Edgewater Farm
Why it's listed
Edgewater Farm occupies 19.8 acres on Willsboro Point, in Willsboro, Essex County, New York, within sight of Lake Champlain. Its farmhouse grew in three stages. The oldest section, built around 1796 by cabinetmaker Daniel Rowley, Sr., was the first frame house on the Point, where earlier homes were log cabins. In 1807 a landslide sent it sliding toward the bay, and it was skidded to its present site. A kitchen ell followed around 1820, and about 1830 a two-story Greek Revival main house was added, with a pedimented portico, sidelights, and a bluestone foundation quarried on the Point. Surviving outbuildings include a horse barn, a Yankee-style cow and hay barn, an 1891 creamery, a family cemetery and a dry-stone wall. The property was listed because it shows how a settlement-era homestead became a prosperous nineteenth-century farm, and it has remained with the Rowley family for seven generations.
Significance in brief: The farm is argued to illustrate the late eighteenth-century settlement and later agrarian development of Essex County from 1796 to 1900. Its farmhouse combines a settlement-period dwelling, the first frame house on Willsboro Point, with a Greek Revival main house that exemplifies upstate country vernacular architecture. The additions show the growing prosperity of upstate farms in the early nineteenth century, and the property has stayed in the Rowley family for seven generations.
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 88000035, listed February 17, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 470 Point Rd., Willsboro Point |
|---|---|
| County | Essex County |
| Listed | February 17, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88000035 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1796-1900 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival; upstate country vernacular |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied private residence in good condition; not a working farm since 1959. The barns are unused but in good condition, and the creamery is used as a guest cottage. |
| Acreage | 19.8 |
| Coordinates | 44.40099, -73.38446 (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 88000035.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5337842
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.