Grant Cottage
No coordinates published for this listing.
Why it's listed
Grant Cottage is a two-story wooden house on Mount McGregor in Saratoga County, New York. Duncan McGregor built it in 1872. It has a rectangular plan, a wood frame, clapboard siding and a gabled roof. Three interior brick chimneys with corbeled caps and one end chimney rise above it. A one-story porch wraps the north and west sides, and a wooden deck runs along the east front. In June 1885 the physicians of ailing General Ulysses S. Grant suggested mountain air might help him. Grant was in financial difficulty and needed to finish his memoirs so his widow would not be left penniless. Joseph W. Drexel, the cottage's new owner, offered it to him, and Grant spent his last five weeks there, dying on July 23, 1885. Drexel willed that the cottage be kept exactly as it was at that moment. The furnishings and personal artifacts remain in place, and the State of New York now owns the property, which operates as a museum.
Significance in brief: It is where General Ulysses S. Grant spent his last five weeks and died on July 23, 1885, while finishing his memoirs. The nomination argues it has special historic value because the furnishings and personal artifacts present at his death remain in the house, kept that way through a deliberate act of preservation.
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 100006247. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | CR 101 N of Rte. 9, Mount McGregor |
|---|---|
| County | Saratoga County |
| Listed | — |
| Reference number | 100006247 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Duncan McGregor (erected the cottage in 1872) |
| Areas of significance | Military, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| National Historic Landmark | Yes, designated January 13, 2021 |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed in good condition, unaltered and on its original site. It is occupied and used as a museum, and not all portions are open to the public. The interior and furniture remain nearly as they were the day Grant died. |
| Acreage | 9.9 |
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 100006247.
- 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.