{"nrhp_refnum":"77000983","name":"First Presbyterian Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"175 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Smithtown","county":"Suffolk County","state":"NY","lat":40.85673067400006,"lon":-73.18790737399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-12-23","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1994-04-19","areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story timber-framed church sanctuary at 175 East Main Street in Smithtown, Suffolk County, New York, completed in 1825 and designed and built by local carpenter George Curtiss.","why_significant":"The nomination holds that the church is a superb example of Long Island vernacular church architecture, adapting high-style forms from pattern books to the skills of rural craftsmen. It has also been used continuously as a house of worship since its 1827 dedication and has kept its structural integrity. It has long served as a visual landmark at the junction of two early Long Island highways.","narrative":"Standing at the corner of East Main Street (Route 25) and North Country Road (Route 25A) in Smithtown, this Presbyterian church is a two-story, shingle-sheathed timber building measuring fifty-six by thirty-four feet. A square tower with a tiered, balustraded belfry rises over the south entrance, which has eight-panel double doors and a segmental pediment. Round-arched twelve-over-twelve windows light both floors, and inside, boxed pews, a gallery and carved column capitals survive. Local carpenter George Curtiss contracted in 1823 to build it for $825, replacing a church of 1750 on the same site. It was completed in 1825 and dedicated in 1827. The nomination values it as an unusual vernacular adaptation of high-style design and notes its unbroken use for worship. Later additions, including a chapel, parish hall and church school, did not compromise the original building.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"George Curtiss","architectural_style":"Long Island vernacular church architecture","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in continuous use as a house of worship since its 1827 dedication; condition listed as excellent.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.227502-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/77000983.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000983/4d368cce9d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000983/4d368cce9d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"DanTD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smithtown_1st_Presbyterian_Church.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">DanTD</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:Smithtown_1st_Presbyterian_Church.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322110","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Presbyterian_Church_(Smithtown,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453635"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/suffolk-county/first-presbyterian-church-77000983/"}