Sanders, James, House
Why it's listed
Built in 1827, this two-story brick house on Garden Street in Little Falls was the home of James Sanders, a local building contractor who arrived during the building boom that followed the Erie Canal's opening through the town. Sanders is known to have worked on the canal in 1823 and erected mills, residences and civic buildings, including the original Little Falls Academy. The house has five bays, a center-hall plan, a limestone foundation, and a basement kitchen where the cooking hearth survives. Its segmental-arched entrance with sidelights and transom, mutule-accented cornice and delicate Federal interior trim reflect the influence of New England craftsmen in the Mohawk Valley. A rear wing, a mid-nineteenth-century carriage barn and a 1930s agricultural equipment barn complete the parcel. The house was listed for its architecture, as a well-preserved reminder of the town's early canal-era development. It remains a private single-family residence today.
Significance in brief: The nomination finds it significant under Criterion C as a notable and substantially intact example of brick Federal period residential architecture in Little Falls. It retains integrity of design and materials reflecting building practice in this Erie Canal community in the early nineteenth century. Its segmental-arched Federal entrance is called a notable surviving example of its type and period in the area.
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 06000255, listed April 12, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 546 Garden St., Little Falls |
|---|---|
| County | Herkimer County |
| Listed | April 12, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000255 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1827-circa 1900 |
| Architectural style | Early Republic/Federal |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single-family dwelling, as in its historic function; the rear wing holds a modern kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 43.04532, -74.85728 (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 06000255.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14706620
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.