Curious about your old house?

To mark National Historic Preservation Month, Otsego 2000 will host the “Ask an Old House Expert” resource table at the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market on Saturday, May 13 from 10 am to noon.  Bring your photos and Dr. Cindy Falk, a professor of material culture at the Cooperstown Graduate Program, will answer questions, ranging from the style of architecture and historical context to resources for more information. As an adviser to Otsego 2000, Dr. Falk has led numerous walks about local architecture and history, and more are planned for this summer. 

Also at the resource table will be Otsego 2000 Executive Director Ellen Pope, who will have information on New York State Tax Credits available for people who own historic homes and barns. “Homeowners in historic districts may be eligible to receive a credit of 20 percent of qualifying expenses associated with repair, maintenance, and upgrades to historic homes,” says Pope.  She noted there is a similar tax credit for owners of barns built before 1946. “With the barn tax credit, it can be applied to work done in the last five years, and the barn does not need to be listed on the National Register,” she said. Otsego 2000 provides free one-on-one technical assistance in applying for the Historic Home and Barn tax credits. To set up an appointment, call 607/547-8881.

Otsego County ranks fifth in the state for use of the Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Credit and first in the use of the Historic Barn Rehabilitation Tax Credit.

Dr. Falk, served as co-editor of Buildings & Landscapes: The Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum for five years and is the author of Barns of New York: Rural Architecture of the Empire State.

The year-round Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, located at 101 Main Street in Pioneer Alley in Cooperstown, is open on Saturdays, 9am to 2pm.