Gray County, Kansas Commercial Buildings Survey

Davis Preservation

From the introduction: "Prior to the undertaking of the historic survey, only fifteen properties in Gray County had been surveyed; and only three had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places...Davis Preservation surveyed a total of 169 commercial properties in the communities of Cimarron (pop. 1934, 67 properties), Montezuma (pop. 966, 41 properties), Copeland (pop. 339, 26 properties), Ingalls (pop. 298, 16 properties), and Ensign (pop. 191, 19 properties). The firm began its site work in Montezuma, Ensign and Copeland in August 2010. Sitework for Ingalls and Cimarron was completed in October 2010... Davis Preservation conducted archival research at the Kansas State Historical Society (KSHS), the Cimarron City Library, and online. In the general remarks column of the survey database, the firm noted sources for certain information. Unfortunately, the sources commonly used for historic surveys do not exist for the majority of the communities in Gray County. The survey data is more thorough for Cimarron, the county seat, because it is the only community in the county for which Sanborn maps exist. No city directories exist for any of the communities. The lack of these historical records necessitated a novel approach to the project. At the public meeting on October 13, 2010, attendees were asked to share their downtown stories, which Davis Preservation recorded on digital audio. Participants were also given maps of the survey areas and photos of properties for which additional information was sought. This approach proved particularly fruitful for the community of Ensign and Cimarron. Betty Herrman, who has extensively researched Ensign’s history, shared a wealth of information, as did Wiley McFarland of Cimarron. 38 of the surveyed properties are identified as 'Contributing.' 32 of the surveyed properties are identified as 'Non-Contributing.'" $12000 in funding for this project was provided by a fiscal year 2010 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Gray County Historical Society (project number KS-10-002) administered by the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 20-10-21923) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Gray County, Kansas Commercial Buildings Survey

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