Main Street Historic District
Why it's listed
Main Street Historic District forms the center of McGraw, a village in an agricultural valley about four miles east of Cortland. The linear district follows Main Street and East Main Street and holds 34 contributing resources, including the business district, two churches, the library and some of the earliest houses. East Main Street has a group of vernacular Federal style houses built between about 1835 and 1842, several later given Victorian porches. The Lamont Memorial Library, built in 1845 as a residence, has an Ionic portico in the Greek Revival style. The south side of Main Street is a cohesive row of two- and three-story commercial buildings, rebuilt after a fire in 1906, with brick fronts, stamped-metal cornices and rock-faced concrete block. The Baptist and Methodist churches date from the 1830s but were reshaped in 1919 and 1920. Slow growth after the decline of the village's main industry helped preserve the streetscape.
Significance in brief: The district is significant as an intact concentration of residential, religious and commercial buildings typical of small-town architecture in central New York between about 1820 and 1920. It includes a group of vernacular Federal style houses, the 1845 Greek Revival Lamont Memorial Library, and a row of commercial buildings erected after an 1906 fire. It is one of only a handful of small town centers in Cortland County that keep enough integrity to reflect the county's architectural heritage.
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 86002773, listed September 25, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly on Main St. between South and Washington Sts., McGraw |
|---|---|
| County | Cortland County |
| Listed | September 25, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86002773 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | C. 1820-1920 |
| Architectural style | Vernacular Federal, Greek Revival, Victorian-period, and early twentieth century commercial |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as in good condition and occupied, with a mix of commercial, educational, private residential and religious uses; some buildings have been altered. |
| Acreage | 11 |
| Coordinates | 42.59635, -76.09240 (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 86002773.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14706870
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.