Hotel Delaware
Why it's listed
Built in 1891 as the Hotel Jones, this three-story wood-frame hotel stands at 391 Main Street in East Branch, a small Delaware County hamlet in the western Catskills. George W. Jones developed it on farmland sold by the Miller family, placing it about one block from the railroad station, where the Ontario and Western and the Delaware and Northern lines met. It served business travelers and tourists drawn by fishing, hunting and scenery. John Huggler bought it in 1903 and renamed it Hotel Delaware. After a kitchen fire in 1908, the Hugglers rebuilt it within six months, deepening the building and raising capacity to thirty-eight rooms. It has a two-story veranda, clapboard siding and a center-hall plan with original plaster, wainscoting and moldings. It is listed as a well-preserved example of the modest railroad hotels typical of the region, valued for its recreation and transportation history and its architecture. It is now used as multiple-family housing.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the hotel is an intact example of the small, modest railroad hotels of the western Catskills, built to serve travelers arriving by rail at the junction of two major railroads. Its multi-story decorative veranda provides most of its visual appeal. It housed visitors for more than half a century during the Catskills resort era and survives almost unchanged from 1908.
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 04001342, listed December 6, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 391 Main St., East Branch |
|---|---|
| County | Delaware County |
| Listed | December 6, 2004 |
| Reference number | 04001342 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1891-c1945 |
| Architectural style | No style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Entertainment/Recreation, Transportation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function is listed as multiple family residence; the form says it has suffered some deterioration but retains all character-defining features, and the owners are restoring it. |
| Acreage | 1.4 |
| Coordinates | 41.98817, -75.13417 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 04001342.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5911420
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.