KSHS

TOPEKA—A rare dairy farm operation in Ellis County, a mid-century parking garage in Wichita, a trail segment in Marion County, and a farmstead in Cowley County are among the latest nominees to the National Register of Historic Places. At its regular quarterly meeting held at the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka on Saturday, August 13, 2016, the Historic Sites Board of Review voted to forward eight nominations to the Office of the Keeper of the National Register in Washington, D.C. There professional staff members will make evaluations. If they concur with the board’s findings, the properties will be included in the National Register. The board also voted to list 10 properties to the Register of Historic Kansas Places, bringing the total number of state register-only properties to 180.

Nominated to the National Register of Historic Places:

Brungardt-Dreiling Farmstead
2567 Golf Course Road, Victoria vicinity, Ellis County

As the most prominent dairy farm operation in the Victoria area, the Brungardt-Dreiling Farmstead is an outstanding example of what the Volga German immigrants achieved after their initial years of poverty and struggle and their entrepreneurial success in both agriculture and business in the Herzog/Victoria area. The house is significant as an excellent local example of Queen Anne architecture. The barn is a fine example of the gambrel-roof barn style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s. The other farmstead buildings are significant as they contribute to the whole of the farm operation. The period of significance extends from 1903 when Andreas Peter Brungardt purchased the property to 1960 when the farmstead acquired its current appearance.

Donahue’s Santa Fe Trail Segment
Durham vicinity, Marion County

Remnants from the Santa Fe Trail, which was active from 1821 until 1880, Donahue’s Ruts are located near Durham. In Marion County the trail years ended in 1866 with the arrival of the railroad. This trail segment was part of the primary route of the Santa Fe Trail before it split between the Mountain and Cimarron routes farther west. This land saw the majority of traders who followed the route between Santa Fe and Missouri as part of the route connecting two major campsites: Lost Spring and Cottonwood Creek.

Fourth & Broadway Historic District
401-424 N Broadway; 105 & 121 E 4th Street, Pittsburg, Crawford County

Located at a prominent intersection in the center of the town’s original plat, the seven buildings in Pittsburg’s Fourth & Broadway Historic District form one of the most intact concentrations of historic buildings in Downtown Pittsburg. Founded in 1876, Pittsburg’s growth was spurred by coal mining and zinc smelting. By the turn of the 20th century, Crawford County was the largest coal-producing area of the state, and Pittsburg was recognized as the center of the coal region. The historic district includes a pair of large office buildings that were occupied by many prominent mining companies, as well as their financiers and lawyers.

Knightley’s Parking Garage
303 S Broadway, Wichita, Sedgwick County

Upon opening in March 1950, Knightley’s Parking Garage (named for the garage’s manager) was Wichita’s largest garage, providing downtown visitors a place to park and shop or work within a close proximity. Architects Overend & Boucher, with structural engineer George Hartwell, designed the five-story, 500-car garage, embracing the latest technological advances in concrete construction. The garage is a rare surviving example of a Modern style post-war, privately-owned, and attendant-operated garage, in contrast to self-park garages that became dominant in the 1950s. The garage also served as home to the offices of Lauck Oil Company for more than 25 years.

Marysville Union Pacific Depot
Hedrix Avenue, Marysville, Marshall County

Designed by California architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, Marysville’s Union Pacific Railroad Depot (1928-1929) is located adjacent to the former railyards on 7th Street, two blocks north of the downtown business district. The asymmetrical stucco, brick, and terra cotta building is of the Spanish Revival style. The single story steel-framed building nd is roofed with red clay tiles. The depot is significant for its association with the growth and development of Marysville. Regular passenger service was suspended in 1955, after which time the building continued to house offices for the railroad. The Union Pacific intended to demolish the structure in 2015 but a joint effort between the City of Marysville and the Union Pacific Depot Preservation Society saved it from demolition, and work commenced to restore the building and make it a community asset.

Rosberg-Holmgren-Clareen Block
109-113 N Main Street, Lindsborg, McPherson County

Swedish immigrants constructed the Rosberg-Holmgren-Clareen Block, an excellent example of early permanent commercial structures on Lindsborg’s Main Street. Between these three nearly identical buildings were numerous enterprises, most of which were family businesses that provided essential goods and services to residents for decades. The business owners were active members of the community and all were first or second generation immigrants. The three buildings are Commercial style with Italianate detailing distinguished by their brick corbelling, ornate metal window hoods, cast-iron storefront columns, and wood-framed transoms.

Santa Fe Hospital
600 SE Madison Street, Topeka, Shawnee County

The Santa Fe Hospital Association, founded in 1884, built the existing structure in 1930 to replace a former hospital at this location. The largest of the railroad’s hospitals, the Topeka site not only provided patient care but also served as the association’s home, the railroad’s chief surgeon, and the medical dispensary. The building’s period of significance spans from its construction in 1930 to 1966, reflecting the date of federal legislation creating Medicare and the hospital opening its doors to the public. Renamed Memorial Hospital in 1972 the hospital closed in 1989 after filing for bankruptcy; the last of Santa Fe’s seven hospitals to do so.

Weigle Barn
14097 189th Road, Burden vicinity, Cowley County

First constructed circa 1890 by Jacob Weigle, the Weigle Barn is an example of early agricultural buildings in Cowley County. The barn is a unique a timber-framed bank barn with a milled-lumber gable-roof addition (circa 1920). The Weigles’ L-shaped barn was constructed to house livestock and store grain and feed. This barn and its associated livestock pens continue to function as the center of farming operations for the Weigle family.

Listed in the Register of Historic Kansas Places:

Cross & Morgan General Store
406 S New York Avenue, Sylvan Grove vicinity, Lincoln County

The Cross & Morgan General Store is the only extant resource from the original town of Sylvan Grove. Established in 1876, Sylvan Grove was best known for its flour mill, which was in business until 1886 when a disastrous Saline River flood destroyed it. The townspeople reestablished Sylvan Grove in its present location one quarter mile to the northeast in 1887 near the soon-to-be constructed Union Pacific Depot. For nearly 10 years (circa 1877 to 1887), the Cross & Morgan General Store supplied the residents of the early town.

Radical United Brethren Church
333 Elmore Street, Lecompton, Douglas County

Lecompton’s United Brethren Church was organized in 1858, and by the early 1880s, it was one of four denominations in the town of approximately 300 people. When the church split from the main denomination in 1889, Lecompton’s congregation of 100 found themselves without a place to gather. As a result the congregation constructed a wooden building in 1892 that burned in 1906. That church was constructed atop the former building’s foundation. This stone building served the local Radical United Brethren congregation through 1927. From 1933 to 2003, this building served as Lecompton’s City Hall and Community Building.

Kansas Power Company Plant
709 W Trail Street, Dodge City, Ford County

Dodge City’s first waterworks and electricity plant began operation in 1886. Beginning in 1890 the two public services were combined and operated out of a single brick building, then relocated in 1897 to an old waterworks building on West Trail Street. Over the next several decades the physical plant evolved in name, function, and form, especially after the city erected a separate waterworks building in 1910 when they took over operation of that service. In 1927 the electricity plant became known as the Kansas Power Company, and by 1932 it gained its current form. It was also in 1932 that a new electricity plant was constructed to the east of Dodge City. The Trail Street plant was used as a reserve facility through the 1990s.

The National Register of Historic Places is the country’s official list of historically significant properties. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archaeological resources. Eligible properties must be significant for one or more of the four criteria for evaluation. Properties can be eligible if they are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. They can be eligible if they are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. Distinctive construction can qualify properties for the National Register if they embody the characteristic of a type, period, or method of construction, or represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic values, or represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction. Lastly, properties may be eligible for the National Register if they have yielded or may be likely to yield information important in prehistory or history. The National Register recognizes properties of local, statewide, and national significance.

The Register of Historic Kansas Places is our state’s official list of historically significant properties. Properties included in the National Register are automatically listed in the State Register. However, not all properties listed in the State Register are included in the National Register. The same general criteria are used to assess the eligibility of a property for inclusion in the state register, but more flexibility is allowed in the interpretation of the criteria for eligibility.

Related Internet Links:
National Register of Historic Places: nps.gov/nr
Kansas Historical Society (National and State Registers): kshs.org/14638
To read drafts of these nominations and links to photographs, see this link: kshs.org/14633 (This is a temporary link to these documents.)