News Release 252

HISTORIC PRESERVATION COUNCIL TO CONSIDER
COLE COUNTY NOMINATIONS FOR NATIONAL REGISTER MAY 16

Volume 36-252

Contact: Sue Holst

(For immediate release)

573-751-6510

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, MAY 7, 2008 -- The Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation will consider nominations to the National Register of Historic Places during its quarterly meeting May 16 in Branson. The meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 9 a.m. in the Bee Creek Conference Room, Second Floor, Branson Convention Center, 200 East Main St. 

Twenty-eight nominations are scheduled to be considered for listing in the National Register. Properties on the agenda include historic residences, commercial buildings, historic districts, and a Santa Fe Trail site. More than 1,200 historic resources are represented in the nominations.

The following properties in Cole County are being considered:

Hugh and Bessie Stephens commissioned Evart Tracy and Egerton Swartout, architects for the Missouri State Capitol building, to design their home in 1913.  Stephens, heir to the Tribune Printing Co. and publisher of the Daily Tribune was a local businessman and civic leader with ties to local and state government. The Hugh and Bessie Stephens House at 601 Jackson St., in Jefferson City, Cole County, a representative example of the symmetrical subtype of the French Eclectic style, reflects Stephen's wealth and position in the community. In March 1965, Lincoln University bought the house as a permanent residence for its presidents and was used as such until 1999.  Plans for the house include a complete rehabilitation to bring it back into active service for the university. 

Historically known as the German Central Evangelical Church, the Central United Church of Christ at 721 Washington St. in Jefferson City, Cole County, was once the heart of Jefferson City's Munichburg Neighborhood. Consisting largely of Protestant German immigrants and their decedents, Munichburg was a self-contained and self-sustaining neighborhood in the capital city.  Founded in 1858, German Central Evangelical Church was constructed in 1891 with later additions.  The building and its associated school building, now demolished, became a significant social and ethnic center, teaching classes in German, hosting ladies aide societies, and entertainments for youth. The church helped perpetuate German language and traditions in the neighborhood while assisting residents to acclimate to Jefferson City and become important members of the larger community.

              Other properties that are being considered follow:

In addition to nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, the council will receive status reports on programs provided by the State Historic Preservation Office and discuss business related to its own function and duties. Council will also discuss coordination and preparation of Missouri's five-year statewide preservation plan. 

The Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation is a 12-member group of historians, architects, archaeologists and citizens with an interest in historic preservation. The council is appointed by the governor and works with the Department of Natural Resources' State Historic Preservation Office, which administers the National Register program for Missouri. The council meets quarterly to review Missouri property nominations to the National Register, the nation's honor roll of historic properties. Approved nominations are forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register in Washington, D.C., for final approval.

For more information about the May 16 meeting or the council, call the State Historic Preservation Office at 573-751-7858 or the department toll free at 800-334-6946.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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