LeRoy House and Union Free School
Why it's listed
At 23 East Main Street in the Village of LeRoy, a Greek Revival house and a later school building stand together on a 3.1 acre lot. The house is a stuccoed masonry residence of two and a half stories, with a columned front portico, a center-hall plan and elliptical interior arches. It began as a land office, which Jacob LeRoy bought in 1823 and enlarged into a spacious home. LeRoy entertained guests there, including Daniel Webster, and built a grist mill on Oatka Creek. Later the house was the residence of Dr. Samuel Hanson Cox, first chancellor of Ingham University, and then served as a boarding house for the LeRoy Academic Institute, which opened in 1865. In 1891 the Union Free School District bought the property, and about 1898 it built the three-story masonry school behind the house. The house now operates as a museum run by the local historical society, while the school remains a contributing resource.
Significance in brief: The LeRoy House began as a land office and became the residence of Jacob LeRoy, a prominent early citizen involved in land sales, milling and civic life. It later housed Ingham University's first chancellor and served the LeRoy Academic Institute and the local public school system. The adjacent Union Free School, built ca. 1898, is an intact example of its type with a documented link to the house.
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 97001388, listed November 7, 1997. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 23 E. Main St., Leroy |
|---|---|
| County | Genesee County |
| Listed | November 7, 1997 |
| Reference number | 97001388 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th Century/Greek Revival (LeRoy House); Late Victorian (Union Free School) |
| Areas of significance | Education, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The LeRoy House is used as a museum and offices by the LeRoy Historical Society, with exhibits, a research library and collections storage. |
| Acreage | 3.1 |
| Coordinates | 42.97846, -77.98618 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
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 97001388.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6507618
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.