Tioga Centre General Store
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Standing in the middle of the hamlet of Tioga Center, this two-story general store was built around 1849 by a Schoonover whose descendants still live in the town. It is a rectangular, front-gabled Greek Revival building, twenty feet wide and 61.5 feet deep, with clapboard siding, a stone foundation and a hand-hewn post-and-girt frame joined with wooden pegs and hand-forged nails. The facade has a full entablature and triangular pediment with an unusual horizontal attic window. Later changes include an early-twentieth-century storefront and porch, a former telephone exchange extension, and a rear lean-to shed. Two painted soft-drink advertisements dated 1981 decorate the side wall. The store has served the community continuously, selling housewares, farm needs, dry goods and clothing, and it was a popular local meeting place. It is considered the only surviving commercial structure of significance in the hamlet, and it is valued as a largely intact mid-nineteenth-century commercial building.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the store is a substantially intact example of a mid-nineteenth-century Greek Revival commercial building in a small rural hamlet (Criterion C). It has operated as a retail establishment continuously since 1849 and is the only surviving commercial structure of significance in Tioga Center (Criterion A).
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 02001709, listed January 15, 2003. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 3019 NY 17C, Tioga Center |
|---|---|
| County | Tioga County |
| Listed | January 15, 2003 |
| Reference number | 02001709 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1849-1952 |
| Architect / builder | E.H. Schoonover (the form also names F.W. Schoonover as builder in the narrative) |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Currently operated as an antique shop and old-fashioned ice cream parlor; the form lists its current function as general store. |
| Acreage | 1.6 |
| Coordinates | 42.05707, -76.34763 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 02001709.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7808700
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.