{"nrhp_refnum":"96000670","name":"La Fargeville United Methodist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"W side of Main St., S. of jct. with Co. Rt. 181, Hamlet of La Fargeville","address_restricted":false,"city":"Orleans","county":"Jefferson County","state":"NY","lat":44.19091504700003,"lon":-75.96845465199993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-06-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A frame Methodist church with an attached parsonage on a 1.1-acre lot on the west side of Main Street (Route 180) in the hamlet of La Fargeville, Town of Orleans, Jefferson County, New York. The main block dates to about 1850, with additions made in 1873.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is a good example of a transitional mid-to-late 19th century vernacular rural church, where plain Federal/Greek Revival lines give way to more exuberant late Victorian details. Its elaborate stained glass louvered windows and its Akron plan, the only one among the related listed properties, add to its distinction. It also reflects adaptive reuse of a former academy building and long service as a community worship and social center.","narrative":"This frame church and attached parsonage sit well back from Main Street in the hamlet of La Fargeville, Jefferson County. The three-bay, gable-front main block was built about 1850 as the Orleans Academy, a short-lived secondary school for young men founded by Russell Biddlecom. After classes were suspended in 1855, the Methodist-Episcopal Society bought the building for worship. A renovation in 1873 added a bell tower with a cross-gabled belfry and a four-bay parsonage with turned porch supports and sawn brackets. Repairs in 1892 brought elaborate louvered stained glass windows and an Akron-plan sanctuary with a diagonal aisle, oak pews and sliding oak doors. The plain clapboard main block contrasts with the more ornate later additions. Two congregations merged in 1930 to form the present church, and the upper parsonage floor became Sunday School space. It remains in use for worship and community gatherings, and is valued as an example of a vernacular rural church that evolved over generations.","period_of_significance":"1850-1940","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Vernacular, Italianate, Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still has an active congregation and is used as a house of worship and center for social activities; the sanctuary has had minor alterations and a modern non-contributing tool shed stands behind it.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:51.295927-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/96000670.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000670/21c4ac0ce6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000670/21c4ac0ce6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Stephen Schweitzer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_Fargeville_United_Methodist_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Stephen Schweitzer</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_Fargeville_United_Methodist_Church.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75313300","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Fargeville_United_Methodist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6462417"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/jefferson-county/la-fargeville-united-methodist-church-96000670/"}