Historic Preservation Commission works to identify historic homes

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Jeff Sisson and the Charles City Historic Preservation Commission want to encourage residents of Charles City to do a little research and dig deep – to take the time to find out more about the place they call home.

That doesn’t mean firing up a bulldozer and uprooting the yard. But with a little research, maybe your home just might have an interesting historical background and a fascinating story to tell.

Identifying and recognizing historic structures in Charles City is just one of the goals of the commission Sisson and others started back in the 1990s.

The group met Tuesday and two topics of discussion dealt with homes and the history that comes with them.

“Let’s take a look at some of these properties that we think are historic around town – do a little research to figure out if they are and put them on the list and then we can discuss each one,” said Sisson. “We’ll find some things that somebody might not notice or go unnoticed.”

Sisson is referring to amassing an Inventory of Historic Properties of Concern. He said Rochester, Minnesota, did such an inventory of properties that were not on the National Register of Historic Places, but were considered to have historic value.

“We could look around town and ask questions as to whether or not there are qualifying properties that we should be keeping an eye on,” said Sisson.

Mark Wicks, community development director in Charles City and also a liaison to the Historic Preservation Commission, said there was a similar list compiled in Charles City in 1976 that commission members are reviewing.

“We want to encourage people to ask questions. When was it built? Who built it? What was the style? Are their others houses in town like mine?” said Sisson.

Christopher Anthony, a voting board member on the commission and floral manager at Otto’s Oasis, has also undertaken a project that deals with century-old homes.

Anthony has done some research, explored around town and identified several homes in the area that were built by George Franklin Barber – an architect who designed Queen Anne-style and Colonial Revival homes in the late 19th century during the Victorian era. Barber used mail-order catalogs to market these elaborate homes.

Anthony said he was identified several houses in town that resemble Barber homes. One is in the 300 block of Clark Street and another is located on a long paved driveway on Cleveland Avenue.

He said there is an interactive map online that lists every Barber home in the nation.

“It’s good possibilities. It’s worth sending them in and having him study them,” he said.

Anthony said a yellow home on 7th Avenue and a residence around the corner from the 500 N. Grand Building also resemble Barber’s work.

“Those two houses are almost mirror images of one another,” said Anthony.

Other works Anthony is interested in finding out more about are prefabricated homes built by the Gordon-Van Tine Company. The company began selling home kits in 1916 in the Sears-Roebuck catalog. The Gordon-Van Tine Company Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located near downtown Davenport. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

“What you’re trying to do is to get people to look at their architecture and figure out how the house was designed the way that it was,” said Sisson.

Anthony said he was spoken to Charles City real estate agents Connie Parson and Veronica Litterer about the project.

“It’s been a fun little start for me doing this,” he said.

In June, the City Council had approved adding student representatives to the Historic Preservation Commision. The commission will add four non-voting student advisory board members.

Sisson said that sometime near the end of this school semester or at the beginning of the year, the commission will sit down with middle-school teachers Ryan and Amanda Rahmiller to iron out the selection process and appointment criteria. Students would apply and be interviewed in a similar fashion as to what was done with the Junior Ambassador program at the Chamber of Commerce.

All student advisory members must live within the Charles City Community School District, which includes the Gospel Lighthouse Academy in Floyd and home-schooled students.

The student advisory members would consist of a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. The first year there would not be a senior elected. An eighth-grade student would be considered in May.

Sisson said this sets a precedent in the state in terms of having student members on commissions.

“But we would also be showing how important it is for these students to have input and for the future protection of our historic properties,” he said.

Board members of the Charles City Historic Preservation Commission are Jennifer Lessin, Laura Wallace, Carol Frye, Mary Ann Townsend, Michael Barrigan, Anthony and Sisson. Wicks and Dan Mallaro are liaisons to the board.

The next meeting of the commission is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 20.