Saline County
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Reconnaissance Level Survey For: SALINE COUNTY Nebraska Historic Resource Survey and Inventory 2015 Prepared for: Nebraska State Historical Society State Historic Preservation Office 1500 R Street • Lincoln, NE 68501 • 402.471.4787 • www.nebraskahistory.org Prepared by: Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture Incorporated 1516 Cuming Street • Omaha, NE 68102 • 402.341.1544 • F.402.341.4735 • www.alleypoyner.com Principle Investigators: Jennifer K. Honebrink & Chris Jansen Field Supervisor: Caitlin Kolb Historic Background: Jennifer K. Honebrink, Chris Jansen & Caitlin Kolb Photography: Jennifer K. Honebrink, Chris Jansen, Caitlin Kolb, & Erin Giannangelo Cover Art by Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture Incorporated Copyright 2015 Executive Summary EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PROJECT BACKGROUND The Nebraska State Historical Society awarded the contract for the 2014-2015 Nebraska Historic Resource Survey and Inventory (NeHRSI) Reconnaissance Level survey and resurvey of Saline County to Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture Incorporated. The project included the evaluation of properties with respect to the NeSHPO planning document “Historic and Prehistoric Contexts in Nebraska: A Topical Listing,” mapping, cataloging and photographing surveyed and resurveyed properties. Properties in downtown Crete were given special attention to determine whether a potential historic district existed. Additionally, the history and impact of Czech settlement throughout the county was studied and an effort was made to identify common folk buildings and landscapes associated with the Czech community. SURVEY AREA DETAILS Saline County is located in southeast Nebraska This survey systematically evaluated properties within Saline County and was the first to address the history and impact of Czech settlement in the County. The survey area included a total of 576 square miles of flat to gently rolling agricultural land and seven towns This survey reviewed a total of 5,773 properties1 o 1,057 resources previously inventoried by NSHS o 17 resources previously listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) o 2 resources previously listed as historic districts on the NRHP Resources in the survey area included o Buildings o Structures o Objects o Sites Property types in the survey area were mixed o Primarily agricultural and residential o Limited civic, industrial, recreational, educational and commercial CLARIFICATION OF TERMS This project is a Reconnaissance Level Survey, which is a visual review of all resources that can be seen from the public right-of-way within the survey area. Resources include buildings, structures, objects and sites. Those resources that appear to have historic or architectural significance are recorded in the survey inventory. The inventory consists of a database, a set of photographs and GIS mapping of locations of the resources. Within the inventory, resources can be marked as active or inactive. Active resources are those which were added to the inventory as a result of this survey or which were previously surveyed and 1 U.S. Census, American Fact Finder, 2010 Census i Saline County found to retain their historic integrity. Inactive resources are those that were previously surveyed and were found to be either non-extant or lacking in integrity. SUMMARY OF RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1,526 resources inventoried 21 recommended as individually potentially eligible to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) 2 proposed NRHP historic districts Planning recommendations o Enhanced Heritage Tourism o Development of CLGs Further Research o Wilber Bungalows CONTENTS OF THIS REPORT Chapter 1 summarizes chronologically the history of Saline County, Crete, DeWitt, Dorchester, Friend, Swanton, Tobias, Western, and Wilber Chapter 2 provides a chronological history of Czech settlement in the county and discusses physical forms that reflect that settlement. Chapter 3 explains the methods and processes used to conduct the field investigation, including limitations and biases. Chapter 4 provides an analysis of the survey findings and a statistical summary of the survey results Chapter 5 presents an annotated list of recommendations for resources to be listed individually or as a group on the National Register of Historic Places as well as recommendations for future planning efforts Chapter 6 describes the NSHS, their programs and roles in local preservation efforts Bibliography Appendix A includes a list of resources in the survey area marked as active in the database Appendix B provides a glossary of terms used in this report Within this report, surveyed resources are cross-referenced with their inventory numbers within the text. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to many people for their assistance during this project. This report could not have been completed without the additional efforts of those members of the public who attended the public meeting and/or offered information during the survey, Bob Puschendorf, Patrick Haynes, Ruben Acosta and David Murphy of the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office, Judy Rada of the Saline County Historical Society, Verne Anthony of the Wilber Czech Museum as well as the staff of the Nebraska State Historical Society Library and Archives. ADMINISTRATION AND FUNDING Survey projects are administered by the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office (NeSHPO), a division of the Nebraska State Historical Society (NSHS). This study is funded in part with the assistance of a federal grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. However, the contents and opinions expressed in this publication, do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of the Interior. ii Executive Summary Regulations strictly prohibit unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age or handicap. Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any program, activity or facility operated by a recipient of federal assistance should write to: Director, Office of Equal Opportunity, National Park Service, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20240. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Services – permanence of paper for printed Library Materials (ANSI Z39- 48-1984). iii Table of Contents CONTENTS Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ i Project Background .......................................................................................................... i Survey Area Details .......................................................................................................... i Clarification of Terms ........................................................................................................ i Summary of Results and Recommendations ........................................................................ ii Contents of this Report .................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... ii Administration and Funding .............................................................................................. ii Table of Figures ................................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 1: Historic Overview ............................................................................................. 13 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 13 Saline County ............................................................................................................... 14 Crete ........................................................................................................................... 33 DeWitt ......................................................................................................................... 51 Dorchester ................................................................................................................... 57 Friend .......................................................................................................................... 63 Swanton ...................................................................................................................... 69 Tobias ......................................................................................................................... 77 Western ....................................................................................................................... 83 Wilber ......................................................................................................................... 87 Chapter 2: Czechs in Saline County .................................................................................... 95 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 95 Background .................................................................................................................. 95 Settlement in Saline County ............................................................................................ 98 5 Saline County Architectural Manifestations of Czech Culture in Saline County ...........................................