{"nrhp_refnum":"76001223","name":"Stone Mills Union Church","other_names":["Northern New York Agricultural Historical Society"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NY 180 near jct. with Carter St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Stone Mills","county":"Jefferson County","state":"NY","lat":44.114595948000044,"lon":-75.97388643199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-12-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small limestone church built in 1837 on N.Y. Route 180 at the north end of the hamlet of Stone Mills, town of Orleans, Jefferson County, New York. It is now a museum and headquarters of an agricultural historical society.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is a North Country landmark of architectural distinction, with carefully proportioned neoclassical masses and an exterior little changed since 1837. It is also significant locally because four congregations pooled funds to build it and it has served the community continuously as church, community house and museum.","narrative":"Built in 1837 of carefully dressed gray limestone, this small meeting house stands on a slight rise beside N.Y. Route 180 in the rural hamlet of Stone Mills. A rectangular sanctuary under a gable roof is fronted by a two-bay pedimented pavilion, with a square tower base carrying a simple belfry and fretwork balustrade. A bold water table wraps the walls, and a half-elliptical window marks the front gable. Inside, plastered walls are plain, while the pine pews, gallery and pulpit were grained to resemble oak and stencilled in the mid-nineteenth century. The church cost $1,800 and was financed jointly by Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist and Christian congregations, which gave it the name Union Church. It later served as the Stone Mills community house from 1922 to 1940 and, since 1968, as a regional agricultural museum. Its exterior remains essentially as built, apart from the front steps and tower repairs after a 1971 fire.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific date 1837)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival (described in the text as late Federal, simple neo-classicism; vernacular Greek Revival)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a museum and headquarters of the Northern New York Agricultural Historical Society; condition rated excellent, unaltered and on its original site.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.129872-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/76001223.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318281","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Mills_Union_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7618987"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/jefferson-county/stone-mills-union-church-76001223/"}