{"nrhp_refnum":"95000595","name":"Sherman Free Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4 Church St., Town of Moriah","address_restricted":false,"city":"Port Henry","county":"Essex County","state":"NY","lat":44.04767739400006,"lon":-73.46011137799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-06-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A T-shaped, 1-1/2 story brick public library at 4 Church Street in the Village of Port Henry, Town of Moriah, Essex County, New York, built in 1888 with a rear addition in 1907. S. Gifford Slocum was the architect and Case Brothers the builders.","why_significant":"The library is a well-preserved example of Richardsonian Romanesque-inspired civic architecture. It represents the educational and cultural development of Port Henry and its ties to the local iron mining industry. It is the oldest surviving library in Moriah and the only building ever constructed there expressly as a public library. It was donated by mining executive George R. Sherman.","narrative":"Built in 1888 on Church Street in Port Henry, this brick library was a gift from George R. Sherman, a director of the mining firm Witherbee, Sherman and Company. Designed by architect S. Gifford Slocum and built by Case Brothers, it is a T-shaped, 1-1/2 story building with steep slate gabled roofs, a rusticated stone foundation, deep round-arched windows and terracotta detailing under the eaves. A rear addition was completed in 1907 and carefully matched the original design. Inside, oak paneling, shelving, tables and brass fixtures remain largely original, and a mezzanine in the addition is carried on slender Doric columns. The library is considered important as an intact example of Richardsonian Romanesque-inspired civic architecture and as evidence of how mining wealth supported education and culture in Port Henry. It is the oldest surviving library in Moriah and the only building there constructed specifically to house a public library. Sherman also endowed it so that it would be self-supporting.","period_of_significance":"1888 - 1907","architect_builder":"S. GIFFORD SLOCUM, architect; CASE BROTHERS, builders","architectural_style":"LATE VICTORIAN/Romanesque","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Historic and current function are both listed as library; the interior is described as almost entirely original.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:51.470558-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/95000595.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000595/1c058a7011-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000595/1c058a7011-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sherman_Free_Library_Nov_10.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, 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:Sherman_Free_Library_Nov_10.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75312886","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Free_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7495172"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/essex-county/sherman-free-library-95000595/"}