Standard Yarn Company Building
Why it's listed
Standing at 317 West First Street in Oswego, this brick mill building runs nearly 200 feet along the sidewalk. It was built in three sections between 1897 and 1911 for the Standard Yarn Company. The south wing, two stories high, served as the picker house, where raw cotton was cleaned before spinning. In 1911 a three-story warehouse with a raised basement replaced an earlier one-story storage building, and a railroad siding entered it at basement level. Construction is common mill type, with load-bearing brick walls and heavy wooden posts supporting wooden floors. The company operated here until 1924, after which the buildings were used for storage by a shade cloth company, a candy company storing cocoa beans, and later a trucking business. The associated mill is gone. The building keeps its brick exterior, original window pattern and open interior, and is one of the most intact survivors of the industrial corridor that once lined the Oswego River.
Significance in brief: The building is argued to be significant under Criterion C as an intact example of a turn-of-the-twentieth-century industrial building once common in Oswego. It is one of the most important survivors of an industrial district that once lined the Oswego River, most of which was lost to business failure, relocation and urban renewal.
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 08000410, listed May 15, 2008. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 317 W. 1st St., Oswego |
|---|---|
| County | Oswego County |
| Listed | May 15, 2008 |
| Reference number | 08000410 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1897-1911 |
| Architectural style | OTHER (utilitarian industrial, common mill construction) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as warehouse space; the associated mill was demolished before 1951. The building has undergone very few structural changes. |
| Acreage | 1.7 |
| Within district | New York State Barge Canal |
| Coordinates | 43.45441, -76.50814 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 08000410.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7598327
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.