Planning for Preservation Project, Mitchell County, Iowa

Tallgrass Historians L.C.; Rogers, Leah; Allen, Melissa

From introduction: "The Planning for Preservation program is specifically "geared to help newly certified or inactive commissions receive basic training in three areas: 1) preservation activities-planning, survey, evaluation; 2) project development, management, and completion; and 3) working with a historic preservation professional" (State Historical Society of Iowa 2011 :7). "The goal of these projects is to help the Commission and Community understand the role and use of planning, survey and evaluation in a local historic preservation program, particularly in developing a historic property inventory and using the inventory in comprehensive planning" (ibid.). By design, Planning for Preservation projects are limited in both scope and budget; therefore, these types of projects do not include a survey component, although a reconnaissance-level survey assessment is often conducted as part of the planning project. The primary goal of the Mitchell County Planning for Preservation project was to provide the Mitchell County HPC with the knowledge and training to guide them through the preservation process in the county and to further historic preservation in general in the county. Specific objectives include the following: training commission members, local volunteers, and elected officials in preservation principles, the survey and evaluation process, and the National Register of Historic Places; assisting volunteers with completing Iowa site Inventory Forms for selected properties; informing volunteers on photography and research of historic properties; completing a historical summary of Mitchell county's development; identifying historic contexts for the county's development; conducting a reconnaissance-level survey of selected areas of the county; and completion of draft and final reports that will detail the project activities, make recommendations for future projects, provide a research design for the highest priority project, and include a bibliography of previous surveys in the county and historic preservation reference materials to assist the Commission in future preservation efforts." Project funding was provided in part by a 2011 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Mitchell County (project number IA-11-056) administered by Iowa State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 19-11-31922) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mitchell County, Iowa is a Certified Local Government.

Planning for Preservation Project, Mitchell County, Iowa

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