The postwar years, the period later referred to as the Gilded Age, were prosperous for Ossining.
While shipbuilding and river shipping finally faded as an industry when the railroad, now part of the New York Central, was fully established, quarrying continued.
The village had become an industrial center, with over a hundred businesses located downtown or on the waterfront, from Brandreth's pill factory to pickle and sleigh manufacturers.

Near the end of that decade the church congregations decided to expand.
The Presbyterians needed a larger building.
They sold the old one to the new Trinity Episcopal Church, who had split from nearby St. Paul's over differences of opinion about the war.
The lot at the Maple Place intersection was ideal for their new building designed by Isaac Perry, later New York's state architect.
The stone-trimmed brick structure has design features common to Perry's other churches, all designed during this period.

It was the first of four churches built in downtown Ossining in the late 19th century.
The other buildings in the district were primarily built in the wake of four fires.
The first, in 1871, primarily affected the corner of the Post Road and Broadway (then called Mill Street) to the north of the district.
Its primary casualty was 217 Main Street, rebuilt in brick instead of frame later that year; the village's records, all stored in the basement, were lost.
In 1872, the next fire destroyed all the buildings on lower Main Street.
In its wake, the Barlow family, who had operated a hardware and furniture business in the original building since 1844, built the block named for them at 129–139 Main Street, retaining the original's bracketed cornice and adding pediments.
The Barlows intended for it to be the central commercial location in Ossining.

In 1874, another fire started in the Olive Opera House at Brandreth and Central, seriously damaging it and the neighboring buildings.
In the subsequent rebuilding, 145 Main Street was redone in the Renaissance Revival style, with bracketed cornices and pediments and stone trim.
On the other side, 61 Central retained its cast iron storefront with columns on high plinth blocks, the only example of that design element in the district.

Further up the street, 187 Main was built in 1874 as well, featuring splayed brick lintels in addition to its bracketed cornice.
Across the street, the Baptists replaced the twice-renovated Greek Revival frame church where they had worshipped since 1815.
Brooklyn architect J. Walsh's brick Gothic Revival design is one of the highest applications of that style in Ossining.

The last fire, in 1876, burned that block across Main from the Baptist Church, an area the previous fires and the aqueduct construction had left untouched.
Again, the rebuilding provided a chance to apply newer architectural styles.
The buildings at 191 and 193 Main became Palmer Hall and the Stayver Building, brick structures with Neo-Grec detailing in their metal trim.
Italianate detail was added to 199 Main Street, which became the Keenan Building when it was finished in 1878.

In the 1880s, the space left vacant next to the aqueduct along the north side of Main was refilled by 165 and 173–75 Main.
Both have since been modified but retain their original metal cornices and segmental-arched lintels.
Further east, another Renaissance Revival building, 127 Main Street, was completed in 1885.
Its elaborate detail includes two-story brick pilasters supporting a metal roof cornice, and an intermediate cornice supported by cast iron pillars.

That same year the Methodists, who had previously held services in a building on Spring Street, outside the district, finished their new church.
That building, at the corner of Highland and Emwilton, was designed by Ebenezer Roberts, architect of several Manhattan churches, and Lawrence P. Valk.
The Ossining Methodist church is distinct from Roberts' earlier, more Gothic, churches (all subsequently demolished).
Polychrome bands of stone on the exterior, and more elaborate detailing, put it within the High Victorian Gothic sty
The postwar years, the period later referred to as the Gilded Age, were prosperous for Ossining. While shipbuilding and river shipping finally faded as an industry when the railroad, now part of the New York Central, was fully established, quarrying continued. The village had become an industrial center, with over a hundred businesses located downtown or on the waterfront, from Brandreth's pill factory to pickle and sleigh manufacturers.
Near the end of that decade the church congregations decided to expand. The Presbyterians needed a larger building. They sold the old one to the new Trinity Episcopal Church, who had split from nearby St. Paul's over differences of opinion about the war. The lot at the Maple Place intersection was ideal for their new building designed by Isaac Perry, later New York's state architect. The stone-trimmed brick structure has design features common to Perry's other churches, all designed during this period.
It was the first of four churches built in downtown Ossining in the late 19th century. The other buildings in the district were primarily built in the wake of four fires. The first, in 1871, primarily affected the corner of the Post Road and Broadway (then called Mill Street) to the north of the district. Its primary casualty was 217 Main Street, rebuilt in brick instead of frame later that year; the village's records, all stored in the basement, were lost. In 1872, the next fire destroyed all the buildings on lower Main Street. In its wake, the Barlow family, who had operated a hardware and furniture business in the original building since 1844, built the block named for them at 129–139 Main Street, retaining the original's bracketed cornice and adding pediments. The Barlows intended for it to be the central commercial location in Ossining.
In 1874, another fire started in the Olive Opera House at Brandreth and Central, seriously damaging it and the neighboring buildings. In the subsequent rebuilding, 145 Main Street was redone in the Renaissance Revival style, with bracketed cornices and pediments and stone trim. On the other side, 61 Central retained its cast iron storefront with columns on high plinth blocks, the only example of that design element in the district.
Further up the street, 187 Main was built in 1874 as well, featuring splayed brick lintels in addition to its bracketed cornice. Across the street, the Baptists replaced the twice-renovated Greek Revival frame church where they had worshipped since 1815. Brooklyn architect J. Walsh's brick Gothic Revival design is one of the highest applications of that style in Ossining.
The last fire, in 1876, burned that block across Main from the Baptist Church, an area the previous fires and the aqueduct construction had left untouched. Again, the rebuilding provided a chance to apply newer architectural styles. The buildings at 191 and 193 Main became Palmer Hall and the Stayver Building, brick structures with Neo-Grec detailing in their metal trim. Italianate detail was added to 199 Main Street, which became the Keenan Building when it was finished in 1878.
In the 1880s, the space left vacant next to the aqueduct along the north side of Main was refilled by 165 and 173–75 Main. Both have since been modified but retain their original metal cornices and segmental-arched lintels. Further east, another Renaissance Revival building, 127 Main Street, was completed in 1885. Its elaborate detail includes two-story brick pilasters supporting a metal roof cornice, and an intermediate cornice supported by cast iron pillars.
That same year the Methodists, who had previously held services in a building on Spring Street, outside the district, finished their new church. That building, at the corner of Highland and Emwilton, was designed by Ebenezer Roberts, architect of several Manhattan churches, and Lawrence P. Valk. The Ossining Methodist church is distinct from Roberts' earlier, more Gothic, churches (all subsequently demolished). Polychrome bands of stone on the exterior, and more elaborate detailing, put it within the High Victorian Gothic sty
Downtown Ossining Historic District