Van Wagenen, Jacobus, Stone House
Why it's listed
Set on a wooded hill at the corner of Lucas Turnpike and Kyserike Road in the town of Rochester, this stone house dates to about 1751 and remains a single-family home. It is a traditional one-and-one-half story, gable-roofed building with a central chimney and a north gable-end chimney. Early twentieth-century changes include a Doric-columned porch, gabled dormers and a wing with a recessed porch, but the interior keeps its wide plank floors, moldings, architraves and exposed ceiling beams. The house is listed for its architecture. It represents the linear stone dwelling that dominated Ulster County building from the late seventeenth to the mid nineteenth century; of fifty-six surviving masonry houses in Rochester built before 1850, thirty-eight follow this form. It is also tied to the Van Wagenen family. Jacobus Van Wagenen, probably its builder, served as a Rochester trustee and in the Ulster County militia, and the family held the property into the twentieth century.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is an example of the classic one-and-one-half story linear stone house that was the predominant stone dwelling form in Ulster County and the Town of Rochester from the late seventeenth to the mid nineteenth century. It is also significant as the early eighteenth-century home of the Van Wagenen family, important in local history.
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 99000999, listed August 12, 1999. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 2659 Lucas Turnpike, Rochester |
|---|---|
| County | Ulster County |
| Listed | August 12, 1999 |
| Reference number | 99000999 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca.1751 |
| Architect / builder | Jacobus Van Wagenen (most likely builder, per the narrative); the form lists the architect/builder as n/a |
| Architectural style | Colonial/Dutch Colonial |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a single dwelling; early twentieth-century porch, dormers and a south wing have been added, and a non-contributing garage and stone well cover stand on the property. |
| Acreage | 9.3 |
| Coordinates | 41.80420, -74.17710 (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 99000999.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6119898
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.