STATE OF IOWA. Historical and Architectural Reconnaissance Survey for 2008 Flood Projects in Elkader, Clayton County

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1 STATE OF IOWA CHESTER J. CULVER GOVERNOR PATTY JUDGE LT. GOVERNOR DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC DEFENSE IOWA HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIVISION DAVID L. MILLER, ADMINISTRATOR Historical and Architectural Reconnaissance Survey for 2008 Flood Projects in Elkader, Clayton County HADB Surveyors: Marlys Svendsen & Justine Zimmer Date Submitted: December 31, 2008

2 Elkader, Clayton County Date: 12/31/2008 Reconnaissance Survey Surveyors: Marlys Svendsen & Justine Zimmer i. Introduction and Purpose On December 12 and 13, 2008 Zimmer and Svendsen made an inspection of the list of pending projects in Elkader 1. The 51 addresses were designated as either 404 Hazard Mitigation Buy-Out projects or did not have a project identified at the time.. The purpose of the site visit was four fold: To determine whether the list appeared to include all pending properties. To determine whether or not any of the 30 addresses were part of a potential NRHP eligible historic district. For potential mitigation purposes, to identify properties with a potential for architectural salvage. Also for mitigation purposes, to identify other potential measures that could be undertaken in the event a potential historic district was identified. ii. Reconnaissance Survey Zimmer and Svendsen completed a reconnaissance survey of 51 properties located in residential neighborhoods south and southwest of the central business district. The SHPO had completed no determinations of eligibility for Elkader properties in these neighborhoods at the time of the survey. Zimmer and Svendsen reviewed the locations of other nearby properties with potential NRHP district eligibility and the potential for salvage for the properties facing demolition. Because some of the properties were initially designated as 404 projects, the Area of Potential Effect (APE) was considered to include properties located along the facing blocks of each listed address so that potential districts could be evaluated. The status of contributing and noncontributing buildings within potential districts was noted regardless of the type of project being undertaken. Individual Resources: Five potential individually eligible buildings were identified in the residential neighborhoods evaluated. They are widely scattered in the blocks south of the central business district surrounding St. Joseph s Catholic Church, st Street SW (NRHP-listed). The five properties are located at nd Street SW (1927), st Street SW (1930), st Street SW (1899), 106 Boardman Street 1 From the 1763 Demolition Data Base as maintained by Kathy McCarty, Debris Administrative Specialist, FEMA, AFO Cedar Rapids 12/6/

3 SW (1911), and 304 S. Main Street (ca. 1880). The last three buildings are also located in a potential historic district described below, the South Elkader Historic District. The five potential individually eligible buildings include four residences built between ca and ca and a veterinary clinic erected in The two multi-story frame residences at st Street SW and 304 South Main Street are well-preserved examples of two different late 19 th century pattern book house forms that appear repeatedly in the South Elkader Addition near the central business district. Each example has medium-width wood clapboard siding, decorative wood shingles in installed in various patterns in gabled attic dormers and porch pediments, decorative stained glass multi-light windows, and overall asymmetrical facades. Minor changes to the entrance porches on these two houses do not significantly detract from their individual integrity. The reconnaissance surveyors opinion following a field inspection of these houses and surrounding blocks is that these buildings are potentially eligible under Criterion C as representative examples of their vernacular forms. The two houses built on the eve of the Great Depression at st Street SW and nd Street SW are examples of the continued popularity of pattern book house forms in the early 20 th century in Elkader. The house at nd Street SW is an example of a vernacular form used in the late 19 th century that continued into the 20 th century. It is a well-preserved 1½-story Front-Gable vernacular form with narrow-width wood siding, corner board trim, a cut limestone foundation, returning cornices on the main roof and gabled wall dormer, and a hipped roofed porch. The porch enclosure was completed early in the house s life and does not detract the house s modest vernacular design. The brick house at st Street SW was built just three years later based on the Cape Cod house form. This 1½-story side-gabled vernacular form became the basis for the federally promoted FHA Minimum House form that dominated house plan books during the 1930s. In this example, the basic plan is rendered in brick with grouped multi-light double-hung windows and a side-gabled sun-room on the south side. The roof edges for the main roof and the shedroofed dormer centered on the front have curved edges giving the house an English cottage look. The reconnaissance surveyors opinion following a field inspection of these houses and surrounding blocks is that these buildings are potentially eligible under Criterion C as representative examples of their vernacular forms. The fifth building, the Crider Veterinary Office at 106 Boardman Street SW is a 2-story ashlar-faced concrete block building originally constructed as a veterinary clinic and currently used as a residence. The barn-like building has an L-shaped plan beneath a side-gabled roof with wagon doors facing south onto Boardman Street and the opposite north end. A ridge cupola and attic dormers are located on the north wing. The date 1911 appears in the keystone above the wagon door entrance facing Boardman Street. The rarity of this building type and construction medium in 1911 combined with its well-preserved condition contribute to the building s significance under Criterion A and C. 3

4 District Resources: One multi-block residential district, the South Elkader Historic District, was identified as a potential NRHP eligible historic district in the blocks along the west side of the southwest side of the Turkey River southeast of the central business district. This district derives significance under Criteria A, B and C for its association with Elkader s early development as a county-seat community and mill town as well its visual relationship to the campus of St. Joseph s Catholic Church located immediately to the west. The district contains examples of vernacular house forms including several 2-story I-houses and one 1-story salt box cottage from the 1870s or 1880s. House forms popular from the 1890s through the turn of the 20 th century include multi-story pattern book houses with asymmetrical facades, front or wraparound porches, decorative shingle siding, spindle and scroll-cut trim, assorted multi-light and stained glass window designs, and several well-preserved carriage houses, barns, and early 20 th century garage forms including American Four-squares, hipped and gabled bungalows, and both minimal traditional and ranch forms. The use of pattern book designs at the turn of the 20 th century is evidenced in the presence of multiple buildings in the same or reverse plan along South Main Street and 1 st Street SW. For example, three houses using the same cubic plan with porches appear at 301, 303 and st Street SW with a more elaborate plan and reverse plan used for the houses at 304, 402 and 406 South Main Street. Others of similar scale and possibly using the same plan appear elsewhere in the neighborhood. The rectangular-shaped district is located along the 300 and 400 blocks of 1 st Street SW; the blocks of South Main Street, and properties along the intersecting blocks of Bronson, Boardman and Mechanic Street SW. This district includes 29 primary resources of which 25 are contributing and 4 are noncontributing. For purposes of this reconnaissance survey, the potential district is identified as the South Elkader Historic District, which is named for the South Elkader Addition to the Original Town of Elkader that the district occupies. The period of significance for the South Elkader Historic District is ca through ca a. Area Description The area comprising the South Elkader Addition evaluated as a potential historic district has a rectangular-shaped boundary that extends along South Main Street on the east side of the district, facing houses along Bronson Street SW at the southern end of the district, 1 st Street SW along the west side of the district, and facing houses along Boardman Street at the north end of the district. The east edge of the district along South Main Street overlooks open space along the Turkey River. 1 st Street SW joins the main route into Elkader from the south which passes the old limestone quarry site, the Catholic cemetery, and multi-block grounds of St. Joseph Catholic Church, school and parsonage on the west side of 1 st Street SW/Strawberry Pt. Road/Iowa 56. The blocks of the South Elkader Addition are between the church and the river, adjoining the central business district that extends along Main Street north of the residential area. The residential blocks are flat with mature street trees along the streets and in densely landscaped private yards. Alleys extend between the blocks paralleling Main Street and 1 st Street. Pre-World War II single-car frame and tile block garages and frame carriage houses open on the alleys with some newer double-car garages erected in more recent years. The 4

5 primary resources in the district include 1, 1½, and 2-story vernacular frame houses with a mix of side-gabled, saltbox, frontgabled, hipped roof, and gabled-ell forms. b. Historical Background The town of Elkader was laid out in 1846 along the banks of the Turkey River approximately 16 miles upstream from the Turkey River s confluence with the Mississippi River. Five years later on June 7, 1852, the South Elkader Addition was laid out on two and one half blocks southeast of the central business district. The new addition contained a continuation of Front Street (present day South Main Street) immediately paralleling the Turkey River and short intersecting streets named for pioneers Horace D. Bronson and Elisha Boardman. Both men settled in the area in the mid-1830s with plans for establishing milling operations. Elkader s position as county seat of Clayton County and the availability of water power at the town site saw the community develop steadily during the 19 th century. The development of saw mills and flour mills along the river as well as mercantile establishments, hotels, and professional services in the city center brought prosperity of the county seat. The decade of the 1890s was a period of important growth for Elkader. Floods had been regular occurrences on the Turkey River destroying mills and necessitating repairs of bridges and washed-out roads annually. As a result, completion of the Elkader Keystone Bridge (NRHP-listed) in 1889 in the center of town prompted a period of economic vitality and community investment. The community was officially incorporated two years later in 1891 and a new waterworks system and city well were completed in Electricity was rejected by locals until the end of the decade in 1900, however. In the meantime, new churches were built in 1897 for the Congregationalists on the east side of the river and in for the Catholics on the west side of the river (St. Joseph s Catholic Church, st Street SW, NRHP-listed). The South Elkader Addition though platted four decades earlier, had seen only minimal development until the 1890s boom period. Historic photos below show scattered vacant lots and small houses prior to construction of the new Catholic church. These were later replaced by more substantial pattern book houses rich with ornamentation, decorative windows, and more elaborate facades. Completion of the new St. Joseph s Catholic Church along 1 st Street SW on the western edge of the district likely affected the popularity of the neighborhood and prompted infill of the vacant lots in the South Elkader Addition. As was noted above, a number of the houses in the neighborhood were built based on the same house plan suggesting that they were built on speculation by a single developer and builder. Like the new bridge and nearby church building, nearly every house foundation was constructed using what was described by locals as magnesium limestone, a building rock known for its lack of imperfections. The limestone was extracted from Cole s Quarry located about a quarter mile southwest of town along 1 st Street/Strawberry Pt. Road/Iowa 56. 5

6 Potential South Elkader Historic District, looking south from Boardman Street SW along 300 block of South Main Street (sbove) and west along Boardman Street SW towards St. Josephs Catholic Church (NRHP-listed, outside of district) 6

7 c. Significance The South Elkader Historic District derives significance under both Criteria A and C. Under Criterion A, the district s residences are associated with pre and post-1900 boom in Elkader, Clayton County s county seat. Its turn-of-the-century middle-class houses and its location immediately adjacent to both St. Joseph s Catholic Church and the Front Street central business district add to its historic significance. Under Criterion C, the district s vernacular house forms are typical of middle-class neighborhoods in small and medium sized community in eastern Iowa. Good examples of pattern book designs featuring Queen Anne Style detailing, American Four-square plans, and various bungalow forms are found throughout the district. A good collection of well-preserved garages and carriage houses add to the area s architectural importance. The potential individually significant buildings are significant under Criterion C and for the veterinary office, Criterion A. d. Sources 1984 History of Clayton County. Clayton County Genealogical Society, Bird s Eye View Map, Elkader, Iowa, Historic photograph collection, Elkader Public Library, Elkader. History of Clayton County, Iowa. Chicago: Robert O. Law Company, History of St. Joseph s Catholic Church, The Clayton County Register, Elkader, Iowa, July 21, 1971, p. 18. Insurance Maps, Sanborn Company, 1902, 1913, 1930, and Plat Book of Clayton County, Iowa, Minneapolis: Warner & Foote, Powell, Harry. The Elkader Story. unpublished first draft, December 1980; copy available at Elkader Public Library. Standard Atlas of Clayton County, Iowa. Chicago: George A. Ogle & Co.,

8 iii. Mitigation Recommendations a. Salvage Potential The Elkader property list showed a number of properties within the potential South Elkader Historic District that may have architectural salvage available. At least one house has had the initial steps taken for removal from its site and a conversation with one of the current owners suggested that more salvage by current owners is planned prior to the buildings being acquired or demolished. Properties having the potential for exterior architectural salvage are identified in the property list. It is likely that interior salvage will be available in these same properties and others. b. Intensive Surveys Documentation of the South Elkader Historic District and major contributing resources within the district identified above is recommended through the completion of an Iowa Site Inventory Form for the district. Extensive photography was completed by Zimmer for both the primary and secondary resources within the district during the survey team s field visit. In addition, is recommended that the documentation for the St. Joseph s Catholic Church be reviewed, updated, and expanded to include all resources on the property and to reflect any changes in the post-2008 flood period. iv. Property List for Elkader, Clayton County 12/31/2008 The property list on the following pages for Elkader contains the addresses of the 51 buildings, their date of construction if known, the surveyors opinion of individual eligibility, the surveyors opinion of district eligibility, the SHPO review status, the SHPO opinion of eligibility, and a the FEMA program designation where applicable. In addition, evaluations were made for resources within the potential South Elkader Historic District. General opinions regarding potential salvage of historic interior or exterior building elements were also compiled in the property list. 8

9 Comprehensive List of FEMA and Non-FEMA Program Properties Reviewed in Elkader, Clayton County Iowa Inventory Number Street Number Street FEMA Program SHPO Reviewed SHPO DOE Year Built Surveyor Opinion Individually Eligible Surveyor Opinion - District Eligible Surveyor Opinion District Status Contributing Or Noncontributing- C/NC Salvage Y/N 208 1ST ST SW None? No No No ST ST SW None? No No No ST ST SW None? No Razed ST ST SW None? No Yes No - Yes 213 1ST ST SW None? No Razed No - Yes,, 301 1ST ST SW No Yes C carriage house 303 1ST ST SW 404 No No Yes C ST ST SW 404 No Yes Yes C Yes 401 1ST ST SW 404 No No Yes C ST ST SW 404 No No Yes C ST ST SW 404 No No Yes C ST ST SW 404 No No Yes NC No 409 1ST ST SW 404 No No Yes C Moved 206 2ND ST SW None? No No No ND ST SW None? No No No ND ST SW None? No No No ND ST SW None? No No No ND ST SW None? No No No ND ST SW None? No No No ND ST SW None? No No No ND ST SW None? No No No ND ST SW None? No No No ND ST SW None? No Yes No ND ST SW None? No No No - - 9

10 Iowa Inventory Number Street Number Street FEMA Program SHPO Reviewed SHPO DOE Year Built Surveyor Opinion Individually Eligible Surveyor Opinion - District Eligible Surveyor Opinion District Status Contributing Or Noncontributing- C/NC 101 BOARDMAN ST SW 404 No No Yes C No BOARDMAN ST SW 404 No Yes Yes C Yes 210 BOARDMAN ST SW None? No No No BOARDMAN ST SW None? No No No BRONSON ST SW None? No Razed BRONSON ST SW None? No Razed - - No BRONSON ST SW 404 No - ca No Yes C Yes 111 BRONSON ST SW 404 No No Yes C No 113 BRONSON ST SW 404 No No Yes C Yes 201 BRONSON ST SW 404 No No Yes C No 203 BRONSON ST SW 404 No No Yes C Yes 205 BRONSON ST SW 404 No No Yes C No 207 BRONSON ST SW 404 No No Yes C No 425 HIGH ST SE 404 No No No MECHANIC STREET 404 No No Yes NC No 208 OAK AVE SW None? No No No S MAIN ST 404 No No Yes C Yes 215 S MAIN ST?? No Vacant/razed? S MAIN ST?? No -?? No Yes C Yes 302 S MAIN ST 404 No No Yes C No 304 S MAIN ST 404 No Yes Yes C Yes 306 S MAIN ST 404 No No Yes C N 308 S MAIN ST 404 No No Yes C N 402 S MAIN ST 404 No No Yes C Yes 404 S MAIN ST 404 No No Yes NC N 406 S MAIN ST 404 No No Yes C N 408 S MAIN ST 404 No No Yes NC N Salvage Y/N 10