Waddington Historic District
Why it's listed
Eleven buildings line LaGrasse Street at the southern end of Waddington's business core, near the St. Lawrence River. Dating from 1816 to 1919, they include eight residences, a town hall, a library and a church. The earliest are three limestone Federal-style buildings: St. Paul's Episcopal Church, the James Thayer House and the George Redington House, which share similar rock-faced ashlar masonry. St. Paul's, planned by French architect Joseph-Jacques Ramee and finished in 1818, is described as the oldest surviving church building in St. Lawrence County. The 1884 stone Town Hall has two massive corner towers, and the 1919 brick Hepburn Library is a Classical Revival building with a monumental portico and Palladian windows. Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne houses and modest vernacular dwellings fill out the street. Together they show how the village grew from an early water-powered settlement into a farm-region commercial center, and they keep a cohesive nineteenth-century streetscape.
Significance in brief: The district is described as a highly intact and cohesive collection of residential, civic and religious architecture that chronicles a century of the village's development. It includes some of the village's earliest surviving buildings and good examples of Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and Classical Revival styles, along with vernacular buildings.
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 92000457, listed May 18, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Jct. of NY 37 and La Grasse St., Waddington |
|---|---|
| County | St. Lawrence County |
| Listed | May 18, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92000457 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1818-1919 |
| Architect / builder | Isaac Johnson; Joseph-Jacques Ramee |
| Architectural style | Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Classical Revival, No Style |
| Areas of significance | Education, Politics/Government, Architecture, Religion, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Eleven contributing buildings and no non-contributing resources; the district retains a high level of integrity. Uses include residences, town hall, library, church and a museum. One house is noted as somewhat deteriorated. |
| Acreage | 6 |
| Coordinates | 44.86373, -75.20338 (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 92000457.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7958993
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.