Davis, Charles Homer, House
Why it's listed
Built around 1869, this Second Empire house on West Neck Road in Lloyd Harbor was the country estate of Charles Homer Davis, a West Neck native who made his fortune as a Manhattan builder and brick yard partner. The clapboard house has a slate mansard roof with iron cresting, ornate dormers, a bracketed porch and a truncated corner tower. Inside, a center-hall plan retains original floors, mantels and ceiling medallions. Davis, listed as a builder, probably drew on pattern books, and the dormer and window details appear to follow plates in Cummings and Miller's Modern American Architecture. The house is considered significant as an excellent, well-preserved example of its style in an area where few comparable houses were built, and for its link to Davis, who established one of the earliest estates in the Lloyd Harbor area. A local survey found only eight extant Second Empire houses in Huntington, and this one is described as the most intact.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is an excellent, high-style and remarkably intact example of Second Empire architecture in an area with few houses of such size or sumptuousness. Its details can be linked to period pattern books, especially Cummings and Miller's Modern American Architecture. It is also significant for its association with Davis, a successful New York City builder who returned to West Neck to create one of the earliest estates in the Lloyd Harbor 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 06000057, listed February 22, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 381 W. Neck Rd., Lloyd Harbor |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | February 22, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000057 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c. 1869 |
| Architect / builder | Charles Homer Davis |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Social History, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used as a residence; the house has been restored over several decades, though it lost its tower roof in the early 1960s and a front balconette was removed. |
| Acreage | 2.1 |
| Coordinates | 40.89358, -73.45447 (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 06000057.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5079100
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.