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 Survey for 2008 Flood Projects in Vinton, Benton County HADB # 06-007 Surveyors: Marlys Svendsen & Justine Zimmer Date Submitted: December 8, 2008; Revised May 28, 2009
Vinton, Benton County - Reconnaissance Survey Date: 12/08/2008; 5/28/2009 1 Surveyors: Marlys Svendsen & Justine Zimmer i. Introduction and Purpose On November 13, 2008 Zimmer and Svendsen made a preliminary inspection of the list of pending projects in Vinton 2. All 30 addresses were designated as 404 Hazard Mitigation Buy-Out projects at the time but a number were later changed to Health and Safety Demolitions. On May 7, 2009 one additional address was added to those reviewed making the total number 31. The purpose of the site visit and photographic reviews was four fold: a. To determine whether the list appeared to include all pending properties. b. To determine whether or not any of the 30 addresses were part of a potential NRHP eligible historic district. c. For potential mitigation purposes, to identify properties with a potential for architectural salvage. d. 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 31 properties scattered throughout flooded areas of Vinton taking note of the previously completed SHPO determinations of eligibility for each property, the location of other nearby properties with potential NRHP district eligibility, and the potential for salvage for 404 properties. Because 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: One potential individually eligible building was identified located at 303 3 rd Street East. The 1½-story frame house is an example of a vernacular hipped-roof house form dating from the 1880s through the 1910s in eastern Iowa. This example 1 New property at 5701 Hwy 150, Vinton added to list of addresses reviewed. 2 From the 1763 Demolition Data Base as maintained by Kathy McCarty, Debris Administrative Specialist, FEMA, AFO Cedar Rapids 11/24/2008. 2
retains its original four-inch clapboard siding on the first floor, decorative fish-scale shingles in the four large gable attic dormers, and original 2/2 double-hung windows. The house s original mansard-roofed wing retains the original entrance porch extending along the ell with turned full and half-posts supporting a mansard porch roof. The house also retains its original front door with a single large glass light in the upper half and paired vertical panels below. Together, these elements demonstrate a moderate to high level of integrity for an uncommon vernacular house form in Vinton. Its significance is enhanced by its close proximity to the Benton County Court House (NRHP listed). In this case a site form previously submitted to the SHPO was reviewed as not eligible though the reconnaissance surveyor s opinion following a field inspection is that the building is potentially eligible under Criterion C. District Resources: One potentially eligible historic district was identified that includes a concentration of project properties. The L-shaped district is located in the 100 block of 2 nd Street W, the 100 block of A Avenue, and properties at the intersecting corners of 1 st Avenue and A Avenue with 2 nd Street W. This district includes approximately 16 primary resources of which 13 are contributing and 3 are noncontributing. For purposes of this reconnaissance survey, the potential district is identified as the A Avenue and 2 nd Street Historic District. a. Area Description The area evaluated as containing a potential historic district has an L-shaped boundary extending along 2md Street W and A Avenue adjacent to the Cedar River. The buildings in the district include 1, 1½, and 2-story vernacular frame houses with a mix of side-gabled, front-gabled, hipped roof and gabled-ell forms. Their front yards face the 100 block of 2 nd Street W or A Avenue with their rear property lines along the Cedar River in most instances. The one-block section of 2 nd Street was originally named Polk Street and the one block section of A Avenue was originally named Beckett Street in the city of Fremont, the forerunner of Vinton. Both streets are level with the houses having shallow to moderate setbacks from the front property lines. Narrow side yards separate neighboring houses. Both the October 1885 Sanborn Map and the 1885 plat map of Vinton show several of the current houses already in place. The main historic building in the district, is a 2-story gable-roofed brick warehouse located at 201 1 st Avenue. It also appears on the 1885 Sanborn Map and 1885 plat map. Subsequent Sanborn Maps show the changes made in the foot prints for the houses and the growth of the canning factory complex. The first Sanborn Map to depict some of the houses was published in 1885 with changes appearing in subsequent maps published in 1892, 1899, 1906, 1913, 1921, and 1941. A Cedar River bridge crossing is presently at the east end of the district at 1 st Avenue, originally named Washington Street. Downtown Vinton is located about two blocks south of the district. It extends along 1 st Avenue and intersecting blocks to 3
either side along 3 rd, 4 th, and 5 th Street with the densest Main Street blocks along 4 th Street. About one block southeast from the district, the NRHP-listed Benton County Court House is on the courthouse square located north of 4 th Street between 1 st and 2 nd Avenues. A number of commercial buildings have been previously evaluated as potentially eligible by the SHPO and the multi-block central business district appears to have sufficient integrity and architectural significance to qualify as a NRHP historic district in the opinion of the IHSEMD surveyors. b. Historical Background As noted above, the blocks of the A Avenue and 2nd Street West Historic District were among the earliest to be platted and developed in Vinton. Most are included in Block 4 of the Original Town of Fremont with the balance in Beckett s Addition. The buildings occupied an important location along the route that extended to an earlier bridge crossing identified on the 1885 plat of Vinton. This crossing was located one block upstream of the current crossing at 1 st Avenue. The 1885 Sanborn Map shows the L-shaped district s blocks substantially developed with residences and a 2-story industrial building along the south side of the 100 block of 2 nd Street W. The building appears to be the present 2-story brick building at 201 1 st Avenue. The residences in the district are a mix of vernacular house forms typical of the 1870s to 1930s. They include small sidegabled 1-story forms, front-gabled 1 and 1½ -story forms, 2-story side-gabled houses, and several multi-storied gabled-ells. In nearly every case, porches were attached at the entrances with common alterations including porch enclosures. Several of the houses retain original ornamentation such a decorative shingles and milled porch posts. Several have synthetic sidings including metal, vinyl and Transite. None of the houses are examples of high-style architecture. Instead they represent the pallet of vernacular housing forms adopted by working-class families in the decades before and after the turn of the 20 th century. The major historic resource in the neighborhood is the factory warehouse at 201 1 st Avenue, which operated under various owners and business names through the years. The earliest available Sanborn Map shows the warehouse as S.H. Watson Canning Company in 1885. Later maps show the building as the Cedar Valley Packing Company in 1892; the Vinton Canning Company in 1899, 1906, 1913, and 1921; and the Iowa Canning Company in 1941. The original business appears to have been established by Samuel H. Watson, a Vinton pioneer, successful banker, and holder of school and town offices. During the 1890s the canning factory operated under several names with a change to the Kelley Canning Company in ca. 1892. W.C. Ellis, Frank G. Ray and H.B. Kelley served as its owner-officers. In 1895 it was reorganized as the Vinton Canning Company, one of several plants operated as part of the Iowa Canning Company. In the 1890s it was described as the first corn canning factory west of the Mississippi. A decade later in 1905 it had branch factories in La Porte City, Garrison and Shellsburg processing nearly 9 million cans of corn annually under 23 brands. The Vinton operation s capacity alone 4
exceeded 3 million cans annually including such brands as Vinton Blue, Vinton Yellow, Vinton Red, Vinton Green, Vinton Black, Iowa s Pride, and Iowa Chief. 250 workers are employed during the peak season before World War I. Potential A Avenue and 2 nd Street Historic District, looking west along 2 nd Street West from 1 st Avenue (above) and east along 2 nd Street West from A Avenue (below) 5
In 1947 the Minnesota Valley Canning Company bought the Iowa Canning Company and by 1950 operated the Vinton factory under the new name, Green Giant Company. Employment exceeded 600 during the harvest season with 23 year round workers during the 1950s. The building was discontinued as a canning factory at an unknown date. Later uses identified in local interviews were as a radiator company, the Perfex Company, and Ideal Industries. c. Significance The A Avenue and 2nd Street West Historic District derives significance under both Criteria A and C. Under Criterion A, the district s residences are associated with the earliest years of Vinton s development as Benton County s county seat. Its late 19 th century working-class houses and its location immediately adjacent to the former Iowa Canning Company site since the mid-1880s add to its historic significance. Under Criterion C, the district s vernacular house forms are typical of workingclass neighborhoods in small and medium sized community in eastern Iowa, especially those neighborhoods that were located near industrial operations. d. Sources Hill, Luther B. History of Benton County, Iowa, Vol. I. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1911. History of Vinton. Elmo L. Baxter, Advisor for American History Class, Vinton High School, 1915. History of Benton County, Iowa. Chicago: Western Historical Society, 1878. Plat of Vinton Benton County Iowa. Minneapolis: Warner & Foote, Publishers, 1885. Sanborn Maps for Vinton, Iowa. 1885, 1892, 1899, 1906, 1913, 1921, and 1921 updated to 1941. Digital Sanborn Maps 1867-1970. Available online at http://sanborn.umi.com/cgi-bin/auth.cgi?command=accessok&ccsi=14714n, accessed 11/25/2008. Telephone interview, Robert LaGrange, Vinton local historian. The Vinton Eagle 1855-1905, Semi Centennial. January 10, 1905. 6
iii. Findings for all Vinton Properties Reviewed Iowa Inventory Street Comprehensive List of FEMA Program Properties Reviewed in Vinton, Benton County Street FEMA Program SHPO Reviewed SHPO Year Built Surveyor Opinion Individually Surveyor Opinion - District Surveyor Opinion District Status contributing or noncontributing- C/NC Salvage Y/N 06-00722 403 1st Street W Buy-out YES NO 1940 NO NO - NO 06-00735 206 2nd Avenue Buy-out YES NO 1900 NO NO - NO 06-00736 208 2nd Avenue Demolition YES NO 1900 NO NO - NO 06-00721 306 2nd Street E Demolition YES NO 1930 NO NO - NO 06-00726 310 2nd Street E Demolition YES NO 1880 NO NO - NO 06-00720 316 2nd Street E Demolition YES NO 1880 NO NO - NO 409 2nd Street E Withdrew NO - 1910 NO NO - NO 06-00719 507 2nd Street E Buy-out YES NO 1950 NO NO - NO 101 2nd Street W Buy-out YES NO 1961 NO YES NC NO 06-00729 103 2nd Street W Demolition YES NO 1915 NO YES C NO 06-00730 105 2nd Street W Demolition YES NO 1910 NO YES C NO 06-00733 107 2nd Street W Buy-out YES NO ca.1900 NO YES C NO 06-00728 109 2nd Street W Demolition YES NO ca.1900 NO YES C YES 06-00731 115 2nd Street W Buy-out YES NO ca.1870 NO YES C NO 06-00732 201 2nd Street W Demolition YES NO ca.1890 NO YES C NO 415 2nd Street W Withdrew NO - - NO NO - NO 202 3rd Avenue Buy-out NO - 1980 NO NO - NO 06-00741 302 3rd Avenue Buy-out YES NO 1890 NO NO - NO 06-00718 201 3rd Street E Demolition YES NO 1900 NO NO - NO 207 3 rd Street E Buy-out? NO - 1920 NO NO - NO 06-00717 209 3rd Street E Buy-out YES NO 1915 NO NO - NO 06-00716 213 3rd Street E Buy-out YES NO 1910 NO NO - NO 7
Iowa Inventory Street Street FEMA Project SHPO Reviewed SHPO Year Built Surveyor Opinion Individually Surveyor Opinion - District Surveyor Opinion District Status contributing or noncontributing C/NC Salvage Opportunity Y/N 303 3rd Street E Buy-out NO - ca. 1870 YES NO - NO 511 3rd Street W Demolition NO - 1900 NO NO - NO 06-00740 515 3rd Street W Buy-out YES NO 1900 NO NO - NO 06-00458 713 3rd Street W Buy-out YES NO 1920 NO NO - NO 06-00739 714 3rd Street W Demolition YES NO 1900 NO NO - YES 06-00743 918 5th Street W Unknown YES NO 1870 NO NO - NO 06-00744 916 5th Street W Unknown YES NO 1940 NO NO - NO 106 A Avenue Buy-out? NO - 1998 NO YES NC NO 06-00745 116 A Avenue Buy-out YES NO 1900 NO YES C NO 06-00746 205 B Avenue Buy-out YES NO 1900 NO NO - NO 06-00750 414 H Avenue Demolition YES NO 1900 NO NO - NO 5701 Hwy 150 Buy-out NO NO Ca. 1900 NO NO - NO 06-00748 504 Riverside Buy-out YES NO 1958 NO NO - NO 503 Riverside Demolition NO - 1970 NO NO - NO Additional Properties in Potential District but not in FEMA Programs 101 A Ave No Project NO - 1870 NO YES C - 102 A Ave No Project NO - ca. 1990 NO YES NC - 103 A Ave No Project NO - 1870 NO YES C - 107 A Ave No Project NO - 1880 NO YES C - 109 A Ave No Project NO - 1900 NO YES C - 201 1st Ave No Project NO - ca. 1885 NO YES C - 8
A separate list of all of the potential A Avenue and 2nd Street West Historic District buildings along with their contributing or noncontributing status within the district and comments is included below: All Properties in Potential A Avenue and 2nd Street West Historic District Iowa Inventory Address District Eligibility Opinion 101 2 nd Street W Noncontributing 1961 Comments 06-00729 103 2 nd Street W Contributing 1915, altered but supportive of district 06-00730 105 2 nd Street W Contributing ca. 1910, altered but 06-00733 107 2 nd Street W Contributing ca. 1900, porch enclosed but 06-00728 109 2 nd Street W Contributing ca. 1900, porch enclosed but 06-00731 115 2 nd Street W Contributing ca. 1870, altered but 06-00732 201 2 nd Street W Contributing ca. 1890, few alterations 101 A Avenue Contributing ca. 1870, altered but 102 A Avenue Noncontributing ca. 1990 103 A Avenue Contributing ca. 1880, altered but 106 A Avenue Noncontributing 1998 107 A Avenue Contributing ca. 1880, altered but 109 A Avenue Contributing ca. 1900, altered but 06-00745 116 A Avenue Contributing ca. 1900, few alterations 201 1 st Avenue Contributing ca. 1885, Iowa Canning Co. 9