{"nrhp_refnum":"73001174","name":"Spencertown Academy","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NY 203, E of jct. with CR 7","address_restricted":false,"city":"Spencertown","county":"Columbia County","state":"NY","lat":42.32202551200004,"lon":-73.54373340099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-04-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Greek Revival school building in Spencertown, Columbia County, New York, on State Route 203 near the Village Green. It was built in 1847 by contractor Benjamin Ambler.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a landmark of architectural and historical merit and a fine provincial example of Greek Revival design. It was the major educational facility in its area during the nineteenth century and now serves as a community center.","narrative":"Spencertown Academy is a two-story wood-frame school building on a slight rise northeast of the Village Green in Spencertown, Columbia County, New York. Built in the form of a Greek temple, it measures 35 by 52 feet and has a colossal pedimented portico carried on four Ionic columns, with a square, hip-roofed belfry above. The Legislature incorporated the academy in 1845 after efforts by Reverend Timothy Woodbridge. Benjamin Ambler built it for $2,459, and it was dedicated on October 22, 1847. It operated as a private school until 1873, when it joined the public system as a graded union free school. It became part of the Chatham Central School District in 1955 and closed in June 1970. The building was then returned to the Town of Austerlitz and leased to a nonprofit society formed to preserve it and run it as a community center. It was listed for its Greek Revival architecture and its role in local education.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1847)","architect_builder":"Benjamin Ambler of Spencertown (construction contractor)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival (Greek Temple form; prostyle, tetrastyle)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Excellent condition and unaltered per the form; closed as a school in June 1970, returned to the Town of Austerlitz, and leased to the Spencertown Academy Society for use as a community center.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.878502-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/73001174.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001174/c3a5176cac-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001174/c3a5176cac-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spencertown_Academy,_NY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</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:Spencertown_Academy,_NY.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100002508","name":"Spencertown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/spencertown-historic-district-100002508/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317075","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencertown_Academy","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7576247"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/columbia-county/spencertown-academy-73001174/"}