Bragdon-Lipe House
Why it's listed
Built around 1860 by H. S. Bragdon at 17 Otsego Street in Canajoharie, this two-story timber frame house is an early and little-altered example of Italianate design drawn from pattern book sources. It has a flat roof, a bracketed cornice, a rooftop belvedere, tall arched windows with molded hoods, a polygonal side bay with carved trim and a raised basement of dressed limestone. Inside, heavy molded door and window frames recall Gothic forms, while round arches signal the emerging Italianate style. A rear wing was raised to two stories about 1870, when a matching carriage barn was also built. Bragdon apparently built the house as a rental venture. During the 1880s Ephraim Lipe lived there and developed a ham-curing process that his son Walter adopted for the Imperial Packing Company, whose Beech Nut trademark became the name of the village's best-known industry. The property was listed for its architecture and high integrity.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a distinguished and largely unaltered example of early Italianate residential architecture in Canajoharie, based on pattern book design. It also shows transitional features that blend Gothic-influenced Picturesque details with emerging Italianate forms. It has a secondary link to Ephraim Lipe, who developed a ham-curing process while living there in the 1880s, which led to the Beech Nut name.
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 05001123, listed October 5, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 17 Otsego St., Canajoharie |
|---|---|
| County | Montgomery County |
| Listed | October 5, 2005 |
| Reference number | 05001123 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | circa 1860-1890 |
| Architect / builder | H. S. Bragdon (builder) |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th Century/Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Remains a single-family residence; the rear servants' wing was converted to an apartment in the late twentieth century. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Canajoharie Historic District |
| Coordinates | 42.90407, -74.57412 (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 05001123.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4955386
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.