Intensive Level Survey of College Gardens Historic District, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Department of Geography, Oklahoma State University; Bays, Brad

Abstract: "An intensive-level survey of the College Gardens residential area of Stillwater, Oklahoma was conducted during the 2002-03 fiscal year under contract from the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Brad A. Bays, a geographer at Oklahoma State University, conducted the research. The survey involved a study area of 87 acres in the western part of Stillwater as specified by the survey and planning subgrant stipulations prepared by the SHPO. The survey resulted in the minimal level documentation of 213 properties within the designated study area. Minimal level documentation included the completion of the Historic Preservation Resource Identification Form and at least two elevation photographs for each property. This document reports the findings of the survey and provides an analysis of these findings to guide the SHPO's long term preservation planning process. This report is organized into several parts. A narrative historic context of the study area from the date of earliest development (1927) to the mid-twentieth century (1955) is provided as a general basis for interpreting and evaluating the survey results. An annotated bibliography demonstrates the breadth of historical investigation achieved by the survey personnel and provides direction for further research into specific events, processes, and personalities associated with the properties within the survey area. Maps are included to provide spatial reference to the survey results and conclusions. The research design and methodology of the survey explains the scope, objectives, and limitations of this reconnaissance level survey. The Results section of this report provides an evaluation of the empirical patterns of the data collected in this intensive level survey. The patterns and characteristics of extant properties found in the survey are discussed and individual properties that would contribute to a potential National Register district are identified, as are those individual properties that would not contribute. AH individual properties surveyed are discussed in thumbnail sketches. An evaluation of the architectural significance of the individual properties and potential historic districts is provided by Dr. John Womack of the Oklahoma State University School of Architecture." Funding was provided in part by a 2003 Historic Preservation Fund grant administered by the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office (project number OK-03-404, grant number 40-03-18236) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Intensive Level Survey of College Gardens Historic District, Stillwater, Oklahoma

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