{"nrhp_refnum":"98001009","name":"Smithville Valley Grange No. 1397","other_names":["First Universalist Society Church","Smithville Community Cente"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NY 41","address_restricted":false,"city":"Smithville Flats","county":"Chenango County","state":"NY","lat":42.39910724900005,"lon":-75.80867163899995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-08-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Social History","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Greek Revival building on New York Route 41 in the village of Smithville Flats, Chenango County, New York. It was built in 1842 as the First Universalist Society Church and has been used as a grange hall since 1921.","why_significant":"The nomination argues significance under Criteria A and C. The exterior keeps a distinctive, intact vernacular Greek Revival design with twin entrances and original windows. Since 1921 the building has also served as the social and public center of the town's agricultural community.","narrative":"Built in 1842 as the First Universalist Society Church, this timber-frame building in Smithville Flats, Chenango County, has served since 1921 as the hall of Smithville Valley Grange No. 1397. Its design derives from the New England meetinghouse, with a front-gabled pedimented form, broad raking cornice, Doric pilasters, twin recessed entrances and twenty-over-twenty windows topped by pointed-arched louvers. The original steeple was removed in the 1930s and a small addition was built at the rear in 1996. Inside, a second floor was added at gallery level in the early 1920s to suit grange needs, while original floors, a ceiling medallion and other fragments survive. The Universalist society was small, and the Methodists later rented the building until 1921. The grange, organized in 1916, used the hall for cooperative purchasing, public debates, dances, dinners and community events. The building is valued for its intact exterior and its record of both church and grange use.","period_of_significance":"1842-1921","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a grange hall; the grange has carried out a restoration program in recent years, and a small rear addition was built in 1996.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.747091-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/98001009.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001009/9245585a11-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001009/9245585a11-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Geraldine Clark","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smithville_Grange_No._1397.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Geraldine Clark</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:Smithville_Grange_No._1397.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316908","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithville_Valley_Grange_No._1397","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7545680"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/chenango-county/smithville-valley-grange-no-1397-98001009/"}