Dick House
Why it's listed
Built around 1860 east of the hamlet of Germantown in Columbia County, New York, this frame house shows how the Italianate style arrived in a rural farming area. Its five-bay, gable-ended main block has a center hall plan, clapboard siding, a decorated front porch and two-over-two windows, with flat-roofed kitchen and rear wings added to the south and west. The design is restrained, and the interior finishes largely survive from the original building campaign, including plaster walls, pine floors, paneled doors and a slate mantel. Only minor changes around 1900 are noted. The house is also tied to the Dick family, who settled the region in the 18th century. Peter H. Dick and his son Alfred H. Dick both worked on Hudson River steamboats before returning to run the family fruit farm, which shipped pears and apples to New York City and Europe. The house survives as a reminder of that agricultural and river-trade history.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a locally significant, largely intact example of restrained Italianate domestic design from the period just after the Greek Revival. It also has associations with the Dick family, who were steamboat engineers on the Hudson River and fruit growers in Germantown, notably Peter H. Dick and his son Alfred H. Dick.
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 09000573, listed July 29, 2009. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 641 Co. Rte. 8, Germantown |
|---|---|
| County | Columbia County |
| Listed | July 29, 2009 |
| Reference number | 09000573 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c. 1860- c.1900 |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used as a single dwelling, historically and currently; two small farm structures on the property are in advanced deterioration. |
| Acreage | 3.6 |
| Coordinates | 42.12863, -73.85511 (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 09000573.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14706240
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.