{"nrhp_refnum":"91000527","name":"Mexico Octagon Barn","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5276 Ames St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mexico","county":"Oswego County","state":"NY","lat":43.45221314500003,"lon":-76.24151256999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-06-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story octagonal wood-frame sheep barn at 5276 Ames Street, just south of Mexico village in Oswego County, New York, believed to have been built around 1880 and standing by 1880.","why_significant":"The barn is a rare surviving example of the octagonal building type popular in the later nineteenth century. It is the only octagonal structure in Mexico and one of only five known octagonal buildings in Oswego County. It illustrates efforts by local farmers to adopt new, supposedly more efficient farm building designs.","narrative":"Set on a small lot on Ames Street, half a mile south of Mexico village, this octagonal barn dates to about 1880 and was built as a sheep barn. Its heavy timber frame with mortise and tenon joints rests on a fieldstone foundation built into a hillside, creating a full basement. The lower level holds a sheep pen, a small lambing pen and two horse stalls, while the upper level is an open hay mow. Because of the slope, the hay loft can be entered directly without a ramp. The barn measures 35.7 feet across, with sides of 14 feet. Octagonal designs were promoted in the mid-1800s by Orson Fowler and later by agriculturist Elliot Stewart, who argued they saved materials and gave a clear hay mow. The barn is the only octagonal structure in Mexico and one of five known in Oswego County. It reflects how local farmers, shifting from grain to dairying, followed new agricultural trends, and it remains a well-known community landmark.","period_of_significance":"c. 1880","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Other: Octagon","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Remarkably intact apart from twentieth-century asphalt shingle siding over the original vertical board siding; no longer part of an intact historic farm complex but still in a rural setting. Current function is listed as agricultural outbuilding.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.363315-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/91000527.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75314263","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico_Octagon_Barn","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6826219"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/oswego-county/mexico-octagon-barn-91000527/"}