Burton, William H., House
Why it's listed
Located at 35 East Main Street in Waterloo, New York, this brick house began about 1830 as a step-gabled Federal style dwelling built by village trustee Moses Severance, who owned a flax seed oil mill and published a newspaper. Attorney and publisher William H. Burton bought it in 1853 and, by about 1870, remodeled it in the Italianate style. He removed the gables, added a hipped roof with cupola and bracketed cornice, and built two rear wings. A porch with rare, intact iron grillwork spans the front. Inside, marble fireplaces, round-arched doorways with compound trim, plaster ceiling medallions and a curved stairway from 1871 survive. Burton served as village attorney, district attorney and trustee president, and published the Waterloo Observer. The building is valued as a representative Italianate house in the village. Since 1965 it has been home to a museum devoted to the birth of Memorial Day in Waterloo in 1866.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is a remarkably intact example of nineteenth-century Italianate domestic architecture in Waterloo, with a cupola, bracketed cornice, rare intact iron porch grillwork and original interior finishes. It is also tied to William H. Burton, a prominent local attorney, village official and newspaper publisher who owned it from 1853 to 1890. Since 1965 it has housed a museum on the origins of Memorial Day in Waterloo.
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 96000675, listed June 14, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 35 E. Main St., Waterloo |
|---|---|
| County | Seneca County |
| Listed | June 14, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96000675 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1870 |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian; Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Currently used as a museum, owned by the Waterloo Library and Historical Society since 1965; the interior floor plan and many original finishes survive. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Waterloo Downtown Historic District |
| Coordinates | 42.90452, -76.86097 (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 96000675.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8010350
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.