Pelton, Gideon, Farm
Why it's listed
Gideon Pelton Farm is a 96-acre farmstead on Rockefellow Lane in the Town of Montgomery, Orange County, New York. Its main building is a farmhouse that began as a one-and-a-half-story stone house around 1770 and gained a three-bay frame wing about 1830, built by the younger Gideon Pelton. The wing carries high-style Greek Revival details, including a sidelit front doorway, a dentiled cornice, molded parlor woodwork and a mahogany stair rail. Unusual twelve-over-twelve window sashes and exposed hand-finished beams in the older stone section link the house to the eighteenth century. Also on the property are a gambrel-roofed barn from about 1928, a late nineteenth-century stone smokehouse, two foundations thought to be tenant houses, and a bed of the old German Palatine road. The farm was listed for showing how local building traditions moved from early stone farmhouses to Greek Revival styling, and for illustrating a working farm's growth over time. The builder of the original house is unknown.
Significance in brief: The farmhouse is argued to be a distinctive, intact example of Greek Revival rural residential architecture in Montgomery. It shows how an eighteenth-century stone ethnic farmhouse was updated with fashionable early nineteenth-century features. The barn, smokehouse, foundations and old Palatine road bed show the farmstead's progression over time and offer a resource for studying rural life in the mid-Hudson and Wallkill Valleys.
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 95001287, listed November 3, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 250 Rockefellow Ln., Montgomery |
|---|---|
| County | Orange County |
| Listed | November 3, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95001287 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca.1770-1928 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival (mid-19th century); also classified as Palatine Settlement |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single dwelling with agricultural outbuildings; the surrounding land is pastured for dairy cows. |
| Acreage | 96 |
| Coordinates | 41.50541, -74.23732 (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 95001287.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5559643
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.