Williams, John S., House and Farm
Also known as: Old Chatham Sheepherding Farm and Inn
Why it's listed
This farm on Shaker Museum Road near Chatham, Columbia County, New York, centers on a two-story frame house whose cellar and framing date to the Revolutionary era. Isaac Mills was likely an early occupant, and the house was enlarged to its present forty-by-forty-foot form in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, later gaining Italianate details. In 1935 John S. Williams of Long Island bought the farm and hired the New York firm Polhemus & Coffin, who redesigned the house in 1935-36 as a Colonial Revival country house, adding a south wing and a two-story rear portico. The district includes seven contributing buildings, among them a stone former smokehouse, cottages, and small barns, plus four non-contributing farm structures, including a Shaker barn moved in 1995. The house now operates as an inn and restaurant, and the land is still used for sheep dairying. The property was listed for its architecture and its record of changing rural lifestyles.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the property is architecturally significant as an intact example of Colonial Revival work, in which an older farmhouse was stripped of Italianate details and rebuilt in 1935-36. It also shows successive changes by a sequence of owners reflecting local farm prosperity and shifting lifestyles. John S. Williams's role in identifying Shaker culture and collecting Shaker artifacts adds interest.
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 96001424, listed December 16, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Shaker Museum Rd., approximately 1 mi. S of jct. with I-90, Chatham |
|---|---|
| County | Columbia County |
| Listed | December 16, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96001424 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | ca. 1770-1946 |
| Architect / builder | Polhemus & Coffin |
| Architectural style | Late 19th/Early 20th Century Revivals: Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The main house is operated as an inn and restaurant, and a dairy sheep operation continues on the farm; the historic farm buildings are separately owned by the Shaker Museum. |
| Acreage | 253 |
| Coordinates | 42.43669, -73.58411 (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 96001424.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6256422
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.