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John S. Williams House and Farm

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. 10 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1903.

From the record

“Williams House and Farm, also formerly known as Old Chatham Sheepherding Farm and Inn, is a historic home and farm designated a national historic district and located in Old Chatham, in Columbia County, New York. The property includes seven contributing buildings.”

Wikipedia article John S. Williams House and Farm, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 155 National Register listings published here for Columbia County · listed in 1996 · category: District.

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

The listing

  • Listed as. Williams, John S., House and Farm - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
  • Address. Shaker Museum Rd., approximately 1 mi. S of jct. with I-90, Chatham, 12136
  • When was it listed? December 1996
  • Category. district
  • Town. Chatham town
  • Architectural style. Colonial Revival architecture
  • Architect. Polhemus & Coffin
  • National Register reference number. 96001424 - 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.

Fires near this property

135 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 135 fires within 5 miles of John S. Williams House and Farm between 1993 and 2020, burning about 136 acres in total. 12 started naturally. 20 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/undetermined57
Debris and open burning23
Arson/incendiarism20
Natural12
Equipment and vehicle use8
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Smoking5
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Recreation and ceremony1

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

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
28 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
26 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
23 September 2010Smokingunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
22 September 2010Debris and open burningunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
10 September 2009Smokingunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
25 August 2008Arson/incendiarismunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
16 August 2010Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named

Every fire recorded in Columbia County

Storms near this property

54 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chatham, the town this property stands in, in 54 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 38 thunderstorm wind, 6 flash flood, 5 hail, 3 lightning. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2008Flash FloodChatham$45,000Several roads were closed in various portions of Columbia County due to flash flooding from very heavy rainfall.||In Hillsdale, Rodman, Wolf Hill, and Pumpkin Roads were closed due to significant flooding. A high volume of water, seven feet deep and backed up over a 20 acre swamp, was believed to have burst from a beaver dam, sending a cascade of water down Wolf Hill Road.||In addition, School Street in Chatham was also closed due to flooding.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindChatham$15,000no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindChatham$10,000no account filed
July 2022LightningNorth Chatham$5,000A suspected lightning strike split a tree in half which then fell onto a home causing damage on Eberle Road.
June 1996Thunderstorm WindChatham$5,000no account filed
July 1995Thunderstorm WindChatham$5,000no account filed
July 1994Thunderstorm WindChatham$5,000no account filed
August 1995Thunderstorm WindChatham$4,000no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham$2,000no account filed
August 1996Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham$2,000no account filed
July 2014LightningOld Chatham$1,000A lightning strike was reported to have downed wires across Albany Turnpike in Chatham.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindChatham-A local 911 call center reported a tree and wires down on Slate Hill Road at Route 66 in Ghent.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham-Wires were downed along Route 203 near Route 32 in Chatham.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham-A tree and wires were downed along Route 203 near Crestview Drive near Niverville.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham-Tree and wire damage was reported along Little Lake Road near Route 203 near North Chatham.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham-Tree and wire damage was reported along Jefferson Hill Road near Route 23 near Malden Bridge.
June 2023HailChatham-One inch hail fell in Chatham.
September 2023Thunderstorm WindChatham-Trees and wires were reported down in multiple locations in the Town of Chatham.
September 2023Thunderstorm WindChatham-A trained spotter reported an estimated thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph.
September 2023Thunderstorm WindChatham-A tree was snapped and came down on wires connected to a residential home.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindChatham-Trees were reported down at multiple locations in Chatham.
March 2022Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham-A utility pole and power lines were reported down on East Shore Drive.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindOld Chatham-Trees were reported down on Rock City Road as well as County Route 13 near Spath Street in the town of Chatham.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindChatham-A tree was reported down on Elm Street near Chatham.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindEast Chatham-Trees and wires were downed along the Albany Turnpike and Decker Street in Chatham.
July 2021Flash FloodChatham-State Route 66 at the intersection of Dardess Drive was flooded.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindChatham-Two large trees were downed in Chatham.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham-Route 203 was closed due to a tree downed on wires.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindChatham-Trees were downed in several locations throughout Columbia County.
August 2018Flash FloodChatham-Route 66 was closed in Village Center due to heavy rain.
August 2018Flash FloodChatham-State Route 66 was closed at Payn Ave due to flooding.
August 2018Flash FloodChatham-State Route 66 was closed to Highbridge Road due to flooding.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindChatham-Numerous wires down in Ghent.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham-Trees and power lines were reported down on Electric Park Road on the east side of Kinderhook Lake in Niverville as a result of thunderstorm winds.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindOld Chatham-Trees were reported down on County Route 13 in the town of Chatham as a result of thunderstorm winds.
July 2015HailNorth Chatham-Nickel size hail was reported during a thunderstorm at 433 Rapp Road North in the town of Kinderhook.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham-Trees and wires were downed at the intersection of Round Lake Road and County Route 28B in the hamlet of Niverville as a result of thunderstorm winds.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham-Trees and utility poles were downed near a farm located at 433 Rapp Road North in the town of Kinderhook as a result of thunderstorm winds.
July 2015Funnel CloudChatham-A funnel cloud was spotted during a thunderstorm from the front of a supermarket to the north of Ghent. The funnel cloud never reached the ground.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindOld Chatham-Trees and power lines were reported down on Hamilton Lane in the town of Chatham as a result of thunderstorm winds.
May 2013HailChatham-A spotter reported half dollar size hail fell from a thunderstorm in Chatham.
October 2013Thunderstorm WindChatham-Numerous trees and wires were reported down in Chatham as a result of thunderstorm winds.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindChatham-Trees and wires were reported down in Chatham due to strong thunderstorm winds.
June 2011HailEast Chatham-Half dollar size hail was reported during a thunderstorm approximately 2 miles west-northwest of Canaan. The hail broke some windows.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham-A tree was reported down on a property in North Chatham due to strong thunderstorm winds.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindChatham-Trees were reported down in Chatham due to strong thunderstorm winds.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham-A large tree and wires were reported down across Bunker Hill Road in North Chatham due to strong thunderstorm winds.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham-An estimated wind gust of 65 mph was reported by a storm chaser during a thunderstorm in Niverville. Also, a tree was reported down on wires.
July 2009FloodChatham-A roadway was flooded at Elm Street and Payne Avenue in Chatham due to heavy rainfall.
July 2009Flash FloodChatham-Heavy rain resulted in flash flooding in Chatham at the intersection of Elm Street and Payne Avenue.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindChatham-Trees were reported down in Chatham as a result of strong thunderstorm winds.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindNorth Chatham-Trees and wires were reported down from thunderstorm winds on Route 32 in North Chatham.
June 2004LightningChatham-Telephone outages due to lightning strikes.
June 2002HailChatham-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Columbia County

Maps showing this location

10 surveys

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

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.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Spengler Bridge1.0 miles1973
Wilbor, The, House1.3 miles1997
Van Valkenburgh, James G. House1.7 miles2002
Riders Mills Historic District3.1 miles2000
Rowe-Lant Farm3.3 miles2010
Peck House3.6 miles1999

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 96001424 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Columbia CountyAll 155 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.
  • 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.