Smith, Henry Tunis, Farm
Also known as: Meadowbrook Farm
Why it's listed
Meadowbrook Farm, also called the Henry Tunis Smith Farm, is a 157-acre working property on Route 203 about a mile south of Nassau village. Its wood farmhouse, dated to about 1800, is a one-and-a-half-story, five-bay block with end chimneys, a dentil, triglyph and mutule frieze, and a fanlight-style entrance with sidelights. Three white barns, a shed, a corn crib and three small silos stand north of the house. The land was settled by Revolutionary War veterans and later leased and then owned by Henry Tunis Smith, who lived there from 1793 until 1856. He ran it as a cash-crop farm and enlarged the house, probably adding the north parlor with its Adamesque mantel. His son Thomas kept a diary mentioning the farm and built an iron furnace in the village. The interiors remain unusually intact, and the farm is still used for horses while many nearby farms have been lost or altered.
Significance in brief: The farm is tied to the growth of the Nassau village area and keeps more of its architectural and historic integrity than other farms nearby. Henry Tunis Smith, a successful cash-crop farmer, owned it from 1793 until his death in 1856 and improved the house. As surrounding farms are idle, converted to housing or altered, this one remains in agricultural use with a largely unchanged Federal-era house.
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 75001222, listed September 18, 1975. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | S of Nassau on NY 203, Nassau |
|---|---|
| County | Rensselaer County |
| Listed | September 18, 1975 |
| Reference number | 75001222 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| Areas of significance | Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied and used as a horse farm by its owners at the time of nomination. The only alteration by them was a rear kitchen wing. |
| Acreage | 162.5 |
| Coordinates | 42.49358, -73.61908 (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 75001222.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14706348
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.