{"nrhp_refnum":"88000110","name":"Ingersoll, Robert, Birthplace","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dresden","county":"Yates County","state":"NY","lat":42.68401855500008,"lon":-76.95614834899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-02-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-part vernacular frame house at 61 Main Street in the village of Dresden, Yates County, New York, built in the early nineteenth century and moved to its present site before 1833. It is the birthplace of orator Robert Ingersoll.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an intact example of early nineteenth century vernacular residential architecture with Federal style influence. It is also the only known surviving resource associated with Robert Ingersoll, a popular and controversial American orator. Its interior room configurations and finishes are especially well preserved.","narrative":"Robert Ingersoll's birthplace is a modest frame house on Main Street in Dresden, a quiet village on Seneca Lake in Yates County, New York. It consists of a two-story, three-bay main block with Federal style influence and a one-and-one-half-story saltbox ell. The two sections were built separately and joined, and were moved to the site, probably before Ingersoll was born there in 1833. Post-and-beam framing, clapboard siding, plank floors, plastered walls and simple woodwork survive. Ingersoll, who lived in the house only his first months, became one of the best-known nineteenth century American lecturers, famed for his \"Plumed Knight\" speech of 1876, his agnosticism and his support for civil rights. After his death, family members bought the house and dedicated it in 1921 as a community center. It later passed through several owners and fell vacant. The village of Dresden purchased it in 1985. It is believed to be the last surviving Ingersoll home.","period_of_significance":"1833","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"Vernacular Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as vacant and in fair condition, with some rotted floor joists and sill sections; owned by the Village of Dresden since 1985 after falling into disrepair.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.333972-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/88000110.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000110/4cc0deda4b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000110/4cc0deda4b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Ingersoll_Birthplace_May_11.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States</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:Robert_Ingersoll_Birthplace_May_11.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323370","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ingersoll_Birthplace","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7345790"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/yates-county/ingersoll-robert-birthplace-88000110/"}