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National Register of Historic Places listings in Orleans County, New York facts for kids

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Map of New York highlighting Orleans County
Location of Orleans County in New York

Orleans County, New York, is home to many special places listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This register is like a national scrapbook of important buildings, sites, and areas that tell America's story. When a place is on this list, it means it's worth protecting and remembering for future generations.

In Orleans County, there are 27 places on this list. Two of them, the New York State Barge Canal and the Cobblestone Historic District, are even more special. They are called National Historic Landmarks, which means they are super important to the history of the entire country!

Cool Places in Orleans County

Orleans County has fewer listed places than most other counties in New York. But the ones it has are very interesting! Seven of these listings are historic districts. A historic district is an area with many buildings that share a common history or style. For example, Mount Albion Cemetery is a historic site, but it's also considered a district because of its size and many features. The other 20 listings are individual buildings.

What Kinds of Buildings?

Many of the buildings on the list were once homes. Some were even inns that later became houses. The Tousley-Church House, for instance, is now used by the local Daughters of the American Revolution group. The historic districts also include many homes.

Other important buildings include the post offices in Albion and Medina, and the Medina Armory. The armory is now a YMCA, a place for sports and community activities. While no churches or schools are listed on their own, some are part of larger historic districts. For example, the Cobblestone Historic District has an old one-room schoolhouse.

How Big Are These Places?

The five historic districts in Orleans County cover about 104 acres. Most of this land belongs to Mt. Albion Cemetery, which is the largest listed site at 70 acres. The Cobblestone Historic District is the smallest historic landmark district in New York. It has three buildings on less than an acre of land.

The other three districts are in the busy downtown areas of Medina and Albion. Albion has two districts that are right next to each other. One has public buildings, churches, and homes, while the other is mostly shops and businesses. Medina's Main Street Historic District is almost all commercial buildings.

Most buildings within these historic districts are considered "contributing properties." This means they help make the district special. The Albion post office is in a historic district, but it's not a "contributing property" because it was built much later than the other buildings in that area.

Places on the National Register

Name on the Register Image Date listed Location City or town Description
1 Bacon–Harding Farm
Bacon–Harding Farm
February 27, 2013
(#13000041)
3077 Oak Orchard Road
43°16′02″N 78°11′31″W / 43.267273°N 78.192016°W / 43.267273; -78.192016 (Bacon–Harding Farm)
Gaines This farm is over 200 years old and still owned by the same family. It has a beautiful 1844 cobblestone farmhouse.
2 William V. N. Barlow House
William V. N. Barlow House
September 8, 1983
(#83001757)
223 S. Clinton St.
43°14′22″N 78°11′47″W / 43.239444°N 78.196389°W / 43.239444; -78.196389 (William V. N. Barlow House)
Albion William Barlow, who designed many important buildings in Albion, built this unique home for himself in 1875. It still has one of the village's few old hand-pumped wells.
3 Jackson Blood Cobblestone House
Jackson Blood Cobblestone House
June 30, 2005
(#05000635)
142 S. Main St.
43°19′00″N 78°23′22″W / 43.316775°N 78.389383°W / 43.316775; -78.389383 (Jackson Blood Cobblestone House)
Lyndonville The Blood family supposedly built this fancy 1846 cobblestone house by bringing stones from Lake Ontario themselves.
4 Boxwood Cemetery
January 27, 2015
(#14001216)
3717 N. Gravel Rd.
43°14′04″N 78°23′59″W / 43.2344879°N 78.3996647°W / 43.2344879; -78.3996647 (Boxwood Cemetery)
Medina This small cemetery started in the 1860s. Many of Medina's first settlers are buried here.
5 Butterfield Cobblestone House
Butterfield Cobblestone House
March 1, 2010
(#10000044)
4690 Bennetts Corners Rd.
43°11′19″N 78°01′02″W / 43.188611°N 78.017222°W / 43.188611; -78.017222 (Butterfield Cobblestone House)
Clarendon Built in 1849, this cobblestone house is the only one of its kind in Clarendon. It's considered the best example of its style in the county.
6 Clarendon Stone Store
May 9, 2012
(#12000258)
16301 E. Lee Rd.
43°11′38″N 78°03′53″W / 43.1938°N 78.0647°W / 43.1938; -78.0647 (Clarendon Stone Store)
Clarendon This old general store was one of the first buildings to use local Medina sandstone. It's also known as the "Old Stone Store."
7 Cobblestone Historic District
Cobblestone Historic District
April 1, 1993
(#93001603)
Ridge Rd. (NY 104)
43°17′13″N 78°11′24″W / 43.286944°N 78.19°W / 43.286944; -78.19 (Cobblestone Historic District)
Childs This is Orleans County's only National Historic Landmark. It has three 19th-century cobblestone buildings, including New York's oldest known cobblestone church.
8 Cobblestone Inn
Cobblestone Inn
July 24, 2007
(#07000755)
12226 Ridge Rd.
43°16′28″N 78°19′59″W / 43.274444°N 78.333056°W / 43.274444; -78.333056 (Cobblestone Inn)
Oak Orchard on-the-Ridge Built in 1837, this tavern might be the largest cobblestone building in the state. It used to be a restaurant and is now two homes.
9 Benjamin Franklin Gates House
Benjamin Franklin Gates House
June 4, 2009
(#09000378)
13079 W. Lee Rd.
43°12′10″N 78°16′43″W / 43.202778°N 78.278611°W / 43.202778; -78.278611 (Benjamin Franklin Gates House)
Barre Benjamin Gates, an early settler, built this house and the area's first tannery around 1830. It's still a working farm today.
10 Hillside Cemetery
June 25, 2013
(#13000450)
NY 237 & S. Holley Rd.
43°12′57″N 78°01′54″W / 43.2159488°N 78.0315884°W / 43.2159488; -78.0315884 (Hillside Cemetery)
Clarendon This cemetery is the resting place for many early settlers of the town. It was later changed into a rural cemetery.
11 Holley Village Historic District
Holley Village Historic District
August 24, 2015
(#15000539)
1 Village Sq., 3-35 Frisbe Terrace, Public Sq., 32-34 Albion, 1-13 S. Main, 1 Wright, 2 White, 1 & 4-18 Thomas Sts.
43°13′33″N 78°01′36″W / 43.225767°N 78.0266787°W / 43.225767; -78.0266787 (Holley Village Historic District)
Holley This district shows how the village of Holley grew over 100 years. It follows a special street plan along the Erie Canal.
12 Main Street Historic District
Main Street Historic District
March 23, 1995
(#95000213)
Roughly, along Main and Center Sts., West Ave. and Proctor Pl.
43°13′13″N 78°23′13″W / 43.220278°N 78.386944°W / 43.220278; -78.386944 (Main Street Historic District)
Medina This area was the first part of Medina to be built after the Erie Canal. Its buildings show Medina's industrial past, from the 1830s to the 1940s.
13 Medina Armory
Medina Armory
April 13, 1995
(#95000399)
302 Pearl St.
43°13′19″N 78°23′32″W / 43.221944°N 78.392222°W / 43.221944; -78.392222 (Medina Armory)
Medina This building was made from local Medina sandstone in 1901. It is now the Lake Plains YMCA.
14 Millville Cemetery
Millville Cemetery
October 31, 2007
(#07001126)
E. Shelby Rd.
43°11′23″N 78°19′28″W / 43.189722°N 78.324444°W / 43.189722; -78.324444 (Millville Cemetery)
Millville This beautiful 1871 rural cemetery is on a small hill. Many people from this old farming village are buried here.
15 Mt. Albion Cemetery
Mt. Albion Cemetery
September 27, 1976
(#76001261)
New York State Route 31
43°14′22″N 78°09′20″W / 43.239444°N 78.155556°W / 43.239444; -78.155556 (Mt. Albion Cemetery)
Town of Albion This rural cemetery was built in 1842 outside Albion. It has a Civil War monument and a chapel. Many important people from the 1800s are buried here, including a former governor of Georgia.
16 New York State Barge Canal
October 15, 2014
(#14000860)
Linear across county
43°14′56″N 78°11′27″W / 43.248815°N 78.190914°W / 43.248815; -78.190914 (New York State Barge Canal)
Albion, Gaines, Holley, Medina, Murray, Ridgeway, Shelby This canal system was built in the early 1900s to replace the Erie Canal. It helped New York compete with railroads for moving goods.
17 North Main-Bank Streets Historic District
North Main-Bank Streets Historic District
November 30, 1994
(#94001341)
Roughly, along N. Main, E. Bank, W. Bank and Liberty Sts.
43°14′51″N 78°11′37″W / 43.2475°N 78.193611°W / 43.2475; -78.193611 (North Main-Bank Streets Historic District)
Albion This is one of Albion's two downtown historic districts. It has many old shops and businesses that are still much like they were a century after the Erie Canal was finished.
18 Orleans County Courthouse Historic District
Orleans County Courthouse Historic District
August 31, 1979
(#79001617)
Courthouse Sq. and environs
43°14′45″N 78°11′36″W / 43.245833°N 78.193333°W / 43.245833; -78.193333 (Orleans County Courthouse Historic District)
Albion This district is the heart of Albion's government and religious life. It centers around the 1858 county courthouse and includes homes, businesses, and seven churches, many built with local Medina sandstone.
19 Payjack Chevrolet Building
Payjack Chevrolet Building
May 8, 2012
(#12000259)
320 N. Main St.
43°13′21″N 78°23′16″W / 43.22259°N 78.38786°W / 43.22259; -78.38786 (Payjack Chevrolet Building)
Medina This 1949 concrete building is a great example of a car dealership built to the international standards of General Motors at that time.
20 Servoss House
Servoss House
February 28, 2008
(#08000104)
3963 Fruit Ave.
43°13′00″N 78°25′51″W / 43.216667°N 78.430833°W / 43.216667; -78.430833 (Servoss House)
Ridgeway A former canal worker built this house in the early 1830s. It has an unusual way of building with horizontal planks.
21 John Shelp Cobblestone House
John Shelp Cobblestone House
November 20, 2008
(#08001079)
10181 West Shelby Rd.
43°09′17″N 78°27′51″W / 43.154722°N 78.464167°W / 43.154722; -78.464167 (John Shelp Cobblestone House)
West Shelby This fancy 1836 cobblestone house had its inside updated in the late 1800s to the popular Queen Anne Style.
22 Skinner-Tinkham House
Skinner-Tinkham House
April 15, 2004
(#04000291)
4652 Oak Orchard Rd.
43°11′11″N 78°11′40″W / 43.186389°N 78.194444°W / 43.186389; -78.194444 (Skinner-Tinkham House)
Barre Center This 1829 brick building was once a tavern along a busy road. It's one of the few old brick buildings of its style left in the county.
23 Stevens–Sommerfeldt House
May 26, 2015
(#15000268)
5482 Holley-Byron Rd.
43°08′52″N 78°04′15″W / 43.147887°N 78.0707476°W / 43.147887; -78.0707476 (Stevens–Sommerfeldt House)
Clarendon vicinity This stone house was built in the 1820s and is a rare example of an early American style.
24 Tousley-Church House
Tousley-Church House
February 5, 2002
(#01001565)
249 N. Main St.
43°15′08″N 78°11′34″W / 43.252222°N 78.192778°W / 43.252222; -78.192778 (Tousley-Church House)
Albion This 1840 house was expanded ten years later with a very special design. Since the 1930s, it has been home to the local Daughters of the American Revolution chapter.
25 US Post Office-Albion
US Post Office-Albion
November 17, 1988
(#88002450)
8 S. Main St.
43°14′46″N 78°11′39″W / 43.246°N 78.194083°W / 43.246; -78.194083 (US Post Office-Albion)
Albion This 1937 post office uses a popular design for post offices in New York. It's in the Orleans County Courthouse Historic District, but it's not considered part of that district's original history.
26 US Post Office-Medina
US Post Office-Medina
May 11, 1989
(#88002351)
128 W. Center St.
43°13′14″N 78°23′19″W / 43.220556°N 78.388611°W / 43.220556; -78.388611 (US Post Office-Medina)
Medina This fancy 1931 post office design was only used one other time, in Salem, Indiana.
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