Historical Homes

The Newark Valley Historical Society, with technical assistance from the
Cornell University Graduate Program in Historic Preservation Planning,
initiated the present reconnaissance level survey of the Town and Village of
Newark Valley in the summer of 1994. The survey is a first step towards the
comprehensive identification and evaluation of historic built resources in
this rural township. It is intended to provide the groundwork for future,
intensive level surveys, and later, for nominations to the National Register of
Historic Places. Although the survey is not specifically designed to be part
of the current comprehensive planning efforts by the Tioga County Department
of Economic Development and Planning, it should prove useful to those
committee members developing plans for historic preservation and heritage
tourism in the county.

The present survey expands on an earlier survey that was limited to the
Village of Newark Valley. In 1979, at the request of the Newark Valley
Historical Society, graduate students in Cornell University’s Historic
Preservation Planning Program surveyed portions of the village. Funded by a
grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the survey resulted in the
completion of 79 New York State Building/Structure Inventory Forms, which were
subsequently published in book form. One purpose of the 1979 survey was to
identify potential historic districts to be nominated to the National Register
of Historic Places. No districts were nominated at that time, however, due to
budgetary constraints and the decision to expand the survey to include the
entire township.

Between 1979 and 1994, members of the Landmarks Committee of the Newark
Valley Historical Society solicited historical information from property
owners, conducted original research, and carried out a photographic survey of
many historic properties in the village and township. This information was
used extensively during the preparation of the present reconnaissance level
survey.

The present survey was initiated by members of the Landmarks Committee
of the Newark Valley Historical Society. Committee members contacted Barbara
Ebert, a Visiting Lecturer in Cornell University’s Historic Preservation
Planning Program, who assumed the role of project coordinator. Ms. Ebert, a
36 CFR 61 qualified architectural historian, supervised the grant application
process that secured the project’s funding, selected the consultant who
conducted the reconnaissance level survey and supervised the first phase of
an intensive level survey that builds on the present survey. The consultant
hired to prepare the reconnaissance level survey, a 36 CFR 61 qualified
historian, is currently completing a Master’s degree in Historic Preservation
Planning at Cornell University. This survey was funded by grants from the
Rural New York Historic Preservation Grant Program, the Newark Valley
Historical Society and the Newark Valley Town and Village Boards.
This reconnaissance level survey follows guidelines set by the New York
State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. A reconnaissance
level survey is designed to identify and describe themes and contexts
significant in the prehistory and history of a designated survey area and to
determine the range, number and geographic distribution of archaeological and
historic resources related to those themes and contexts. Although prehistoric
and historic archeological sites are mentioned in the Historic Overview
section of this survey, they are not considered systematically in the Existing
Conditions section.

The survey is divided into four parts. The Methodology outlines the
purpose of the project, its anticipated uses, and the methods used to
undertake the survey. The Historic Overview outlines themes significant in
Newark Valley’s history, and provides a historical context for the township’s
built environment. The Existing Conditions section catalogues the types of
historic built resources extant in the township and summarizes their
distribution and present condition in narrative form. Finally, the
Recommendations section suggests ways to build on the reconnaissance level
survey to further document and protect historic resources in the township.
Supplemental to the survey is an annotated bibliography of works
relevant to the history of Newark Valley’s built environment. This
bibliography was compiled by Virginia Mullen and Dorothy Torrey of the
Landmarks Committee of the Newark Valley Historical Society. Additional
entries and annotations were supplied by the consultant.

The consultant conducted a preliminary visual survey of Newark Valley
between May 28 and May 30, 1994 to form an initial impression of the range
and distribution of the township’s built resources. Using the data gathered
during this survey and the sources identified in the bibliography, the
consultant then prepared the Historic Overview. The Historic Overview was
completed in draft form in September, 1994.

Before preparing the Existing Conditions section, the consultant
conducted a second comprehensive visual survey of the township on September 6
and September 13, 1994, to confirm initial impressions and to gather
additional data. A similar survey of the village was undertaken on September
19 and September 22, 1994.

To facilitate future National Register nominations, all buildings and
farm complexes more than fifty years old (i.e., pre-1944) were included in the
Existing Conditions survey. United States Geological Survey (USGS) maps from
the 1950s, used in conjunction with current tax records-and data gathered
during the visual surveys, provided the base list of historic properties
summarized in the Existing Conditions section. Also useful in the preparation
of this section was the large collection of relatively current (post-1986)
photographs and other information on individual properties collected by
members of the Landmarks Committee of the Newark Valley Historical Society.
In a few cases, the list of properties was supplemented by evidently historic
buildings that were not depicted on the USGS maps. The final list of
properties was limited to buildings and other built resources visible from
public roads.

The survey was originally designed to identify and evaluate individual
farm buildings with the same thoroughness devoted to residences and other
major building types, but a comprehensive survey of outbuildings was
determined to be beyond the scope of the project budget. Therefore, the
locations of barns and farm complexes appearing to be more than fifty years
old were recorded, but outbuildings were not classified and analyzed as
rigorously as were other building types.

The reconnaissance level survey was completed in November, 1994.

For more information visit: Newark Valley Historical Society