{"nrhp_refnum":"93001603","name":"Cobblestone Historic District","other_names":["First Universalist Church","The Ward House","District 5 Schoolho"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Ridge Rd. (NY 104), Gaines Township","address_restricted":false,"city":"Childs","county":"Orleans County","state":"NY","lat":43.28725423000003,"lon":-78.19100788996485,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1993-04-19","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1993-04-19","areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A district of three discontiguous cobblestone buildings along Ridge Road (Route 104) in Childs, Gaines Township, Orleans County, New York: the 1834 First Universalist Church, the circa 1840 Ward House, and the 1849 District 5 Schoolhouse.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that cobblestone construction is one of the most interesting American vernacular building types, originating near Rochester, New York. It calls these three buildings the best documented and best preserved examples of early cobblestone construction. It is listed for architecture under Criterion C, with national-level significance.","narrative":"Three cobblestone buildings along Ridge Road in Childs, Orleans County, make up this district: a church, a small house, and a schoolhouse built between 1834 and 1849. The Universalist church, dated 1834, is Federal in style, with walls of glaciated field cobbles, limestone quoins, and a wooden tower rebuilt in 1966 from old photographs. Its interior retains original plaster, unusual papyrus-like gallery columns, and wood graining and a painted alcove added in 1874. The Ward House, built about 1840 and probably a parsonage, shows the Gaines Pattern of hexagonal cobble settings. The 1849 District 5 Schoolhouse is a Greek Revival building, a wooden structure with only a cobblestone veneer and a sloped classroom floor. The nomination presents cobblestone masonry as a distinctive vernacular craft of upstate New York and calls these three the best documented and best preserved early examples. The buildings now serve as a museum.","period_of_significance":"1834, c. 1840, 1849","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Other: Cobblestone (Federal church and Ward House; Greek Revival schoolhouse)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Currently used as a museum; the church exterior is described as looking much as it did in 1834, and the buildings are described as well preserved.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.550803-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/93001603_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93001603/77a8c434e1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93001603/77a8c434e1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cobblestone_Church,_Childs,_NY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</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:Cobblestone_Church,_Childs,_NY.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100011442","name":"Childs Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/childs-historic-district-100011442/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316014","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobblestone_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5138815"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/orleans-county/cobblestone-historic-district-93001603/"}