{"nrhp_refnum":"97000425","name":"Valentown Hall","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Jct. of High St. and Valentown Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Victor","county":"Ontario County","state":"NY","lat":43.025770922500044,"lon":-77.43494879788275,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-05-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story, gable-roofed frame commercial building and social hall at the crossroads of High Street and Valentown Road in Victor, Ontario County, New York, built in 1879 by Levi Valentine with carpenter Giles Wood, on a 14-acre lot with an early farmhouse and outbuildings.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a rare surviving example of a large, multi-purpose late nineteenth century commercial and community center in a rural township. It keeps a high degree of integrity in design, materials and interior layout. It was built on speculation that a railroad would make Valentown a thriving hub, but the railroad never arrived.","narrative":"Valentown Hall is a three-story, ten-bay frame building at the crossroads of High Street and Valentown Road in Victor, New York. Levi Valentine designed it in 1879, with carpenter Giles Wood, expecting the Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railroad to reach the spot and turn it into a booming town. The first floor held a general store, bakery, cobbler, barber and meat market opening onto an interior mall. The second floor housed the Valentown Grange and schools of music, art, acting and business. A large ballroom occupied the third floor, and the basement stabled patrons' horses. The railroad went bankrupt and never arrived, so the hall served modestly as a commercial center until about 1910, later serving as a drill hall and Red Cross site in World War I. Saved from demolition in 1940, it now operates as a museum. It is valued as a well-preserved example of a multi-purpose late nineteenth century community center, with original floors, trim, doors, chandeliers and pressed-metal ceilings intact.","period_of_significance":"1879","architect_builder":"Levi Valentine (designer/builder); Giles Wood, carpenter","architectural_style":"Late 19th Century; vernacular commercial","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Operating as a private museum and community hall; interior spaces restored from about 1940.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.65965-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/97000425.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000425/d9bf38bba7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000425/d9bf38bba7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jsbaileyut","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:07_28_09_093_edited-1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jsbaileyut</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:07_28_09_093_edited-1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320554","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentown_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7911066"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/ontario-county/valentown-hall-97000425/"}