District School No. 19
Why it's listed
Built in 1837, District School No. 19 is a one-room schoolhouse of Chaumont rubble limestone on County Road 62 in Sulphur Springs, Hounsfield. It is gable-fronted, three bays by three, with a projecting vestibule that holds the only entrance and a fan-shaped stone plaque reading "D.S. No. 19 1837." Elisha Camp, a prominent Sackets Harbor citizen, donated the stone for at least four such schools to promote settlement and education in the town. The building kept its original form and interior plan, with wide plank floors, plaster walls and early twentieth-century milk glass globes. A seven-window band added on the west side around 1900 reflects national efforts to improve light and ventilation in rural schools. Pupils attended until centralization in 1938. The Sulphur Springs Cemetery Association later bought the building and now uses it for storage, including a bin for caskets in winter. A wood shed and privy behind it, now a tool shed, is non-contributing.
Significance in brief: It is a well-preserved example of the one-room rubble limestone schoolhouses built in Hounsfield during its period of stone construction, ca. 1810-1840. Chaumont limestone for it was donated by Elisha Camp. A turn-of-the-century window band on the west side reflects the national movement to improve rural school buildings.
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 89001618, listed October 18, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Co. Rd. 69, Hounsfield |
|---|---|
| County | Jefferson County |
| Listed | October 18, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001618 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect and builder unknown |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition rated good; currently used for storage by the cemetery association, including a bin for winter casket storage. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 43.92467, -76.03106 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
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 89001618.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5283371
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.