Conklin Farm
Why it's listed
Conklin Farm is a dairy farm on Evans Road in the northeast part of Hounsfield, Jefferson County, New York. Its core is a two-and-one-half-story double farmhouse built in 1905 by local carpenter William Gladwyn for brothers Herbert and William Conklin. The house has a cross-shaped plan, twin porches with turned posts, a rusticated quarry-faced foundation and mirror-image interiors, each side with its own dining room, living room, kitchen and three bedrooms. A shared woodshed at the rear links the two halves. Around it stand a timber-frame horsebarn and a milk house of about 1910, plus the ruins of a cattle barn with its silo and a chicken coop. A ca. 1920 garage is altered and counted as non-contributing. The farm retains 194 acres of pasture and fields. It is significant as a rare double-farmhouse in the town and as a well-preserved example of the turn-of-the-century change from hay to dairy and poultry farming. Milk production stopped in 1970.
Significance in brief: The farm is presented as a largely intact early twentieth century dairy farm that kept its original buildings, agricultural setting and much of its acreage. Its farmhouse is a unique example in Hounsfield of a double-farmhouse, with mirror-image interior plans. The complex also illustrates the local shift from a hay economy to dairy and poultry production around 1900.
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 89001624, listed October 18, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Evans Rd., Hounsfield |
|---|---|
| County | Jefferson County |
| Listed | October 18, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001624 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1905-1910 |
| Architect / builder | Architect unknown; builder William Gladwyn, Dexter, NY |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Residence in use; the house is in good condition. The horsebarn leans, the garage is very deteriorated, and the cattle barn and chicken coop are ruins. Dairy operations ended in 1970. |
| Acreage | 194 |
| Coordinates | 43.98679, -75.98891 (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 89001624.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5161217
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.