Howland, Slocum and Hannah, House
Why it's listed
This small frame house on Sherwood Road in the Cayuga County hamlet of Sherwood was the home of Slocum and Hannah Howland. It is a one-and-one-half story, three-bay, side-hall building with a gable roof, plain wooden trim and exaggerated cornice returns, reflecting vernacular Federal-era design. Slocum Howland was a Quaker merchant who ran a store in Sherwood and a port at Levanna on Cayuga Lake, and who took part in the antislavery movement. He used his business resources and family and Quaker allies to help people escaping slavery travel to Canada and to find homes and work in Cayuga County. The property is described as the center of the most significant Underground Railroad network in the county outside Auburn, a way station tied to abolitionism. The house is vacant and badly deteriorated, though its fabric is largely original rather than altered by twentieth-century remodeling.
Significance in brief: The house is presented as the center of the most significant Underground Railroad network in Cayuga County outside Auburn. It is tied to Slocum Howland, a well-known Quaker abolitionist and merchant who used his store, tenant houses and port to help freedom seekers reach Canada or settle locally. It is also noted as a vernacular building of its period.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 06000263, listed April 12, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1781 Sherwood Rd., Sherwood |
|---|---|
| County | Cayuga County |
| Listed | April 12, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000263 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1830s - 1850s |
| Architectural style | Early 19th Century: vernacular (Federal era form, massing and details) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Black, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as vacant; the form describes the house as deteriorated, with some interior walls collapsed, and says it may not survive another winter. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Sherwood Equal Rights Historic District |
| Coordinates | 42.76326, -76.62218 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 06000263.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7541267
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.