St. Paul's Church
Why it's listed
St. Paul's Church is a small wooden Gothic Revival church on Genesee Street in the village of Chittenango, Madison County, New York. Built in 1865-66 by an anonymous local builder, it follows the board-and-batten style associated with Richard Upjohn's designs for modest Episcopal churches. Church tradition holds that St. Peter's Church in Cazenovia served as its model. The front facade is notable for six tall pinnacles with trefoil ornaments, jigsawn trim and pointed-arch openings with hood moldings. Inside, curving timber braces and scissor trusses support a dark-stained beaded-board ceiling. The church was built on the filled turn basin of the Chittenango Canal, in a village that grew with the Erie Canal. It represents the parishes that spread across the region in the mid-nineteenth century under Bishop De Lancey. Apart from a closing in 1880-81, it has served the community continuously, and its commercial village setting retains much of its older scale.
Significance in brief: The church is an intact example of a small wooden Episcopal church freely adapted from designs by Richard Upjohn, with its pinnacles, siding, buttresses and windows still in place. It also documents the spread of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Western New York period, when parishes were founded in communities along developing transportation corridors.
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 96000956, listed August 30, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 204 Genesee St., Chittenango |
|---|---|
| County | Madison County |
| Listed | August 30, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96000956 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1865-1866 |
| Architect / builder | Anonymous local builder; design freely adapted from Richard Upjohn's designs for small wooden Episcopal churches |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Religion |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Continuously in service as a church except for a brief closing in 1880-81; the rear parish hall (1928) has been remodeled several times and lacks historic integrity. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 43.04375, -75.86624 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Religious properties are listed for their architectural or historical significance, not their religious use. Listing is honorary and does not restrict the congregation's use of the building. The federal rehabilitation credit is generally unavailable unless part of the building is income-producing; some state programmes and preservation grants do cover religious buildings. Federal funding or permits trigger Section 106 review.
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 96000956.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7591051
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.