Historic structure report, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Quinn Evans Architects

This Historic Structures Report will recommend general and specific preservationtreatments for the Spring Hill Ranch House, springhouse/curing room, barn, Lower FoxCreek Schoolhouse, outhouse, icehouse/cistern, carriage house, and poultry house in theTallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Recommendations will be given with the objective of treating the complex in a consistent, integrated manner. The period of national significance for the Spring Hill Ranch, as defined in the National Historic Landmark designation, extends from the first purchases of the properties by Stephen Jones in 1878 through 1904, when Bernard “Barney” Lantry’s surviving sons sold off the ranch lands. The Historic Resource Study, completed in 2000, and the draft Cultural Landscape Report, ongoing, suggest that both the 19th and 20th century resources are significant at a state and local level and coincide with the development and decline of the railroads and their relationship to the resource until cattle shipment shifted to trucks in the 1960s through 1970. The period of significance for the Spring Hill/Z Bar Ranch, for the purpose of this report, can be defined as 1878 to 1970 as a basis for treatment recommendations identified for resource structures. In particular, this Historic Structure Report (HSR) will place the highest priority on preserving the features that contribute to the National Historic Landmark period of significance, while respecting those features that have gained importance through association with the extended period of significance. The proposed action defined for the Preferred Alternative in the General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (GMP), is the integration of the management of the natural and cultural resources of the preserve. The intended use as an interpretive site along with the juxtaposition of the expanded period of significance renders preservation the overriding treatment according to The Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Preservation, according to the standards, is defined as the act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity, and materials of an historic property. Work, including preliminary measures to protect and stabilize the property, generally focuses upon the ongoing maintenance and repair of historic materials and features rather than extensive replacement and new construction. The limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and other code-required work to make properties functional is appropriate within a preservation project. The character defining features, materials, spaces, and uses of the core buildings and adjacent cultural landscape are essentially intact and can be utilized, with minor accommodations, to convey the broad history of ranching in the Flint Hills. The treatment recommendations, along with the proposed drawings, focus on preserving the Spring Hill/Z-Bar Ranch property by maintaining its significance and authenticity in terms of historic and architectural character, and introducing sensitive modifications to allow for barrier free accessibility, resolution to site drainage issues, and upgrading of building systems to respond to current codes deficiencies.