{"nrhp_refnum":"99001209","name":"Mumford, Lewis, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"187 Leedsville Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Amenia","county":"Dutchess County","state":"NY","lat":41.85041417550008,"lon":-73.51265658136933,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-10-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History","Community Planning and Development","Architecture","Art","Literature"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A early-19th-century frame farmhouse with a carriage house and landscape, at 187 Leedsville Road in the hamlet of Leedsville, Town of Amenia, Dutchess County, New York, on about 14 acres.","why_significant":"It is significant for its association with Lewis Mumford, the nationally prominent author, social critic and writer on cities and architecture. He and his wife bought it in 1929 and he made it his permanent home from 1936 until his death in 1990. He wrote many of his best-known works in its small study.","narrative":"This farmhouse in the hamlet of Leedsville, in Amenia, Dutchess County, New York, sits on about 14 acres beside Webutuck Creek, less than a mile from the Connecticut line. Its two-story front section has a side-gable roof, twelve-over-twelve windows and a Federal-style entrance porch. A rear wing, a carriage house and a landscape of gardens and woodland paths complete the property. The state office believes the house dates to at least a decade before the 1837 that Lewis Mumford gave. Mumford and his wife, Sophia, bought the house in 1929 as a summer retreat and made it their permanent home in 1936. He lived there until his death in 1990. From a small study on the first floor he wrote over twenty books, including The Culture of Cities and The City in History. The couple added central heating, enlarged the upstairs and developed the grounds. The property is recognized for its link to Mumford's life and career, and the period of significance runs from 1929 to 1990.","period_of_significance":"1929-1990","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Early Republic/Federal","criteria":["B"],"status_note":"Current function listed as vacant/not in use; the house was renovated in 1998-99 and retains high exterior integrity.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:51.101242-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/99001209.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001209/15f6fb1b3e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001209/15f6fb1b3e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lewis_Mumford_House,_Amenia,_NY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</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:Lewis_Mumford_House,_Amenia,_NY.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100009322","name":"Webutuck Agricultural Valley Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/webutuck-agricultural-valley-historic-district-100009322/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317419","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Mumford_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6536908"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/dutchess-county/mumford-lewis-house-99001209/"}