Lance Farm
Why it's listed
Lance Farm is a dairy and hay farm on Point Peninsula in the town of Lyme, Jefferson County, near the Toad Hole inlet on Lake Ontario. The complex has a 1908 farmhouse, a cattle barn of 1916, a mid-nineteenth-century horse barn, a granary, a milk house and a forge, set among 188.9 acres of hayfields. Peter Lance arrived from Herkimer County in 1848, and by 1870 he had opened the first cheese factory in Lyme on this farm. The farm grew with the railroad, the dairy trade and the turn-of-the-century hay boom. The two-and-one-half-story farmhouse was built by Charles Gamble & Sons of Sackets Harbor, a firm that built about 150 houses in western Jefferson County. It has a large scale, shingled gable dormers, Queen Anne sash and turned porch woodwork. The surviving buildings and open farmland together show how a North Country farmstead was built and arranged. A ruin of the original 1860 farmhouse does not contribute.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the farm as an intact late nineteenth to early twentieth century farmstead that grew with the region's dairy industry and the turn-of-the-century hay boom. Its 1908 farmhouse is cited as work of Charles Gamble & Sons of Sackets Harbor, leading local carpenter-builders. The farm also had the first cheese factory in Lyme, founded by Peter Lance, and its barns and outbuildings record local building and farm layout practices.
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 90001323, listed September 6, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | S. Shore Rd., Chaumont |
|---|---|
| County | Jefferson County |
| Listed | September 6, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90001323 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1860-1920 |
| Architect / builder | Charles Gamble & Sons of Sackets Harbor (farmhouse); otherwise architect and builder listed as unknown |
| Architectural style | Carpenter-built farmhouse in the Gamble style with Queen Anne sash; vernacular farm outbuildings |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition rated good; the farmhouse is still a residence and the property is a private farm. The outbuildings are used for boat storage, general storage and maple syrup making, and the 1860 farmhouse survives only as a ruin. |
| Acreage | 189 |
| Coordinates | 43.98107, -76.26027 (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 90001323.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6483384
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.