Reconnaissance Level Survey of Historic Downtown Wentzville

Baxter, Karen; Keenoy, Ruth

From survey objectives: "As the first ever systematic historic survey in Wentzville, this initial reconnaissance survey creates a baseline for understanding what types of historic resources are present in Wentzville and determines what areas warrant intensive level surveys for potential historic districts within this historic commercial core. It also identifies properties that appear to be potentially eligible for individual listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Prior to this survey only a few sporadic properties that had been documented, most notably the Wentzville Tobacco Factory at 405 S. Elm Street, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, but has since been demolished, and it was expected that this survey would add significantly to the understanding of Wentzville's historic resources. Through a streetside visual inspection, mapping and photographic documentation of every property within the survey area, in combination with architectural assessments of their historic integrity and a review of available archival research materials and published histories of Wentzville, this reconnaissance survey was designed to: provide an overview of the types of historic resources in Wentzville; identify more concise areas that warrant intensive level surveys for potential historic districts; and create an historic inventory of all the resources within the survey area that will gather specific historical documentation on each building that appeared individually eligible, note physical characteristics of each property, assess each resources's potential for individual eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places, analyze the potential for historic districts and make commendations for future surveys of proposed districts within the survey area, determine each resource's contribution to any proposed historic district(s), and record each property separately on Missouri Historic Inventory Forms and creating a computer database of these forms for local use. As expected by the Downtown Committee, the survey results identified at least one and maybe more historic commercial districts as well as several individual buildings as potentially eligible to the National Register of Historic Places, and they hope to follow this reconnaissance survey with the next stage of systematic documentation by completing an intensive survey of the commercial district(s). But that was only the obvious objective of this initial reconnaissance survey - since this initial reconnaissance survey does not incorporate all of the historic buildings in Wentzville, it is also the hope of numerous citizens and community leaders that the recommendations and assessment from this project will encourage future surveys of additional areas of the city, especially historic residential areas outside the boundaries of the current survey project. This reconnaissance survey project is also expected to help the Downtown Committee in its efforts to increase the community's appreciation of its history as well as enhance local efforts to preserve the physical legacy of their past for the future." Project funding was provided in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Missouri State Historic Preservation Office administered by the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior (grant number P17AF00060).

Reconnaissance Level Survey of Historic Downtown Wentzville

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