{"nrhp_refnum":"98000391","name":"Balloon Farm","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"128 Cemetery Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Frankfort","county":"Herkimer County","state":"NY","lat":43.04053152300003,"lon":-75.07876114699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-04-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story frame residence, the Gates-Myers house, built in 1878 on a 1.65-acre parcel at 128 Cemetery Road at the northwest edge of the Village of Frankfort, Herkimer County, New York. It was built for industrialist Frederick Gates and later became known as Balloon Farm.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant under Criterion A for its association with aeronauts Carl and Mary Myers, who ran a balloon-making and flight-experiment operation there from 1889 and contributed to early American aeronautics. It is significant under Criterion C as an ornate High Victorian eclectic mansion with Eastlake detailing and a Mansard roof. It is also described as a local architectural landmark.","narrative":"Balloon Farm is a three-story frame mansion on the northwest edge of Frankfort, Herkimer County, built in 1878 for match manufacturer Frederick Gates. It sits on a stone foundation and has a tall Mansard roof, wraparound porches with Eastlake fretwork, and cherry wood interior trim in the first-floor parlors. In 1889 Carl Myers bought the house and turned it into an aeronautical workshop. He made balloons on the third floor, developed a varnishing process for balloon fabric and a portable hydrogen generator, and tested balloons on the lawns, which gave the property its nickname. His wife Mary performed as \"Carlotta, the Lady Aeronaut\" at fairs across New York. The State of New York bought the house in 1919 and used it as a women's group residence, which removed many interior features. Sold at auction in 1994, it is being rehabilitated as a bed-and-breakfast. The listing recognizes both its architecture and its link to early ballooning.","period_of_significance":"1878-1919","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Eclectic (described in the text as High Victorian eclectic)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Back in private ownership since a 1994 auction and being gradually rehabilitated for use as a bed-and-breakfast inn.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.384653-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/98000391.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000391/e0bd3bc472-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000391/e0bd3bc472-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Upstate New York","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Balloon_Farm_Sep_2009.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:Balloon_Farm_Sep_2009.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318104","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon_Farm_(Frankfort,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4851853"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/herkimer-county/balloon-farm-98000391/"}