East Main Street Historic District
Why it's listed
East Main Street Historic District is a residential area just east of Westfield's commercial center in Chautauqua County, New York. It holds twenty buildings and a cemetery across about 28 acres. Most buildings date from the mid-19th to early 20th century, and the styles include Italianate, Italian Villa, Gothic Revival, Second Empire, Colonial Revival, Neo-Georgian and Bungalow. Brick and clapboard houses with cupolas, brackets and cast-iron details anchor the corners, while early 20th century homes fill lots between them. The 1853 house at 189 East Main was designed by local architect-builder Elias Barger. Westfield Cemetery, purchased by the village in 1840, runs north to Academy Street along a maple-lined road. Main Street was an early stagecoach route and the site of the village's first commercial buildings. The district was listed for its intact architecture and landscape and its link to the village's growth. A later amendment added the Queen Anne style Storm House, built about 1896 and moved to 145 East Main Street in 2000.
Significance in brief: The district is significant for its largely intact architecture and landscape, which show a range of styles popular from the mid-19th to early 20th century with consistent scale and quality. It also reflects the residential growth of Westfield along an early stagecoach thoroughfare east of the commercial center.
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 83003893, listed December 16, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | E. Main St., Westfield |
|---|---|
| County | Chautauqua County |
| Listed | December 16, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83003893 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Elias Barger, Westfield architect-builder, designed the Italian Villa style building at 189 East Main Street |
| Architectural style | Italianate, Italian Villa, Gothic Revival, Second Empire, Colonial Revival, Neo-Georgian, Bungalow, with a later-added Queen Anne house |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The 1983 description notes the buildings are mostly residences, with one converted to hospital offices. A later amendment adds the relocated Storm House (ca. 1896), listed with a current function of vacant. |
| Acreage | 28 |
| Coordinates | 42.32645, -79.56811 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 83003893.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5328920
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.