House at 218 Dearborn Street
Why it's listed
Built around 1880 in Buffalo's Black Rock neighborhood, this one-story shotgun cottage at 218 Dearborn Street is a rare survivor of a house type once common among working-class families. Its clapboard walls rest on a limestone foundation beneath a low gable roof, and the rooms run in a straight line from front to back on a narrow 33-foot lot. A porch added about 1890 carries turned columns, spindles and lace-like spandrels, and much of the interior woodwork, pocket doors and bead board wainscot remains. Black Rock grew with waterfront and railroad industries, and German immigrant families filled many such cottages. The earliest documented occupants, in 1900, were Isador and Catherine Keller, followed by the Sommer family, who lived there into the 1970s. A 2010 neighborhood survey found as few as four comparable cottages with enough integrity for listing, and this is the only one with an intact plan and porch. It was listed for its architecture, as an example of industrial-era workers' housing.
Significance in brief: The house is significant under Criterion C in Architecture as a surviving example of the post-Civil War worker's cottage, a type that once dominated Black Rock. The survey found as few as four such cottages in the neighborhood with enough exterior integrity for listing. This one is the only known example with both an intact interior plan and an intact late-Victorian porch. It reflects the housing of working-class immigrant families during industrialization.
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 11000741, listed October 18, 2011. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 218 Dearborn St., Buffalo |
|---|---|
| County | Erie County |
| Listed | October 18, 2011 |
| Reference number | 11000741 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c. 1880-1890 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian / Worker's Cottage |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Currently in use as a single dwelling, as it was historically; the exterior and interior woodwork are largely intact, though the interior has no central heat. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.93720, -78.90158 (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 11000741.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14706427
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.