Intensive Level Historical and Architectural Survey of the Sherman Nursery Company in Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa

SPARK Consulting; McCarley, Rebecca

Executive summary: "The Intensive Level Historical and Architectural Survey of the Sherman Nursery Company "proper" in Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa, is part of a phased program to identify, evaluate, register, and protect the cultural resources of Charles City. Historic preservation projects have been completed in Charles City since the 1970s. A Planning for Preservation study was completed in 1996 to make recommendations for future projects and work for the Charles City Historic Preservation Commission. The survey of the Sherman Nursery Company was recommended through this project and developed locally with interest in the future of the property. The Charles City Historic Preservation Commission received a Certified Local Government (CLG) grant in spring 2010 to conduct this survey. The survey area is the approximately 20 core acres of the Sherman Nursery Company proper in Section 12 on the west side of Charles City that contains the office building, primary greenhouses, bridges, and packing and shipping facilities. The larger Sherman Nursery Company holdings stretch into Section 11 to the west, as well as include other scattered properties in the area. Erwin M. Sheman moved to Charles City from nearby Chickasaw County and launched the Sherman Nursery Company in 1884 on rented land. He bought his first 200 acres in 1894-95. Construction in Section 12 from 1902 to 1909 included the stone office, a large stone packing/shipping building, six greenhouses, and a heating plant. The complex expanded in the 1910s, and two railroad bridges were built for railroad spurs to the property in 1910. The company grew rapidly through the 1910s and 1920s, becoming known for its evergreens, fruit trees, and other hardy trees and plants, as well as for its cut roses. Products were sold wholesale and retail through a system of sales agents. Sherman continued to serve as president of the Sherman Nursery Company until he sold it to an investment company, Ellis & Ellis, in 1931, a few years prior to his death in 1934. The company was sold in 1947 to M.R. Cashman, and the entire physical plant was refurbished, rebuilt, or constructed new from 1948 to 1964. This work positioned the company for success through the next couple decades, with nursery practices shifting to container growing. Additional construction and rehabilitation was undertaken after Bailey Nurseries purchased the Sherman Nursery Company in 1983 through the 1990s. Sherman Nursery Company continues to operate as a division of Bailey Nurseries in Charles City in 2011, though the local operations have been scaled back over the last few years. The goal of this intensive level survey was to research and evaluate the historic resources within the Sherman Nursery parcel associated with the office building and majority of the buildings and structures. The primary goal of the project was to evaluate a potential historic district and to identify boundaries and contributing buildings. The buildings were evaluated for individual eligibility as well. Research was conducted to develop a historic context relating to the company history to evaluate the historic resources surveyed. As a result of the survey project, six individual historic resources (built by 1960) were surveyed, as well as several later buildings." Project funding was provided in part by a 2010 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the City of Charles City (project number IA-10-052) administered by the Iowa State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 19-10-21922) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Charles City, Iowa is a Certified Local Government.

Intensive Level Historical and Architectural Survey of the Sherman Nursery Company in Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa

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