Dubois-Phelps House
Why it's listed
This farmstead on Wallkill Road in Montgomery, New York, centers on a farmhouse whose south half is believed to date to the eighteenth century, possibly as a tenant house on the Bodine farm. In 1851 L. Nathaniel Dubois bought the property and doubled the house in size, giving it Greek Revival features: a sidelit front doorway with pilasters, eyebrow windows set in a wide frieze, corner pilasters, and front and side porches. Inside, a basement keeping room retains a cooking hearth and beehive bake oven. Later owners added a rear sun porch, an oak staircase, a fireplace, and a north addition in the 1910s and 1920s. The farm includes a springhouse, corn crib, wagonhouse with attached shop, small barn, and the buried ruins of a barn complex lost to fire in 1984. The property is valued as a surviving example of an early house adapted to mid-nineteenth-century taste within a working farm setting.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the farmhouse is an intact early dwelling that was extensively remodeled in the Greek Revival era, showing how pioneer building traditions merged with mid-nineteenth-century styles. Its outbuildings and agrarian setting reflect the town's development as a prosperous farming community. Few buildings in the town retain similar Greek Revival features.
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 97000939, listed August 21, 1997. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 90 Walkill Rd., Montgomery |
|---|---|
| County | Orange County |
| Listed | August 21, 1997 |
| Reference number | 97000939 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca.1790 - ca.1940 |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th Century/Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single dwelling; the owner has restored the basement cooking hearth and replaced the standing seam roof with an identical one. |
| Acreage | 61.4 |
| Coordinates | 41.57567, -74.19460 (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 97000939.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5311056
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.