Godfrey House and Barn Complex
Why it's listed
This farm complex on Rochester Road, just north of the village of Lima, centers on an Italianate farmhouse built around 1853 for Lauren B. Godfrey, a prosperous farmer who also ran a lime kiln. The two-story, cubic house has a low hipped roof, wide eaves with paired brackets, a verandah with cast-iron railings, and richly detailed plaster work inside. Behind it stand two barns, a concrete block garage, a milk house, a chicken house and a terra cotta silo, dating from the 1850s to the 1930s. The farm once covered 195 acres, but only 4.7 acres remain with the buildings. The complex was listed for its architecture and for its role in the farming history of Lima. The house shows how wealthy farmers built fashionable dwellings once the village grew, and the surviving outbuildings keep their original spatial arrangement, showing how a working farm evolved over time.
Significance in brief: The complex is argued to be an unusually intact collection of nineteenth and early twentieth century farm architecture in Lima. The farmhouse is a distinctive local example of Italianate design, with high integrity inside and out. The outbuildings and rural setting also illustrate broad patterns of agricultural development in the town.
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 89001134, listed August 31, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1325 Rochester Rd., Lima |
|---|---|
| County | Livingston County |
| Listed | August 31, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001134 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1850s - ca. 1930s |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is rated good; the property is in private residential use and no threats are known. |
| Acreage | 4.7 |
| Coordinates | 42.92830, -77.61137 (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 89001134.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5576457
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.