{"nrhp_refnum":"86000701","name":"Havens, James, Homestead","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NY 114","address_restricted":false,"city":"Shelter Island","county":"Suffolk County","state":"NY","lat":41.06385919400003,"lon":-72.33079889099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-04-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story wood frame farmhouse on Route 114 (Ferry Road) in central Shelter Island, Suffolk County, New York, built in 1743 and enlarged in the early and mid-nineteenth century, with a small nineteenth-century shed on a two-acre parcel.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the homestead is historically significant for its link to Shelter Island's eighteenth-century settlement and nineteenth-century growth. It is also architecturally significant as a rare surviving example of the island's settlement-period vernacular building tradition. Its original owner, James Havens, was a prominent settler appointed to the New York Provincial Congress in 1776.","narrative":"Set close to Ferry Road in central Shelter Island, this large wood-shingled farmhouse began as a two-story, three-bay dwelling with a side entrance hall, dated in the form to 1743, with construction of the main block also placed in the 1750s. James Havens, an early settler active in community affairs, was appointed to New York's Provincial Congress in 1776, and the house hosted the town's annual meetings from 1783 to 1785. His son John enlarged the building in the early and mid-nineteenth century, adding wings and later a wrap-around porch as the family prospered. The house also served at times as a post office, schoolhouse and general store. It stayed in Havens family ownership until 1925 and in single-family hands until 1966, when the Shelter Island Historical Society bought it. The heavy timber frame, period mantels, staircase and door surrounds survive. It is regarded as the island's best-known landmark of early settlement and farming.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Eastern Long Island vernacular building tradition","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied; owned by the Shelter Island Historical Society since 1966 and used as a museum and headquarters, in good condition 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 02:50:45.67425-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/86000701.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000701/266a1568f8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000701/266a1568f8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Americasroof","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James-havens-house.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Americasroof</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:James-havens-house.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322140","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Havens_Homestead","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6135718"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/suffolk-county/havens-james-homestead-86000701/"}