Sharon Springs Historic District
Also known as: See Also:American Hotel
Why it's listed
Sharon Springs Historic District occupies the northeast portion of a rural village in Schoharie County, New York, where faults in a limestone bed yielded the mineral springs that gave the community its name. The district preserves the surviving core of a spa resort active from about 1825 to 1941. Its centerpiece is a group of four spring houses and four bathhouses, including the cast iron Magnesia Temple of 1863 and the nineteenth-century Lower and Inhalation Bath Houses. Around them stand large frame hotels such as the 1928 Mission style Adler and the Greek Revival American Hotel, along with about twenty boardinghouses, commercial blocks, churches, a 1904 synagogue and family estates. Roughly half the buildings are private residences, many of which once took in paying guests. Because automobile-era growth followed Route 20 instead, the spa area was left largely intact. The district is significant locally for this concentration of resort architecture.
Significance in brief: The district holds what remains of a historic mineral water spa and a rare collection of spring houses and bathhouses built for "taking the waters." Its hotels, boardinghouses and residences show how the resort shaped the village. Later development followed Route 20 and bypassed the spa area, which helped preserve it. The state certified it as locally significant.
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 94000541, listed June 3, 1994. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Jct. of NY 10 and US 20, Sharon Springs |
|---|---|
| County | Schoharie County |
| Listed | June 3, 1994 |
| Reference number | 94000541 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | ca. 1825-1941 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Beaux Arts, Colonial Revival, Mission |
| Areas of significance | Health/Medicine, Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Many buildings remain in use as hotels, boardinghouses and dwellings. Some are deteriorated, and vacant lots mark the sites of former hotels. The count is 177 contributing and 17 noncontributing resources. |
| Acreage | 374 |
| Coordinates | 42.79524, -74.61741 (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 94000541.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7490212
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.