Ingham, William Smith, House
Why it's listed
Built in 1835 in the village of Meridian, Cayuga County, this large Greek Revival house was the home of merchant William Smith Ingham. It is a two-story, three-bay, temple-front frame dwelling with a massive pedimented portico on four fluted Ionic columns, flanked by symmetrical one-and-one-half-story side ells. Heavy timber framing, clapboard siding, a stone foundation and a standing seam metal roof make up its fabric, and the interior retains its room layout, pocket doors, plaster ceiling medallions and a winding staircase. A ca. 1900 carriage house stands behind it. Ingham ran stores and served as the village's first postmaster, and he helped shape what was then called Cato Four Corners. He was also an abolitionist who helped a fugitive slave escape to Canada. After he went bankrupt in the Panic of 1857, the property passed to attorney J. Sprague Morley. The house is valued as an intact, finely crafted example of its style and the village's best reminder of its early prosperity.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is an outstanding and remarkably intact example of mid-19th-century Greek Revival domestic architecture in northern Cayuga County, a finely crafted vernacular adaptation of high-style trends. It was built by one of the village's earliest and most influential settlers and remains Meridian's oldest, most prominent landmark and the finest reminder of its pre-Civil War heyday.
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 05000263, listed April 6, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 3069 W Main St., Meridian |
|---|---|
| County | Cayuga County |
| Listed | April 6, 2005 |
| Reference number | 05000263 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1835 - ca. 1900 |
| Architect / builder | unknown |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th Century: Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Recently restored according to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation; in use as a single-family dwelling. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 43.16813, -76.53714 (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.
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 05000263.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8018567
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.