Jennings Cottage
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Built by 1897 on land once part of a hop farm, this two and one-half story house at 16 Marshall Street in Saranac Lake began as a single-family home. A 1917 health survey recorded a tubercular resident there. In the 1920s and 1930s it belonged to Jim Jennings, the village police chief. Around 1923 the front was extended about twelve feet eastward and the rear was reworked to create five cure porches. Mrs. Jennings then ran it as a boarding cottage for mobile tuberculosis patients, and it was registered as a private sanatorium in 1935 with room for seven patients. The house shows Bungalow-inspired features, including a low-pitched gable roof with exposed rafters, a cobblestone chimney, fieldstone foundations, grouped multiple-pane windows and a veranda with Doric columns. The sleeping porches keep their beaded board walls, sloped floors and original finishes. It has changed little since 1923 and was listed for its architecture and its link to the tuberculosis cure industry.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is an intact, representative example of twentieth century domestic architecture adapted for commercial use as a tuberculosis cure cottage. It shows how the cure industry reshaped existing houses in Saranac Lake. It also keeps a high degree of integrity of setting, location, materials, design and association.
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 92001419, listed November 6, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 16 Marshall St., Saranac Lake |
|---|---|
| County | Franklin County |
| Listed | November 6, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92001419 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c.1897-c.1940 |
| Architectural style | Bungalow/Craftsman |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Health/Medicine, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function is listed as single dwelling; the text notes alteration to apartment use in more recent years. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | New York Central Railroad Adirondack Division Historic District |
| Coordinates | 44.33080, -74.13029 (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 92001419.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6179012
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.