Hepburn Library of Colton

Built in 1913 (Colonial Revival architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. 10 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1908.

From the record

“The Hepburn Library of Colton, also known as the Colton-Hepburn Library, is a historic library building located at Colton, St. It was designed by architect Ehrick Rossiter and built in 1912-1913 It is a one-story, cruciform plan, stone building with a hipped roof topped by a multi-staged wood cupola.”
Wikipedia article Hepburn Library of Colton, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 83 National Register listings published here for St. Lawrence County · listed in 2012 · category: Building · built in 1913, Colonial Revival architecture.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building, 1 structure as contributing to the listing.
Address. 84 Main St., Colton, 13625
When was it listed? May 2012
Category. building
Town. Colton town
When was it built? 1913
Architectural style. Colonial Revival architecture, Arts and Crafts movement
National Register reference number. 12000287 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1908 to 1994

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 86 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Hepburn Library of Colton, surveyed 1994

Topographic sheet covering Hepburn Library of Colton, surveyed 1908

Fires near this property

85 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 85 fires within 5 miles of Hepburn Library of Colton between 1993 and 2020, burning about 75 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 9 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	48
Arson/incendiarism	9
Equipment and vehicle use	8
Debris and open burning	7
Misuse of fire by a minor	5
Natural	4
Recreation and ceremony	3
Other causes	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
5 September 2017	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	N/A
27 September 2003	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
26 September 2016	Misuse of fire by a minor	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	N/A
20 September 2002	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
17 September 2011	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
10 September 2009	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
7 August 2010	Equipment and vehicle use	3.0 acres	Fire Department of New York	not named
7 August 1993	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	New York Forest Rangers	not named

Every fire recorded in St. Lawrence County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 16 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 16 workings within 5 miles of Hepburn Library of Colton: 9 past producers, 3 producers, 2 occurrences, 2 prospects. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Zinc. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Brown's School Prospect	Talc-Soapstone	Prospect
Pierrepont Mine	Zinc, Lead	Past Producer	1979, 1982
Clarkson Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	Surface
Potsdam Red Sandstone Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Clafin School Deposit	Iron	Prospect
Clafin School Occurrence	Iron	Occurrence	1885, 1895
Unnamed Iron Deposit	Iron	Occurrence
Bicknell Brothers S & G Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Frank Randall Pit No. 1	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Pit No. 2	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer

Every working recorded in St. Lawrence County

Storms near this property

15 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Colton, the town this property stands in, in 15 storm reports between 1997 and 2022: 10 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Colton	$60,000	Numerous trees down, dock and pontoon boats flipped over on Raquette river due to straight-line, microburst. The winds ripped through the area of Cottage Road and West Higley Road and sent trees crashing into homes. The winds picked up boats and hurled them through the air.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Colton	$50,000	Numerous and widespread reports of trees downed by thunderstorm winds on power lines and vehicles.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Colton	$25,000	Widespread trees and utility lines damaged in Colton and neighboring communities.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Colton	$25,000	Numerous trees down with power lines as well.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Colton	$15,000	Trees and utility lines down across sections of town.
July 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Colton	$15,000	Numerous trees down in Colton and neighboring communities.
July 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	South Colton	$5,000	One large tree and numerous small trees downed by thunderstorm winds.
May 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Colton	$5,000	Several reports of power lines down.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	South Colton	$5,000	no account filed
November 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	South Colton	$2,000	Trees down along State Route 56.
July 2013	Hail	Colton	-	Penny size hail.
May 2007	Hail	Colton	-	no account filed
July 2006	Hail	South Colton	-	no account filed
July 2006	Hail	South Colton	-	no account filed
July 1997	Hail	South Colton	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in St. Lawrence County

Maps showing this location

10 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

1908 USGS Potsdam quadrangle1:62500 - 7 printings
1943 USGS Colton quadrangle1:31680
1943 USGS Colton quadrangle1:24000
1948 USGS Ogdensburg quadrangle1:250000 - 2 printings
1951 USGS Ogdensburg quadrangle1:250000
1953 USGS Ogdensburg quadrangle1:250000
1961 USGS Ogdensburg quadrangle1:250000
1964 USGS Colton quadrangle1:24000 - 2 printings
1985 USGS Massena quadrangle1:100000
1994 USGS Massena quadrangle1:100000

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Zion Episcopal Church and Rectory	under 500 feet	2003
Pierrepont Town Buildings	3.7 miles	1982
Sunday Rock	3.7 miles	2010
Gardner Cox House	4.3 miles	1986
Luke Brown House	5.4 miles	2003
Nathaniel Parmeter House	6.5 miles	2003

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 12000287 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
St. Lawrence County	All 83 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.