Dixon House
Why it's listed
Built around 1862 at 49 North Clinton Street in Poughkeepsie, this wood-frame Gothic Revival house was the work of Robert Dixon, a local carpenter and builder. City directories list his name at the address as early as 1862 and confirm it as his residence in 1867. An 1864-1865 directory advertisement offering carpentry and church furniture suggests he designed the house himself. The clapboard dwelling rises two and a half stories above a raised basement and faces west. Its decoration includes pierced bargeboards with leaf and quatrefoil cut-outs, double windows under pointed arches with molded labels, a three-sided bay with curved brackets, a square bay with a castellated roof line, and a porch with clustered reed columns. A Gothic pointed-arch door surround and transom complete the front. The house is one of three Gothic Cottage structures in Poughkeepsie considered worthy of listing, and the most elaborate. It has been described as the city's most distinctive Gothic Revival building.
Significance in brief: The form calls it the most distinctive Gothic Revival building in Poughkeepsie and the most fanciful of the city's three Gothic Cottage structures. It is credited with adding significant information to the understanding of the style in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Dixon, a carpenter and builder, evidently designed it himself, based on an 1864-1865 city directory advertisement.
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 82001129, listed November 26, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 49 N. Clinton St., Poughkeepsie |
|---|---|
| County | Dutchess County |
| Listed | November 26, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82001129 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Robert Dixon of Poughkeepsie |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used as a residence, as originally; condition given as fair, with deterioration noted as a threat; no major alterations listed. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.70515, -73.91968 (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 82001129.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5284953
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.