{"nrhp_refnum":"94001370","name":"Smithfield Presbyterian Church","other_names":["Evans Academy","Town Hall","Peterboro Union School","Peterboro Ele"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Pleasant Valley Rd. between Elizabeth and Park Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Peterboro","county":"Madison County","state":"NY","lat":42.96558206900005,"lon":-75.68774107399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-12-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Politics/Government","Social History","Education","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story, front-gabled wood-frame building on Pleasant Valley Road in Peterboro, Madison County, New York. It was built as a Federal-style Presbyterian church (tower bell reportedly cast in 1836) and remodeled with Italianate details in 1871.","why_significant":"The building was the Presbyterian church of Peterboro, closely tied to the Smith family and abolitionist Gerrit Smith. It likely hosted the 1835 New York State Anti-Slavery Society meeting after a mob broke up its Utica session. It later served as Evans Academy, a town hall, a union and elementary school, and a community center, reflecting the village's changing uses.","narrative":"Standing at the highest point in Peterboro, this large clapboard building began as a Federal-style Presbyterian church, with a tower bell reportedly cast in 1836. Its original form was a tall front-gabled meetinghouse with box pews and a raised pulpit. In 1871 Gerrit Smith converted the abandoned church into a private academy, raising the roof, inserting a second story and adding Italianate brackets and hood moldings. Rear additions followed around the turn of the century, the front was extended around the clock tower about 1911, and the building later served as a town hall, union school and elementary school. It survived fires in 1918, 1936 and 1955. Today it holds a town office, a library and a community hall. The church is linked to the Smith family and to the abolitionist movement, since the 1835 State Anti-Slavery Society meeting in Peterboro probably took place here. Membership peaked above 200 before a split in 1843.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Early Republic/Federal; Late Victorian/Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Structurally sound but affected by years of neglect after it ceased to be a school, including roof deterioration and pigeon infestation in the tower; repairs were under way. It currently houses a town office, a library and community meeting space.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.586992-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/94001370.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94001370/370744debd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94001370/370744debd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Upstate New York","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smithfield_Presbyterian_Church_Peterboro_NY_Jul_10.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr from Upstate New York</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:Smithfield_Presbyterian_Church_Peterboro_NY_Jul_10.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318746","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Abolition_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7545510"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/madison-county/smithfield-presbyterian-church-94001370/"}