Project Report, Belleville Downtown Historic Preservation Survey

Nimz, Dale

From introduction: "Generally, the survey covered the buildings around the courthouse square from 18th to 19th and from M to N Streets. Additional properties were surveyed on M Street north toe 15th and south to 20th as well as west of the square on L Street. Buildings in the survey area were recorded with digital photographs. Individual buildings were inventoried and building locations were recorded on a survey map. Approximately 93 buildings (historic and modern) were inventoried in the survey area... To develop additional specific information on construction dates, the significant businesses and prominent people associated with downtown Belleville, the consultant recommends future interviews with knowledgeable Belleville residents (long-time business operators and property owners.) Then, newspaper research could be focused by estimated dates of construction and occupancy. For a limited number of significant buildings, additional research in county property records could confirm property owners and their tenure. Republic County is located in the northern tier of Kansas counties along the Nebraska border. Organized in 1860, the county is surrounded, from east to west, by Washington, Cloud, and Jewell counties. Belleville is the county seat of Republic County with a population of 2,239 in the year 2000. The historic commercial district is arranged around a central courthouse square located in the approximate center of town. U.S. Highway 36 runs along the southern edge of town. Before the realignment of Highway 36 in the 1930s and the movement of Highway 81 to the west in 1955, automobile traffic moved through the commercial district on M Street. Historically, two railroad lines, the Union Pacific branch from Junction City and the Rock Island main line from Chicago to Denver, served Belleville." Project funding was provided in part by a 2008 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Belleville Main Street Program (project number KS-08-003) administered by the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 20-08-21721) administered by the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Project Report, Belleville Downtown Historic Preservation Survey

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