Hillsdale Hamlet Historic District

Hillsdale hamlet, in the southeastern corner of Columbia County, New York, grew along an early road linking western Massachusetts with the Hudson River, which became the Columbia Turnpike in 1799. Most of its properties line Route 23, with a second street to the south holding some of the oldest houses. The district contains 135 contributing resources, mainly houses, outbuildings, churches and a cemetery. Its most notable feature is a group of Federal Period buildings, including brick inns built by landholders Parla Foster and Refine Latting, whose Flemish bond facades reflect New England building traditions. Frame townhouses and farmhouses show the move from Federal to Greek Revival design during the turnpike boom of the 1830s and 1840s, with recurring entrance details linked to local carpenters of the Becker family. The railroad arrived in 1852 and brought summer tourists, who encouraged later alterations such as porches. Latting's inn has operated as a hotel or tavern continuously to the present.