Walrath, Arthur, House
Why it's listed
This two-story limestone house stands at the corner of Pike and Washington Streets in Brownville, a small hamlet on the Black River northwest of Watertown. Built around 1811, it is a rectangular building with a gabled roof, five bays, and load-bearing walls of coursed ashlar and rubble cut from local Trenton limestone. Stone lintels top the double-hung windows and doors, an exterior chimney rises on the north side, and a roofed porch shelters the west entrance facing Washington Street. It was built at the same time and for the same purpose as the neighboring Archer House, and the two look alike. During the War of 1812 both temporarily held prisoners. The house is listed as one of five surviving, largely unaltered limestone buildings in Brownville. Together they show early nineteenth-century stone building practice in the St. Lawrence region, and the Walrath House is a good example of the modest dwellings common there in that period.
Significance in brief: The house is a surviving example of the modest vernacular limestone dwellings typical of the St. Lawrence region in the early nineteenth century. It is one of the few substantially unaltered limestone structures in the village. It and its neighbor, the Archer House, also temporarily housed prisoners during the War of 1812.
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 80002627, listed November 19, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 114 Corner Pike, Brownville |
|---|---|
| County | Jefferson County |
| Listed | November 19, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80002627 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Vernacular, five-bay, two-story limestone dwelling with random ashlar load-bearing walls |
| Areas of significance | Military, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Privately owned; the form describes the house as surrounded by lawns and shade trees, with a landscaped garden on the property. The nursery and barn are excluded from the nomination. |
| Acreage | 7.6 |
| Coordinates | 44.00325, -75.98153 (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 80002627.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4800603
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.