Row, The
Why it's listed
Three neighboring houses on the south side of Main Street in Three Mile Bay, in the town of Lyme, make up The Row. Built between about 1845 and 1850, the Aura Wilson, Phillip Shay and Hart Knowlton houses share wood-frame construction, limestone rubble foundations, clapboard siding and Greek Revival touches such as Doric porch posts, wide cornerboards and gable-end returns. Each follows the gabled-ell plan, with a gable-front section beside a lower lateral wing and recessed porch. The houses were built by local tradesmen, including a blacksmith, a tailor and a tanner, during the years when the Wilcox shipyard made the hamlet a busy community. The Wilson house is the earliest and best preserved. The Shay and Knowlton houses received early twentieth-century additions, including a major renovation of the Knowlton house in 1917. Six buildings contribute, including privies and a carriage barn. The group is valued as the finest local concentration of a once-common North Country house type.
Significance in brief: The group is significant architecturally as a well-preserved, highly consistent set of three gabled-ell houses with modest Greek Revival details. They were built by ship-carpenters during the shipbuilding boom at Three Mile Bay. The nomination states that nowhere in Lyme is there a finer concentration of this house type.
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 90001329, 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. at Shaver Creek, Three Mile Bay, Chaumont |
|---|---|
| County | Jefferson County |
| Listed | September 6, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90001329 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1845-1850 |
| Architectural style | Vernacular Greek Revival (gabled-ell house type) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The Shay house has been vacant for several years and has deteriorated somewhat; the Knowlton house is a summer residence; the Wilson house is a year-round residence. |
| Acreage | 5 |
| Coordinates | 44.08025, -76.20462 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
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 90001329.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7761641
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.