Clare Town Hall
Also known as: Town of Clare Museum
Why it's listed
Built in 1897 on a half-acre lot in Clare, in northern St. Lawrence County, this small frame building served as the town hall for seventy years. Clare had become a township in 1880, and town meetings had been held in a nearby school until the town raised $600, bought the land from John Bird for $10, and hired Bird, then Highway Commissioner, to build the hall. It is a one-story, front-gabled structure with clapboard siding, original two-over-two windows, corner boards, a cornice band and a metal seam roof. Inside is a single large auditorium with a raised stage and beaded board walls. The first recorded board meeting there took place on February 1, 1898, and monthly meetings continued until a new town hall opened in 1968. The building then became the Town of Clare Museum, holding local items such as quilts, farm tools and blacksmith shop equipment. It was listed for its architecture and its role in local government and community life.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is a remarkably intact example of a modest late-19th-century rural civic building, with its exterior and interior unchanged since construction. It served as the seat of town government until 1968 and was a center of local social life.
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 04001343, listed December 6, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 3441 CR 27, Clare |
|---|---|
| County | St. Lawrence County |
| Listed | December 6, 2004 |
| Reference number | 04001343 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1897-1954 |
| Architect / builder | John Bird (Builder) |
| Architectural style | Other/vernacular meeting house |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Now used as the Town of Clare Museum, a repository of local history items; the building is described as looking the same as when built in 1897. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 44.43498, -75.05543 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
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 04001343.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5126263
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.