[1] The Nye Block stood prominently in the center of the village of Johnson, at the southwest corner of Main and Railroad Streets.

It was a long 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, capped with a mansard roof that provided a full third floor in the attic.

[2] The block was built in 1868-69 by Leonard Knight, a local businessman, as a speculative venture in anticipation of the railroad being routed nearby.

It was at the time of its construction the most ornate building in the town, and was rare in the state as a particularly good example of vernacular Second Empire architecture.

[2] It was destroyed by a suspicious fire in 1986; the building had stood vacant for some time, and rehabilitation possibilities had been under discussion in the town.