Taft House
Why it's listed
Built in 1908 on Main Street in Three Mile Bay, this two-and-one-half-story clapboard house was the retirement home of J. Wells Taft, a Lyme dairy farmer who had profited from the area's booming hay trade. Charles Gamble & Sons, a Sackets Harbor family of carpenter-builders with their own planing mill, constructed it from a published Radford Architectural Company plan, Design No. 71. The house mixes popular styles of the period: Queen Anne massing, Eastlake-type porch posts, Arts & Crafts diamond-pane windows, and a jerkinhead gable roof. A wrap-around porch, varied window types, and a colored-glass stair window add detail. Inside, the plan, milled woodwork, varnished finishes and many original electrical fixtures survive. A clapboard carriage barn also contributes to the property. The house is valued as a nearly unaltered example of carpenter-built architecture from the early twentieth century and of the Gamble firm's work, which introduced new styles and a new farmhouse type to Lyme.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is a virtually intact example of a carpenter-built early twentieth-century house. Its design came from a Radford Architectural Company catalogue (Design No. 71) and blends Queen Anne, Eastlake and Arts & Crafts elements. It also represents the work of Gamble & Sons, who built about 150 houses in western Jefferson County during the local hay boom.
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 90001297, 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., Three Mile Bay, Chaumont |
|---|---|
| County | Jefferson County |
| Listed | September 6, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90001297 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect unknown (design based on Radford Architectural Company Design No. 71 by William H. Schroeder); builder Gamble and Sons (Charles Gamble & Sons), Sackets Harbor, NY |
| Architectural style | Eclectic: Queen Anne massing, Eastlake-type porch posts, Arts & Crafts diamond-pane windows, Colonial Revival oval window, jerkinhead gable roof |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as excellent; remains in use as a private residence, with no known threats. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 44.08054, -76.20263 (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 90001297.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7675039
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.