{"nrhp_refnum":"82005024","name":"Melius-Bentley House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"N of Pine Plains on Mt. Ross Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pine Plains","county":"Dutchess County","state":"NY","lat":42.00580567000006,"lon":-73.7098940710502,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-08-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-part frame house on Mount Ross Road north of Pine Plains, straddling the Dutchess and Columbia County line in New York. The earliest section was built c.1717 by Johannes Jacob Melius, with a west addition soon after and a Federal wing added c.1802.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is a rare, intact survival of an early eighteenth century Hudson Valley frame dwelling built in North European vernacular fashion. It retains much original siding, nogging and interior detail. The Federal wing is significant for its integrity and woodwork. Together the parts show the evolution of local housing form and style over a century.","narrative":"Set on wooded land sloping toward the Roeliff Jansen Kill, this house on Mount Ross Road north of Pine Plains grew in three stages. Johannes Jacob Melius built the original one-and-one-half-story frame section around 1717, using massive posts and beams, clay-and-roughage nogging, and a steep gable roof with the curved \"Dutch Kick\" porch overhang. He soon added a room to the west, set forward of the first and possibly linked to a local legend that he ran a tavern. About 1802 a two-story Federal side-hall wing followed, traditionally tied to Henry Bentley, who owned nearby mills. The house is notable because frame buildings from the early eighteenth century rarely survive in the Hudson Valley, and this one keeps original siding, framing and interior details. The Federal wing adds an elegant paneled parlor chimney breast and built-in cupboards. Two nineteenth-century barns also stand on the 24.8-acre parcel.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799, 1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Early Hudson Valley frame vernacular with a Federal addition","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as a private residence and occupied; the form describes the condition as good and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:43.110536-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/82005024.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317408","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melius-Bentley_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6813000"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/dutchess-county/melius-bentley-house-82005024/"}