If formed, would be the first on state or national register for town
Plans are underway for the creation of a state and national historic district in the hamlet of Slingerlands, which if successful would make it the Town of Bethlehem’s first.
Despite having single locations on the National Register of Historic Places, Bethlehem has no entire districts on file on the state or national level. This is in part because many of the town’s oldest haunts, like the Four Corners in Delmar, have been in use for so long they’ve become too modernized. In parts of Slingerlands, though, much of the historic feel and architecture remains, said Town Historian Susan Leath.
That district has always spoken to me. The potential to me is just so obvious to be a historic district, she said.
The process to establish a district largely started with the installation of a blue-and-gold historic marker next door to Ilona Muhlich’s New Scotland Road home. It announced the burial ground of Andrew Conning to be nearby, but it also rekindled Muhlich’s historical curiosity.
`I because interested in the history of our house in particular, and in our neighborhood in general,` she said.
This stretch of New Scotland Road is, in many places, largely untouched by history. Muhlich has lived in her early seventeenth-century abode for nearly thirty years and takes measures to ensure it retains its charm, which she said makes up for the traffic noise on Route 85.
`I don’t think many people would put up with it if they didn’t love the home they were in,` she said.
Muhlich’s research into the neighborhood eventually brought to her home Tony Opalka from the State Historic Preservation Office, who said while Muhlich’s home on its own would not be able to receive an historic designation, the area itself might be eligible.
`Each building does not rise to the level of individual significance, but taken together they comprise an area that has an historic feel to it,` Opalka said.
It’s hard to say just how many buildings would be included in an historic district, but Leath estimated it could be about 50. The search will be focused along New Scotland Road from the roundabout at Cherry Avenue to the town line. In addition to many homes, this general area includes the former Slingerlands Printing Company and the Home Lawn Hotel (now a residence).
The district, if formed, would encompass a singular area, but non-historic structures within the district would be labeled as `noncontributing structures.` The state uses a 50-year cutoff as a rule of thumb, but in Slingerlands there are two basic time periods of significance ` the time of the plank roads and the railroad era, when the area became a commuter haven due to the nearby railway station ` and structures in good condition from these periods would be targeted for inclusion.
The requirements for forming an historic district include a detailed summary of the area’s history and a canvass of residents or businesses. That door-to-door process has already begun, said Muhlich.
`It’s been overwhelmingly positive,` she said. `We have had no negative comments at all, and the people who are in favor of it are by and large very enthusiastic.`
There were also many homeowners who seemed largely indifferent to the idea of creating the district, said Leath. That might be because living in an historic district doesn’t generally have a major impact on residents.
`It’s simply a recognition, it really has no impact on what you can do to your house. Those regulations come at a local level, and we don’t really have those in Bethlehem,` Leath said. `If the district changed so much that it wasn’t historic anymore, they would just change the designation.`
In fact, an historic district would force the state to consult with the Historic Preservation Office should it ever decide to make changes to New Scotland Road, such as widening it, and show it would not impact the historic significance of the district.
There will be an informational meeting Thursday, Aug. 26, at 8 p.m. at the Slingerlands Community United Methodist Church, where a presentation will be made and residents will have a chance to make comments on the idea.
`We want to hear back from people about what they think and about what they think of the neighborhood,` Leath said.
Completing a study of the area depends on homeowner cooperation so the necessary information can be compiled, said Opalka. That will also help in drawing the borders of the district.
`Depending on how much work people are going to do, it could take a few months to research everything,` said Opalka. `What we really need to do is let the history guide us.`
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