Chaumont Grange Hall and Dairymen's League Building
Why it's listed
Built around 1898 on Main Street in Chaumont, this two and one-half story building served two purposes at once. The ground floor was a marketing point for milk, butter and cheese from a farm run by the local Dairymen's League, while the upper floor was a meeting hall leased to Chaumont Grange No. 855. A light wood frame is sheathed in galvanized metal siding stamped to look like clapboards, a material used on three buildings erected after the 1897 fire. Inside, the second-floor hall keeps matchstick board paneling, a raised stage, a hand-painted agricultural backdrop, a wood stove and a gaslight fixture. A 1935 flood damaged the stone foundation, and the building was moved about 40 feet east. The league disbanded in 1922 and the grange bought the building; the grange closed after World War II. The hall stood empty until a 1987 purchase for rehabilitation as a museum. It is valued as a well-preserved local example of grange hall design.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is an intact, representative example of grange hall and meeting hall plan and design in the town of Lyme, with a large open ground floor and a second-floor hall with stage. It is unusual as a dual-purpose building shared by the Dairymen's League and the Chaumont Grange. Its hand-painted stage backdrop and stamped metal siding, one of three metal-clad buildings built after Chaumont's 1897 fire, add distinction.
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 90001337, listed September 6, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Main St., Chaumont |
|---|---|
| County | Jefferson County |
| Listed | September 6, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90001337 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect and builder unknown |
| Architectural style | Grange hall / meeting hall (traditional rural grange hall plan) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition rated good. The building stood vacant and unused until 1987, when it was purchased for rehabilitation as a museum. It was moved about 40 feet on the same lot in 1935 after a flood. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 44.06528, -76.12853 (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 90001337.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5088187
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.