Final Report: Historic/Architectural Survey of Old Ferguson West, Ferguson, St. Louis County, Missouri

Baxter, Karen; Keenoy, Ruth

Abstract: "In 2008, Karen Bode Baxter and Ruth Keenoy completed the Historic Resources of Ferguson, Missouri Multiple Properties Documentation Form for the Ferguson Landmarks Commission of the City of Ferguson, Missouri to identify property types and historic contexts under which individual properties and historic districts would be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The report accompanying this document to the Ferguson Landmarks Commission recommended the systematic survey of older residential neighborhoods to assess the potential for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. This resulted in the current survey project, updating and expanding upon the 1983 survey of portions of the Old Ferguson West neighborhood. As a result of this project, 190 properties were photographed and evaluated for their architectural and historic significance. Each building has been assessed both for its status, or contribution, to the potential historic district (identified as the Old Ferguson West Historic District) and for its potential for individual listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The neighborhood developed between 1855 and 1959, although a few additional buildings date as late as 1977. Most of the primary resources are private residences (79 of the 162 private residences include separate garages or carriage houses), but the survey area also includes 5 apartment buildings, 2 duplex residences (each with a detached garage), the train depot, a Masonic lodge, a school, 2 churches, 2 lots containing only 3 detached garages (houses demolished), 9 empty lots and 5 parking lots within the neighborhood. Of all of these resources, only 1 is currently listed on the National Register (Central School (NR listed 9/7/84)), but 4 more appear to be individually eligible (3 residences and the Masonic lodge). In addition, of the 174 primary buildings, 151 of the primary resources would be contributing to the proposed historic district, even though the vast majority are not individually eligible. Only 23 would not be contributing to the proposed historic district, mostly due to alterations, although 6 are too new, having been built between 1960 and 1977. There are also 13 garages that appeared to be too new or too altered to be contributing to the district. Each property has been entered separately on a Missouri Historic Inventory Form, within the Access database format developed specifically for Karen Bode Baxter, Preservation Specialist by Sara Bularzik. The database was filed with the City of Ferguson and with the historian for St. Louis County, Esley Hamilton, to provide easy local access to the information about each resource in the context of the district. The results of this project are summarized in this narrative report along with an assessment of the potential for district and individual eligibility. Recommendations are included to guide the commission in making decisions based upon the findings of this survey. Appendices and maps have been utilized to graphically explain the results of the survey, building by building." Funding was provided in part by a 2009 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the City of Ferguson (project number MO-09-018) administered by the Missouri State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 29-09-21831) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Ferguson, Missouri is a Certified Local Government.

Final Report: Historic/Architectural Survey of Old Ferguson West, Ferguson, St. Louis County, Missouri

Collections