State announces properties nominated to registers of historic placesState announces properties nominated to registers of historic places

The New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended adding several properties, resources, and districts in the Central New York region to the state and national registers of historic places.

“These sites are the locations of significant moments in New York’s rich history that in many cases reverberated across the nation and beyond,” New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a news release. “By placing these landmarks on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, we are honoring and preserving their legacy and giving visitors the chance to learn about this state’s vibrant history.”

State and national-register listing can assist property owners in revitalizing buildings, making them eligible for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and state and federal historic-rehabilitation tax credits.

The state and national registers are the official lists of buildings, structures, districts, landscapes, objects, and sites significant in the history, architecture, archeology, and culture of New York state and the nation. More than 120,000 sites throughout the state on located the National Register of Historic Places.

Once the recommendations are approved by the state historic-preservation officer, the properties are listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, where they are reviewed and, once approved, entered on the national register, according to the release. The recommended additions are the following:

Cayuga County

Charles Chauncey Dwight House, Auburn — Originally built in 1835, the Queen Anne-style house was expanded circa 1871 by Charles Chauncey Dwight, a prominent judge best known for deciding a case regarding the constitutionality of using electrocution as a means of criminal execution.

Lewis County

Beaver Falls Grange Hall, Beaver Falls — The 1892 building provided a center for education and entertainment for the Beaver Falls agricultural community.

Onondaga County

Shepard Family Houses, Skaneateles — The two houses belonged to prominent local businessmen and civic leaders. The house at 28 Genesee St., originally built in 1840, was purchased and enlarged by Norman Orlando Shepard in 1898. The house at 6 Hannum St. was constructed in 1901 by the elder Shepard as a wedding present for his son, Norman Joseph Shepard, according to the release.

Oswego County

Fort Ontario Military Reservation, Oswego — The nomination expands and replaces an earlier national-register listing to obtain a more accurate and inclusive boundary more reflective of the fort’s military history. The new nomination also adds national significance for the fort’s history as the site of the only refugee camp in the United States for victims of the Holocaust and World War II. From 1944 to 1946, Fort Ontario was a temporary emergency refugee shelter operated by the U.S. War Relocation Authority. The shelter helped the refugees regain their health and move forward with their lives after the horrors of war, which for many included time in concentration camps. Most of the refuges eventually became American citizens, the release stated.