{"nrhp_refnum":"87000911","name":"Christ Episcopal Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NY 20","address_restricted":false,"city":"Duanesburg","county":"Schenectady County","state":"NY","lat":42.76867172500005,"lon":-74.15438361699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-04-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, wood-frame Episcopal meetinghouse-style church on Route 20 at Duanesburg Churches, in Duanesburg, Schenectady County, New York, built ca. 1793 with a tower and steeple added in 1811. The 4.9-acre property also includes a carriage shed and a small cemetery.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an outstanding example of an eighteenth-century New England style meetinghouse and the oldest unaltered Episcopal church in New York State. Its towerless side-entrance plan is described as unique in upstate New York, and its interior retains a high degree of original integrity. It is also tied to James Duane, who founded the town, and is the burial place of the Duane family.","narrative":"Christ Episcopal Church, on Route 20 at the crossroads known as Duanesburg Churches, is a two-story clapboard meetinghouse built around 1793 on a fieldstone foundation. James Duane, who founded the town in 1765, planned the church as the centerpiece of a village green that never developed. The five-bay south facade has a central paneled double door, and a Palladian window sits behind the pulpit. A tower and octagonal spire were added in 1811. Inside, box pews, a gallery on Doric columns, an hourglass pulpit and a sounding board survive largely as originally built, and marble plaques honor Duane family members buried in the vault below. A nineteenth-century carriage shed and small cemetery are part of the property. The church is considered an outstanding New England style meetinghouse, the oldest unaltered Episcopal church in New York State, and a key landmark in the Duane family story. The congregation continues to maintain it.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; builder unknown (the narrative says it was built by James Duane in 1793)","architectural_style":"New England style meetinghouse with Federal style detailing","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"In present use as a church; described as unaltered, well maintained and in excellent condition, with no known threats.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.041336-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/87000911.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000911/5ee2f8a959-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000911/5ee2f8a959-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Schenectady County","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_Episcopal_Church_Duanesburg_NY_Jun_09.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Schenectady County</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_Episcopal_Church_Duanesburg_NY_Jun_09.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75314612","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Episcopal_Church_(Duanesburg,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5108860"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/schenectady-county/christ-episcopal-church-87000911/"}