Bloomer-Dailey House and Balmville Tree
Why it's listed
At the center of the crossroads hamlet of Balmville, just north of Newburgh, stands a small clapboard house whose core dates to about 1750. It began as a one-and-one-half story, three-bay timber-frame cottage with a side-hall plan, and later gained nineteenth century wings and a 1932 addition. In 1914 John Staples renovated it in the Colonial Revival style, adding a porch and central dormer and converting a nineteenth century outbuilding into a matching garage. Inside, the original heavy timber frame, cooking fireplace with iron crane and beamed ceilings survive. Beside the house, at the meeting of Balmville, River and Commonwealth Roads, grows the Balmville Tree, an Eastern Cottonwood dated by coring to 1699 and long mistaken for a Balm of Gilead. Both resources were listed for their architecture, their role in the hamlet's settlement history, and the tree's status as the namesake local landmark. The house is the only building surviving from the pre-Revolutionary hamlet.
Significance in brief: The house is argued to be a rare surviving eighteenth century dwelling in Balmville and an outstanding local example of Colonial Revival alteration, carried out in 1914. The Balmville Tree, dated by coring to 1699, is a community icon that gave the hamlet its name and has long been associated with the house's setting. Together they link the hamlet's earliest settlement era with early twentieth century interest in colonial history.
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 00001420, listed December 7, 2000. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 83 Balmville Rd., Balmville |
|---|---|
| County | Orange County |
| Listed | December 7, 2000 |
| Reference number | 00001420 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | ca.1750 |
| Architect / builder | John Staples (1914 renovation) |
| Architectural style | Colonial; Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals/Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Landscape Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Currently used as a single-family dwelling; the house retains its early core and 1914 Colonial Revival alterations. |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 41.53263, -74.01247 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 00001420.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q48462521
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.