Chemung District School No. 10
Also known as: Lowman School
Why it's listed
Built in 1898 at the corner of Old NY 17 and Lowman Road, this two-room schoolhouse served the hamlet of Lowman in Chemung County, New York. The five-by-four-bay frame building has a modified hipped roof, two-over-two windows, corner pilasters, a heavy entablature and an entrance pavilion with a round-arched transom. Inside, two classrooms and cloak rooms are arranged around an entrance stair hall, with plaster walls and beadboard wainscoting. The land was donated by Ward and Julia (Lowman) Saunders, and the Welliver Construction Co. of Ridgebury, Pennsylvania, built the school as its first commission. The two-room plan followed designs popularized by school architecture books after the Civil War, while the Colonial Revival detailing reflected growing interest in early American history. Indoor plumbing and central heating were modern features. The school operated until 1957, when the district joined the Elmira City School System. It is now vacant and being restored as a museum and interpretive center.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is a largely intact example of a substantial late nineteenth-century rural district school. It reflects the school planning ideas of its time and the prosperity of the local farming community. It was also the first commission of the Welliver Construction Co., a prominent regional contracting firm.
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 08000449, listed May 21, 2008. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Old NY 17 at Lowman Rd., Lowman |
|---|---|
| County | Chemung County |
| Listed | May 21, 2008 |
| Reference number | 08000449 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1898 |
| Architect / builder | Welliver Construction Co. |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Education |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as vacant; the building is undergoing restoration to serve as a museum and interpretive center on the history of the Battle of Newtown and Lowman. |
| Acreage | 0.5 |
| Coordinates | 42.03072, -76.71564 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
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 08000449.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5090680
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.