Homestead, The
Why it's listed
Perched on a steep hillside above the south shore of Lake Flower in Saranac Lake, this small gambrel-roofed Colonial Revival house at 3 Maple Hill dates from about 1890. It is a square, two-story frame building with clapboard siding on the first floor, shingles above, and a stone and concrete foundation. Its most striking features are a large octagonal glass-enclosed porch on the northeast corner and a veranda across the north facade, both with original ornamental detail and nine-pane casement windows. These date from the era when the village was a center for treating tuberculosis. The house operated as a boarding house type cure cottage, a small establishment that rented rooms to one or two patients, and was listed as such by the T.B. Society in 1915. It is regarded as an excellent example of that type, built during the industry's first boom period, and it retains a high degree of integrity. A modern rear porch is the main later addition.
Significance in brief: The house is considered architecturally significant as a boarding house type cure cottage from the first growth period of Saranac Lake's tuberculosis cure industry (1888-1918). It is an excellent example of a small boarding house that took in one or two tubercular patients, and its octagonal glass-enclosed cure porch is an unusual feature. It retains a high degree of integrity.
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 92001418, listed November 6, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 3 Maple Hill, Saranac Lake |
|---|---|
| County | Franklin County |
| Listed | November 6, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92001418 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca.1890-ca.1940 |
| Architectural style | Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals: Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Health/Medicine, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single dwelling; a modern 12 by 18-foot porch has been added to the rear. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | New York Central Railroad Adirondack Division Historic District |
| Coordinates | 44.32333, -74.13153 (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 92001418.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7740097
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.