Reconnaissance Level Historic and Architectural Survey of the East Half of Salem Township, Henry County, Iowa

SPARK Consulting; McCarley, Rebecca

From executive summary: "The Reconnaissance Level Historical and Architectural Survey of the east half of Salem Township, Henry County, Iowa, is part of a phased program to identify, evaluate, register, and protect the cultural resources of Henry County. The Henry County Historic Preservation Commission conducted a Planning for Preservation Study during 1995-1996 as the first phase of this program. This Reconnaissance Level Historical and Architectural Survey of Salem Township is the fourth survey to be conducted by the commission since the planning study. Henry County contains twelve townships. The county seat, Mount Pleasant, is located in Center Township. Salem Township is in the southwest comer with Salem located in the east half and Hillsboro in the west half. Early settlers arrived in Salem Township, and Salem was first platted in 1835. The county was formalized in 1836, and settlement focused on the southern half of the county in the first decades. The population of Henry County began to boom, growing from 8,707 in 1850 to 18,701 in 1860 to a peak of 21,473 in 1870...The purpose of the reconnaissance level survey is to identify the historic resources in east half of Salem Township, including Salem, and to develop two historic contexts to evaluate the significance of these resources... The east half of Salem Township contains 18 sections totaling 18 square miles, or 11,520 acres. A total of 201 properties in Salem and the rural east half of Salem Township with at least one resource built by 1965 were surveyed as part of this project within this area, including 199 newly identified properties. Approximately 540 resources were included within the 201 properties, such as outbuildings associated with a farm house or a garage associated with a house... From this preliminary evaluation,14 properties appear to have strong potential for individual eligibility and 126 properties were recommended for further research to better assess their potential eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Further research and evaluation is recommended for these resources in the future phases of the survey, evaluation, and nomination projects for Salem Township." Funding for this project was provided in part through a fiscal year 2007 Historic Preservation Fund grant to Henry County (project number IA-07-003) administered by the Iowa State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 19-07-21619) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Henry County, Iowa is a Certified Local Government.

Reconnaissance Level Historic and Architectural Survey of the East Half of Salem Township, Henry County, Iowa

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