Earlville Historic District

Earlville's historic district covers roughly 165 properties at the heart of a village that sits on the line between Chenango and Madison counties in New York. The center line of Main Street marks the county boundary. The commercial core, a group of two-story brick blocks, was rebuilt in the 1880s after a series of disastrous fires, and includes the Opera House and Douglass Block, the Second Empire Odd Fellows Hall and three surviving churches. Surrounding streets hold mostly wood-frame houses, with Federal and Greek Revival homes at the edges and Italianate, Queen Anne, Second Empire and locally named Stafford houses from the late nineteenth century. Slate sidewalks, shade trees and original carriage houses add to the setting. The village grew along the early turnpikes and then the Chenango Canal, completed in 1836, after which it took its name from canal commissioner Jonas Earl. Few modern intrusions exist, and the boundary excludes most altered buildings.