First Columbia County Courthouse

Built in 1786 (Federal architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. 11 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1902.

From the record

“The First Columbia County Courthouse is located along NY 23B near the center of the hamlet of Claverack, New York, United States. It is a brick building in the Federal style constructed in 1786 and renovated in the mid-19th century.”
Wikipedia article First Columbia County Courthouse, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 155 National Register listings published here for Columbia County · listed in 1998 · category: Building · built in 1786, Federal 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 as contributing to the listing.
Address. 549 NY 23B, Claverack, 12534
When was it listed? January 1998
Category. building
Also known as. Claverack MPS
Town. Claverack town
When was it built? 1786
Architectural style. Federal architecture
National Register reference number. 97001623 - 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

240 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 240 fires within 5 miles of First Columbia County Courthouse between 1992 and 2020, burning about 342 acres in total. 32 started naturally. 19 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	103
Debris and open burning	35
Natural	32
Smoking	21
Equipment and vehicle use	20
Arson/incendiarism	19
Misuse of fire by a minor	4
Recreation and ceremony	3
Railroad operations and maintenance	1
Other causes	1
Power generation/transmission/distribution	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
9 September 2005	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
28 September 2017	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	N/A
24 September 2017	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	N/A
22 September 2014	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
21 September 2010	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
21 September 2010	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
19 September 2011	Smoking	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
17 September 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named

Every fire recorded in Columbia County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of First Columbia County Courthouse: 7 producers, 7 past producers. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Limestone, General, Iron, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Fabiano Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Kearny Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Plass Hill Carbonate Iron Mine	Iron, Sulfur	Producer	Calcite, Pyrite, Quartz, Siderite
Plass Hill Carbonate Iron Mine	Iron, Sulfur	Past Producer
Brick Tavern-Mount Ida Limestone Qu	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Brick Tavern-Mount Ida Limestone Quarry	Limestone, General	Producer	Limestone
Hudson Clay Pit	Clay	Producer
Hudson Limestone Quarry	Limestone, General	Producer	Limestone
Hudson Limestone Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Hudson Quarry	Limestone, General	Past Producer	Sedimentary

Every working recorded in Columbia County

Storms near this property

26 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Claverack, the town this property stands in, in 26 storm reports between 1999 and 2023: 17 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 2 flash flood, 2 lightning. The reports record 1 injury. 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 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	1 hurt	A tree was down on an occupied vehicle. There was one minor injury.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	$55,000	A weak trough rippling through a very unstable air mass, touched off a round of thunderstorms in the Mid Hudson Valley on the afternoon of June 30. One of the storms became severe in Columbia County. Thunderstorm winds brought telephone poles, wires and large tree limbs down.
March 2001	Flash Flood	Claverack	$15,000	Heavy rains and snowmelt produced a rapid run off of water into the Clavercak Creek in Coumbia county. As a result, the creek overflowed its banks and flooded portions of Webb Road.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	$12,000	no account filed
May 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	$10,000	no account filed
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	$3,000	A tree limb was downed on Route 23B near Route 9H, taking down lines and damaging a porch roof.
July 2014	Lightning	Claverack	$1,000	A lightning strike was reported to have struck a residential propane tank on Court Lane in Claverack.
September 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	-	Trees and wires were reported down in multiple locations in the Town of Claverack.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	-	A tree and wires were downed on Orchard Road.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	-	Several trees were downed on Route 217 near Claverack.
October 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	-	A tree was downed onto power lines.
August 2018	Heavy Rain	Claverack	-	Strong storm resulted in 1.5 inches of rainfall.
October 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	-	Trees and wires were reported down in Claverack as a result of thunderstorm winds.
June 2012	Hail	Claverack	-	Quarter size hail (measured) was reported during a thunderstorm in Claverack.
August 2011	Hail	Claverack	-	Half dollar to golf ball size hail was reported during a thunderstorm in Claverack.
November 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	-	A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team confirmed a downburst in Claverack. Damage was mainly confined to downed trees, with powerlines and trees down near the intersection of Route 9H and Route 23. Wind speeds were estimated at 85 MPH.
August 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	-	Multiple trees were reported down in Claverack due to strong thunderstorm winds.
August 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	-	Wires were reported down in Claverack due to strong thunderstorm winds.
August 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	-	Numerous trees were reported down in Claverack due to strong thunderstorm winds. State Route 23 and State Route 23B were closed due to multiple trees down. Twenty houses were damaged by fallen trees.
July 2009	Flood	Claverack	-	A state of emergency was declared in the Town of Claverack due to widespread flooding from intense rainfall. Numerous roadways remained closed.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	-	Trees and wires were reported down in Claverack due to strong thunderstorm winds.
July 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	-	Trees were reported down due to strong thunderstorm winds in Claverack.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Claverack	-	Trees and wires down.
September 2004	Flash Flood	Claverack	-	County Route 29 closed due to flooding.
August 2004	Lightning	Claverack	-	Lightning struck two mobile homes. Damage unknown.
June 2001	Hail	Claverack	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Columbia County

Maps showing this location

11 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.

1902 USGS Copake quadrangle1:62500
1904 USGS Copake quadrangle1:62500 - 7 printings
1947 USGS Claverack quadrangle1:24000
1947 USGS Claverack quadrangle1:31680 - 2 printings
1948 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
1956 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000 - 2 printings
1957 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
1959 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
1960 USGS Claverack quadrangle1:24000 - 4 printings
1962 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
1986 USGS Pittsfield quadrangle1:100000 - 2 printings

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
Stephen Hogeboom House	under 500 feet	1997
Muldor-Miller House	under 500 feet	2022
William Henry Ludlow House	0.2 miles	1997
Cornelius S. Muller House	0.2 miles	1997
Ludlow-Van Rensselaer House	0.2 miles	1997
Trinity Episcopal Church	0.2 miles	1997

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 97001623 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Columbia County	All 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.
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.