Moore-Howland Estate
Why it's listed
Perched on a high bluff above the Hudson River just north of Catskill, this estate centers on a long, rambling house of Catskill stone and board-and-batten wood. It grew in two stages. A small gambrel-roofed cottage called the Lodge was built in 1866-67 for the landscape painter Charles Herbert Moore and his wife, Mary Jane Tomlinson Moore. A much larger section, with a projecting pavilion, a shingled octagonal water tower and a service wing, was added in 1900-1901. Stone chimneys, deep eaves with scalloped rafter ends and wide porches facing the river and the Catskills give the whole an overall unity. Moore, a follower of Ruskin and a founder of the American Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, later became the first director of Harvard's Fogg Museum. In 1871 the property passed to Benjamin Howland, whose family included the reformer Emily Howland. The nominated land is the original twenty-three acres, with a carriage house, garden house, gazebo and other outbuildings. Alterations since the 1920s include a studio window and a 1983 kitchen.
Significance in brief: The nomination ties the property to landscape painter Charles Herbert Moore, who had the original cottage built in 1866-67 and later became the first director of Harvard's Fogg Museum. It is also tied to the Howland family, who bought it in 1871, and the 1900-1901 expansion gave the house a unified design. The surviving house and outbuildings keep much of their historic character.
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 10000609, listed August 30, 2010. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 4 NY 385, Catskill |
|---|---|
| County | Greene County |
| Listed | August 30, 2010 |
| Reference number | 10000609 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian / Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single residence; the house has had additions and interior remodelings from the 1920s to the present, including a 1983 kitchen wing. |
| Acreage | 23 |
| Coordinates | 42.24850, -73.85676 (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 10000609.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6908119
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.