and, for about thirty years, the post office. Alterations include enlarged and later reduced garage openings, concrete over the fieldstone foundation and a new cedar shingle roof in 1972. It was listed as a simple, well-proportioned vernacular building that has kept notable integrity in a now suburban setting.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1852)","architect_builder":"Builders J.H. Lockrow and I. Waterman (per an inscription said to read thus)","architectural_style":"Simple vernacular design","criteria":[],"status_note":"Fair condition and altered; the eastern two-thirds of the interior is used by the Post Office. The roof was re-shingled in 1972. Owned by the Town of Colonie.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.065906-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/73001162.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001162/b83adde356-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001162/b83adde356-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr (Dougtone)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Newtonville_Post_Office_NY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr (Dougtone)</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:Newtonville_Post_Office_NY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316291","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office_(Newtonville,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7891010"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/albany-county/newtonville-post-office-73001162/"}