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Home My WebLink About1999-322 RESOLUTION NO. 99-322 ACCEPTING PROPOSAL OF EMPSON ARCHIVES FOR ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY OF HERSEY STAPLES ADDITION BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of Stillwater, Minnesota, that the proposal of Empson Archives for an architectural survey of the Hersey Staples Addition, hereto attached as Exhibit A, is hereby accepted, and the Mayor and Clerk are authorized to enter into said Agreement. Adopted by Council this 2nd day of November, 1999. JayK ATTEST: . \. A PRoPoSAL FOR A SURVEY OF HERSEY, STAPLES ADDITION SUBMITIED TO THE STILLWATER HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION BY EMPSON ARCHIVES P.o. Box 791 Stillwater, Mn 55082 351-0172 t.. I< October 1, 1999 Hersey & Staples Addition Proposal Area of the Survey Hersey, Staples & Co's Addition is within Government Lot #2 and Government Lot #3, Section 34, T30N, R20W. The Addition was platted in June of 1857 by the Hersey, Staples Lumber Company whose Mill was on the riverfront below the Addition. The Addition consists of 18 Blocks bounded on the South by Orleans Street, on the West by Sixth Avenue, on the North by Hudson Street, and on the East by the bluff line , although there are some lots along South Main Street. There are approximately 123 properties within this area. Hersey, Staples & Co, was headed by Samuel Freeman Hersey, who had much experience in the lumber industry in l\tlaine, and who owned land in Michigan, Canada, and Iowa. Issac Staples was the resident partner in Stillwater. The company operated one of the finest mills in the Territory of Minnesota, they were wholesale and retail dealers in logs and lumber, they were a part owner in boom companies, dam companies, and a general store. They promoted railroads, banks, and speculated in land. Our Proposal We will incorporate the information gleaned from our research in the--=context of Robert Vogel's Stillwater Historic Contexts and other research done previously in Stillwater. >. i< We will review the survey work on the properties prepared by the Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission. We will identify, date, and catalog the 130 properties in the Preservation Planning Area in the manner required by the Minnesota Historical Society. If 1 f \. Hersey & Staples Addition Proposal necessary, we will talk with them directly to make sure we provide the correct information in the form they wish. . We will discuss the architectural styles in the Preservation Planning Area and compare it to other Stillwater neighborhoods. We will photograph all properties. We will prepare a report which describes the development of the area, recommendations for future survey work, and suggest properties that might be eligible for local historic designations and/or eligible for the National Register of Places. vVe will not make any nominations ourselves. We will discuss any possible planning methods for preservation of historic structures, landscapes, and neighborhoods. We will attend three meetings with the Stillwater H.P.C. Our Research We propose to do a thorough study of the area, despite the considerable time and money constraints. We will use the yearly tax assessor's records collected in the State Archives and available on microfilm, 1861-1900, at the Stillwater Public Libraryua gift of Rivertown Restoration. These records were generated much the same way they are today. Every year the tax assessor viewed all the properties in the city and made an estimate of the market value of the lapd and the improvements. By following a property through the years, it is usually possible to determine when the value jumped from that of a lot only to that of a lot with a building o~ it. This record also contains the name of the property owner "- through the years. While this kind of research is tedious in the extreme, it gives accurate information that can be found in no other way. (The first two surveys used the date of building found on the assessment card at the tax assessor's office. Before the turn of the century, these dates are 2 . \. Hersey & Staples Addition Proposal notoriously inaccurate, an admission readily made by the tax assessor's office itself.) Rivertown Restoration recently paid to have the Stillwater building permit applications, 1886-1940, microfilmed. They, along with an index compiled by Kay Thueson, are available at the Stillwater Public Library. The applications give the date of building, the size of the structure, name of the owner, sometimes the name of the builder and architect, and other incidental information. There are also applications for repairs and remodeling. This information is invaluable and essential for any thorough study. There are useful records available ill the Water Department, the Fire Department, and the Public Works Department and in the Minutes of the Stillwater City Council that have never been used. The Sanborn Insurance Maps will be of value. There are a number of unpublished manuscripts and some published reminiscences which might contain some useful information, although, frankly, we have found much of this information inaccurate. In general, we will try to use only original sources for our research. For visual aids, there are two Bird's Eye View Maps of Stillwater drawn in 1869, and again in 1879. With their accurate representations of each house and building, these are extremely useful. We will talk to the residents of the area in cases where we have some uncertainties; when convenient we will try to obtain copies of property Abstracts. We will also use the land records at the office of the Recorder of . f-~ Deeds. ;.: There are photographs on file at the Stillwater Public Library, the Washington County Historical Society, and the Minnesota Historical Society. In our experience, many residents have old photos of their homes which we would try to incorporate in our research. In 1978, Rivertown 3 . " " Hersey & Staples Addition Proposal Restoration photographed every house in Stillwater over 50 years old. These photographs are presently unorganized, but they might be useful in particularly perplexing cases. Qualifications Empson Archives Donald Empson University of lVIinnesota: Bachelor of Arts Degree, 1965. Minor: History; Major: English. Master of Arts Degree, 1965. Library Science. Advanced Study, University of Iowa, Iowa City. Director, Chippewa County Library, 1965-1967. Montevideo, Minnesota. Instructor, School of Library Science, 1967-1970. University of Iowa, Iowa City. Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minnesota. Reference Librarian, 1970-1973. Map Librarian, 1973-1976. Self-Emploxed, Antique clock and watch repair, 1976-1988. i< Semi-retired, 1988-. 4 ~ ' . . ,. Hersey & Staples Addition Proposal Publications The Street "Where You Live. Witsend Press, 1975. Portrait of a Neighborhood. St. Paul, 1980. Guidebook to the 1870 and 1879 Bird's Eye View Maps of Stillwater, Minnesota. Empson Archives, 1995. Miscellaneous newspaper and magazine articles. Project Budget Research............................................................... ..$3,500.00 Photography and Field Work.................................... $1500.00 Data Analysis.................................... ..................... $1000.00 :Nleetings with HPC..................................................... $200.00 Printing Costs......... ................................................... ..$300.00 Compose Final Report................................................ .$3000.00 Total Fee:...... ... ... ... ... ...... ...... ... ... ... ...... ... ... ... ...... ... ... .$8,500.00 5