Tefft-Steadman House
Why it's listed
Set well back from North Street in the village of Marcellus, this brick Greek Revival house was built about 1835 for Dr. Lake I. Tefft, a local physician who later turned to farming. It rests on a high limestone basement and has a two-story center pavilion with a full-height portico, flanked by one-story wings. Its design follows the frontispiece of Minard Lafever's The Modern Builder's Guide, published in 1833, with only a few departures in the plan, such as the missing oval hall and niches. Interior trim, including the shouldered and battered architrave, also draws on Lafever's pattern books. A frame wing at the rear is thought to be older than the brick house. The portico was rebuilt from a historic photograph using original stone scattered in the yard. The house is valued as a highly intact, close translation of a published architectural design into a Central New York village residence.
Significance in brief: The house is significant under Criterion C as a highly intact Greek Revival residence of the second quarter of the nineteenth century in Central New York. It is a nearly direct copy of the frontispiece elevation and first-floor plan in Minard Lafever's The Modern Builder's Guide (1833). Interior woodwork also follows details from Lafever's builders' guides.
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 07001125, listed October 31, 2007. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 18 North St., Marcellus |
|---|---|
| County | Onondaga County |
| Listed | October 31, 2007 |
| Reference number | 07001125 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c.1835 |
| Architect / builder | Minard Lafever's The Modern Builder's Guide (1833) |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th Century: Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used as a single dwelling; the portico was recently restored from a nineteenth-century photograph, and the house was recently occupied and fully functional. |
| Acreage | 0.6 |
| Coordinates | 42.98840, -76.33941 (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 07001125.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7694627
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.