Old Southeast Church
Why it's listed
Old Southeast Church is a two-story frame church on a hillside beside State Route 22 near Brewster, in Putnam County. It was built in 1793-1794 as a meetinghouse to replace earlier log and frame churches in the area, with a committee of John Waring, David L. DeForest and Joseph Crane, Jr. overseeing construction. A fire on March 5, 1830 damaged the building, and the repairs, costing $1,115, also changed it: the entrance moved to the west side, a belfry was added, and a vestibule was created. Inside, Doric columns support a gallery on three sides, and the pews are painted and grained. Light fixtures from the later nineteenth century remain. A small frame schoolhouse, believed to be among the oldest school buildings in the county, stands to the west. The church is valued as a landmark of Doanesburg, the early principal hamlet of eastern Putnam County, and as a plain, well-proportioned and little-altered example of its period.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the church as the commanding architectural feature and one of the few surviving landmarks of the early settlement of Doanesburg, once the principal hamlet of eastern Putnam County. It is described as a well-proportioned, simple frame building that has remained largely free of twentieth-century changes. It also retains early interior features and later nineteenth-century lighting fixtures.
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 72000903, listed July 24, 1972. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | N of Brewster on NY 22 off Putnam Lake Rd., Brewster |
|---|---|
| County | Putnam County |
| Listed | July 24, 1972 |
| Reference number | 72000903 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 18th and 19th centuries (specific dates 1794; 1830) |
| Architect / builder | Building committee of John Waring, David L. DeForest and Joseph Crane, Jr. |
| Architectural style | Eighteenth-century meetinghouse plan, altered in 1830 |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition rated fair; described as unaltered and on its original site. A later 1978 grant application describes it as not a working parish church but planned for interdenominational services and community educational use. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.43144, -73.57427 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Religious properties are listed for their architectural or historical significance, not their religious use. Listing is honorary and does not restrict the congregation's use of the building. The federal rehabilitation credit is generally unavailable unless part of the building is income-producing; some state programmes and preservation grants do cover religious buildings. Federal funding or permits trigger Section 106 review.
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 72000903.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q2018479
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.