Lindesay Patent Rural Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Also known as: See Also:Cherry Valley Village Historic District
Why it's listed
Covering 9,200 acres in southwestern Cherry Valley, Otsego County, New York, this rural district follows the boundaries of the Lindesay Patent, granted in 1738 and surveyed in 1739 into ninety-two lots of about 100 acres each. That grid still shapes property lines, field divisions, stone walls, hedgerows and the road network, and about a quarter of the patent keeps boundaries close to the original survey. The district contains the village of Cherry Valley, which serves as the service center for surrounding farmsteads, along with working dairy farms and mostly timber buildings in Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and other styles. It counts 563 contributing resources, including 554 buildings, and 219 non-contributing buildings, mainly sheds, garages and post-war farm structures. Because little new construction has occurred since the early twentieth century, the landscape keeps a nineteenth-century character of a compact village surrounded by open farmland. The relationship of village to farms is the main reason for its recognition.
Significance in brief: The district is significant because the original grid of roughly 100-acre lots still organizes property lines, field divisions, and roads. Farmsteads and a nuclear village have kept an essentially nineteenth-century agricultural appearance. The village has served the surrounding farms since the late eighteenth century, and little new building has occurred since the early twentieth century.
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 95001024, listed August 18, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by US 20, NY 166, Fields Rd., O'Neil Rd., Co. Rd. 33 and Shipway Rd., Cherry Valley |
|---|---|
| County | Otsego County |
| Listed | August 18, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95001024 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Bungalow/Craftsman |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Retains working dairy farms and an active village; 563 contributing and 219 non-contributing resources are counted. |
| Acreage | 9105 |
| Coordinates | 42.96120, -74.78601 (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 95001024.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.