Prattsville Commercial Building
Why it's listed
This one-and-one-half-story building on Route 23 at the north end of Prattsville village, Greene County, dates to about 1824. Zadock Pratt, who founded the village and built a large tanning business, erected it. It has a massive hemlock timber frame on a dry-laid fieldstone foundation, vertical plank sheathing under clapboards, and an asphalt-shingled gable roof. Historic maps and an 1828 painting show it first as a blacksmith shop and later as a paint shop. A small work shop was attached on the north side in the 1930s as a kitchen. In the 1970s a brick chimney replaced the original central entrance, and the door moved to the south side. The building is the only surviving commercial or industrial structure Pratt built in the town, one of more than one hundred he erected. It represents modest rural vernacular construction of its era and keeps a high degree of integrity. It now serves as a dwelling.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is a rare surviving early commercial/industrial building in Prattsville and the only one surviving that Zadock Pratt erected in the town. It represents modest, rural vernacular design of the early to mid nineteenth century. It is also tied to Pratt, the tanner, politician and founder of the hamlet.
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 96000203, listed March 1, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | NY 23, Prattsville |
|---|---|
| County | Greene County |
| Listed | March 1, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96000203 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca.1824 |
| Architect / builder | Pratt, Zadock |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Historic use was a specialty store; current use is a single dwelling. The form says that despite deterioration and some alterations it survives in a good state of preservation. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.31694, -74.43472 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 96000203.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7238789
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.