{"nrhp_refnum":"85001499","name":"North, Benjamin D., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NY 166, The Plank Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Middlefield","county":"Otsego County","state":"NY","lat":42.70336466000006,"lon":-74.8352915761706,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-07-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, five-bay brick Federal style bank house with a one-and-one-half-story frame wing, built between 1799 and 1802 on Route 166 (the Plank Road) in Middlefield, Otsego County, New York, with three early outbuildings on about fifteen acres.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an exceptionally intact and relatively sophisticated example of rural Federal style architecture in Otsego County. It is built of brick in a region where frame and stone were used almost exclusively, and it is the only known late 18th or early 19th century bank house in the county. It retains original fabric, including Asher Benjamin influenced interior woodwork and original wall finishes.","narrative":"Overlooking Cherry Valley from a hillside on Route 166 in Middlefield, this brick house was built between 1799 and 1802 in the Federal style. It is a two-story, five-bay bank house, with a one-story rear elevation set into the slope and a frame wing at one side. Its front wall is laid in Flemish bond, and the arched entrance has a rope-molded architrave. Inside, the staircase, mantels and cupboards follow plates from Asher Benjamin's The Country Builder's Assistant, and original tinted plaster and grained and marbleized wainscots survive or have been restored. A stone smoke house, a privy and a horse barn complete the group. The house matters because brick was rare in the county at the time, and it is the only known bank house of its era there. Three generations of the North family farmed the land from 1802 to 1936, and surrounding farmland preserves the rural setting.","period_of_significance":"c.1800-1890","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition; a restoration by the owner has been in progress since 1980, and the house is a private residence.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.274764-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/85001499.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320966","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_D._North_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4888458"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/otsego-county/north-benjamin-d-house-85001499/"}