Ferguson Farm Complex
Why it's listed
Along Route 20 in Duanesburg, a farmhouse and its barns form a small farm complex on about two and a half acres. The house dates to around 1848, when John A. Ferguson of Princetown bought the land from Adelia, youngest daughter of James Duane, and built a large but simple Greek Revival farmhouse. It has two stories, clapboard siding, a street-facing gable, a wide frieze, cornice returns, heavy corner pilasters and a side entrance with sidelights and a transom. Wings extend to the west and east. The outbuildings trace the farm's growth: a mid-nineteenth-century small barn now used as a garage, a tool shed, a late nineteenth-century gambrel-roofed hay barn, and an early twentieth-century rainbow-roofed dairy barn designed for cow welfare and sanitary milk handling, with a silo behind. Highways cut through the original farm, so only the house and barn area was included in the listing. The complex is valued for its vernacular architecture and its record of local dairying.
Significance in brief: The farmhouse is a distinctive example of vernacular Greek Revival residential architecture, with a gable end facing the street, flanking wings, wide frieze, cornice returns, corner pilasters and a trabeated entrance. The outbuildings, including a gambrel-roofed hay barn and a rainbow-roofed dairy barn, show the farm's development and the rise of dairying in the area.
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 87000913, listed April 24, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | NY 20, Duanesburg |
|---|---|
| County | Schenectady County |
| Listed | April 24, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87000913 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Vernacular Greek Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Private residence in good condition with a new roof; the only listed alteration is the roof, and no threats are known. |
| Acreage | 2.5 |
| Coordinates | 42.76045, -74.11502 (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 87000913.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5444236
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.