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Parrott Hall

New York historical home

Layered newspapers, civic records and oral-history reels arranged as chronological evidence
History and societyInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 1, 2026
Entity authorityQ7139859
Source-derived summary

Parrott Hall (formerly known as Denton House, Denton Place and Entomology Hall) is a historic home located at Geneva in Ontario County, New York. It was built in the early 1850s and consists of a 3-story main block and 2-story addition in the Italianate villa style. In 1882, the property was acquired by New York State for use as an agricultural experiment station, and was part of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station until 1968. It was deeded to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in 1970 for use as a museum.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

History

Wealthy agriculturists Nehemiah (also known as William) and Louisa (also known as Louise) Denton moved from New York City to Geneva in 1852, at a time when the area was the center of agricultural prosperity in New York. They purchased the land then known as the Old Castle Farm in the early 1850s, commissioned the building of the

Italiante villa now known as Parrott Hall, and moved into the new mansion in 1856. Both Nehemiah and Louisa were deaf mutes.

In 1882, Nehemiah was considered to be of "unsound mind" and, in order to settle his debts, he sold the dwelling, outbuildings, and 125 acres. The property was purchased for $25,000 by the State of New York to become an agricultural experiment station.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Parrott Hall” as new York historical home. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Parrott, Hall and York.

Editorial reviewMost valuable as an event-and-institution map that identifies actors, dates and record creators for deeper historical inquiry. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1882, 1968, 1970, 1971—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Parrott, Hall and York providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Parrott Hall”, the useful work is to connect “new York historical home” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7139859. Authority coordinates are 42.877, -77.008. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1882, 1968, 1970 and 1971.

Critical limits

Institutional narratives can privilege the records that survived while minimizing voices that were never formally collected. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.

Best used for
  • Event chronology
  • Institutional context
  • Locating named record creators
Verify next

Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Parrott Hall”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Parrott Hall primary sources, Parrott Hall archive and Parrott research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Parrott Hall”?
  2. What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
  3. Which voices are present, absent or mediated by the institution?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Parrott Hall” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.