{"nrhp_refnum":"82001073","name":"Knower House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3921 Altamont Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Guilderland","county":"Albany County","state":"NY","lat":42.70483265900003,"lon":-74.01984152799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-11-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Georgian Colonial residence built around 1800 at 3921 Altamont Road in Altamont (formerly Knowersville), Town of Guilderland, Albany County, New York, built for Benjamin Knower.","why_significant":"The house was built for Benjamin Knower, a prominent businessman and banker for whom the village was named after his death. William L. Marcy, later state governor and U.S. Secretary of State, married Cornelia Knower in its grand hall in 1824. It also keeps notable Georgian Colonial exterior and interior details despite its later siding.","narrative":"Built around 1800 on Altamont Road in what was once the center of the village along the Schoharie plank road, this two-story Georgian Colonial house sits beside the Crounse Inn. It was constructed for Benjamin Knower, a hatter, businessman and banker who developed a waterproofing method for beaver-skin hats. The village of Knowersville was named for him after his death and became Altamont in 1887. William L. Marcy, later governor of New York and U.S. Secretary of State, married Cornelia Knower in the house's grand hall in 1824. The five-bay frame house has a center entrance with a Palladian window above, cornice returns and a tripartite second-story window. Inside are a large central hall with an elliptical arch, a carved newel post, hand-carved mantels, raised-panel doors with strap hinges, and a barrel-vaulted room that may have served as a display room. Asbestos shingles added about 1950 cover the clapboards, but many details remain. The house survives amid modern suburban development.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian Colonial","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still used as a residence, in good condition; the owner was removing the asbestos shingles (added ca. 1950) to restore the original clapboards.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:41.676592-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/82001073.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75311967","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knower_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6423203"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/albany-county/knower-house-82001073/"}