St. Mark's Church
Why it's listed
St. Mark's Church is a small board-and-batten Gothic Revival church on White Street in Clark Mills, a former textile milltown in Oneida County, New York. Built in 1863 on land donated by the local manufacturer A.B. Clark & Co., it has a cruciform plan, a sandstone foundation, a hexagonal apse, tall narrow lancet windows and a steeply pitched roof with cross gables. Inside, wood trusses support exposed rafters, and original stained glass, much of it given by the mill-owning Clark family, lights the nave and chancel. A parish house was added in 1895. The church is believed to have been designed by the Rev. Richard Whittingham and follows the rural Episcopal church model associated with Richard Upjohn. It was listed for its architecture and for its role in the Episcopal Church's expansion and the community's development. The parish rose and fell with the local mills, and the church and parish house together preserve the character of a mid-to-late nineteenth-century rural parish.
Significance in brief: It is an intact example of the board-and-batten Gothic Revival rural church type developed by Richard Upjohn for Episcopal parishes in the mid-nineteenth century (Criterion C). It also reflects the growth of the Episcopal Church and the fortunes of a textile milltown community (Criterion A).
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 96000957, listed August 30, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 19 White St., Clark Mills |
|---|---|
| County | Oneida County |
| Listed | August 30, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96000957 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1863 - 1895 |
| Architect / builder | Believed to have been designed by the Rev. Richard Whittingham |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Religion |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a religious facility; the form lists religion as both its historic and current function. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 43.09032, -75.37937 (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 96000957.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7589918
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.