Historic Structures

Center Point Covered Bridge, Center Point West Virginia

The Center Point Covered Bridge is is one of only 17 Covered bridges remaining in West Virginia. It is the remnant of a unique and once flourishing engineering form, the American timbered covered bridge. Such bridges once carried a huge volume of the traffic in rural areas and small towns of America. It was the timber truss mode of covered bridges (such as Center Point's Long system of 4"x" panels) that gave rise to the all metal truss bridge that is also recognized as an American contribution to world engineering. The Center Point Covered Bridge is the only remaining covered bridge in Doddridge County. On July 13, 1888, the Doddridge County Court ordered that G.W. Ice be appointed a commissioner to supply specifications for a bridge to span the Middle Fork of McElroy Creek in the McClellan District. Ice was also ordered to advertise and let out the contract for building the bridge and to superintend the construction. The records indicate that T.W. Ancell and E. Underwood built abutments and John Ash and S.H. Smith built superstructures for at least two bridges in the McClellan District.

Twentieth Century Theater, Cincinnati Ohio

Constructed in 1941, the Twentieth Century Theatre was used for movie theatre purposes from its construction date until 1984 and for commercial purposes until 1986. Located within the Cincinnati community of Oakley, this building is found within the neighborhood business district. Oakley developed initially in response to speculative developers taking advantage of early twentieth-century improvements in transportation technology and the desire of many residents to migrate from the central city into the expanding suburbs. In time, this neighborhood emerged as a working-class residential area with small single-family homes and small apartment buildings located on dense, compact streetscapes. The local business district, Oakley Square, evolved to serve the needs of the local residents. Through time, the residential community grew and attracted several major industrial facilities that employed many local residents. Notable among these were the tool works of Cincinnati Milling Machine, now Cincinnati Milicron and LeBlond Tool Works located a few blocks away in the community of Norwood. The theatre was built to serve the community and the growing eastern suburbs of the city. It was constructed at a time when the older established "Movie Palaces" of downtown were on the wane.

Kenner High School, Kenner Louisiana

Kenner High School was the first school to be built in the City of Kenner. It originally offered all grades, becoming a junior high in the late 1950s. Because the building is beneath the flight path of the nearby Lewis Armstrong International Airport, in 1993 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bought the property as part of the 1990 FAA Noise Abatement Program. In February 1995, a land swap between the City of Kenner and the FAA saved the school from demolition. The municipal government now owns the building and plans to restore it for use as city offices. Located along the north bank of the Mississippi River, the City of Kenner stands on ground under cultivation as early as 1720. By the mid-1840s these lands (consisting of three plantations) were owned by four brothers; Minor, William Butler, George R., and Duncan Farrar Kenner. (The latter achieved fame as a Confederate States diplomat and, later, for his innovations as a sugar planter.) By 1852 Duncan and George had sold their Jefferson Parish lands to their brothers, so it was Minor and William Butler who decided to subdivide the area into a town site when the newly formed New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railroad announced a proposed route across the Kenner plantations. The subdivision was apparently delayed by the 1853 death of William Butler Kenner; Minor was not able to hire a surveyor to complete the work until 1855. Kennerville, as the village was first known, developed very slowly. Although a foundry opened around 1858, it apparently brought few settlers to the town; and it appears that the majority of lots sold before Minor Kenner's 1864 death were used as truck gardens. German, Irish, and Italian immigrants, and a number of freed African-Americans, settled there after the Civil War. Kenner was incorporated in 1873 but lost its charter thirteen years later. Lumber and vegetable packing businesses opened there in the 1880s, a new city charter was granted in 1913, and the community was connected to New Orleans via the Orleans-Kenner Traction Company (a streetcar line) in 1915. Nevertheless, Kenner remained a small agricultural village far into the twentieth century. Today Kenner is a largely modern suburb of New Orleans.

Dorr E. Felt Mansion, Laketown Michigan

The Felt Mansion was the summer home of Chicago businessman Dorr Eugene Felt, inventor, entrepreneur, and statesman. Felt invented the Comptometer, the first multiple-column calculating machine, and established the Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company to manufacture the product. He served as president of the highly successful company. It was a trend among wealthy Chicagoans in the early twentieth century to establish summer estates along Lake Michigan's east shore. Dorr Eugene Felt was born March 18, 1862, on a farm in Rockford County, Wisconsin, near the town of Beloit. After leaving school at the age of 14, Felt went to work in a machine shop in Beloit. At eighteen he moved to Chicago where he soon became foreman of a rolling mill. According to a 1921 profile in Illustrated World, it was in 1885, when Felt was twenty-four and working as a planer in a machine shop, that he was first struck with the idea of developing a calculating machine to aid the shop's accountants. He devised a prototype using a wooden macaroni box, meat skewers, and rubber bands. The model so impressed the machine shop's owner, Robert Tarrant, that he fronted Felt the capital and provided him with tools and workspace to construct a metal version of the device. Felt called the machine the Comptometer and, according to an article in the November 11, 1893 Scientific American, it was able to "compute addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square and cube root by the application of which everything in arithmetic is calculated". There were other simple adding machines in use at the time, but Felt's was the first machine that could actually calculate numbers in a complex fashion. Felt patented his machine, improved it, and began marketing it. Though it met with initial resistance by accountants who thought it would put them out of a job, it soon gained acceptance and sales took off. The first machines were made by Felt himself but by 1889 sales had increased so dramatically that Felt opened a manufacturing plant, the Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company, located at 52-56 Illinois Street in Chicago. Felt served as company president until his death in 1930. The enterprise was a great success and sales were soon worldwide. Felt received three medals of excellence for his invention and the Comptometer was exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. Felt also developed a calculating machine that listed and printed the figures being calculated. According to a competitor's brochure, "Mr. Felt's efforts include probably more important contributions to the adding machine art than any other inventor of the early period". Over the years, Felt was granted forty-six patents in the United States and twenty-five in foreign countries. While the majority of the patents related to the improvement of his calculating machine, his inventions ranged from a coupon cutter to an improved camera diaphragm controller.

Lisburn Plantation House, Ferriday Louisiana

Lisburn plantation house is an outstanding example of a Greek Revival raised plantation house in northeastern Louisiana. It is probably the largest example in the area. It has full front and rear galleries, which is a feature rare in the region. Most other period examples have only a front gallery, with possibly a kitchen wing in the back. False marbling is extensively used on the front facade and on the mantels. Lisburn plantation house was built in 1852 by Thomas McAllister, a young man who had inherited its original site from his mother. It is said that he built the home for his bride Harriet Hagaman, whom he married in 1853. For the remainder of the 1850s, McAllister operated a cotton plantation on land surrounding the home. The original site was in Tensas Parish near the town of Waterproof.

Vaiden High School, Vaiden Mississippi

The history of the Vaiden School System began in the mid-1800s when Dr. Vaiden built a one-room school east of the Vaiden Cemetery for the education of white children. In 1875, Dr. and Mrs. Vaiden built a two-story brick school, the "Vaiden Male and Female Academy," on Lot 158 in Vaiden. A few years later, in 1879, Dr. Vaiden deeded the one-room schoolhouse to the African-American citizens, and by 1881, the Rosenwald Foundation had enlarged the school to three rooms.

Goodall Building, Cincinnati Ohio

The building was constructed in 1893-94 and designed by the noted Cincinnati architect George W. Rapp. Originally designed to be a seven bay, symmetrical building occupying a prominent corner opposite City Hall, it was constructed as a four-bay asymmetrical building utilizing only half of the original design. The building was built for William Goodall, a dealer in monuments, marble, and granite, whose business was located nearby. He never occupied it, but rented it out for various commercial purposes including banking and offices. Through the years it has housed various commercial, residential, and light industrial activities. It has been vacant for a number of years and has some structural deterioration.

Madam Fredin's Eden Park School & Houses, Cincinnati Ohio

938-946 Morris was constructed over several years as Madam Fredin's Eden Park School as they found it necessary to make more space for their students. Madam Fredin and her husband, August Fredin the French Consul in Cincinnati, contributed to the educational and cultural life in Cincinnati. Madam Fredin conducted a private school for girls in this city. It was one of six private girls schools at that time and the only one where pupils were permitted to stay with the family with French strictly spoken in the family. The courses were designed for the primary, preparatory and collegiate levels with the pupils being fitted to pass the Harvard Examinations for women. Many of the best families in Cincinnati sent their daughters to the school. Madam Fredin received many honors for her work for the French language and literature, being decorated with the Palms Academique by the French Academy. The L'Alliance Francaise was founded by August Fredin and upon the organization of a local branch of the order, Madam Fredin was honored by being selected as the first President.

Boston Store, Erie Pennsylvania

The Boston Store grew out of the Erie Dry Goods Company, founded in 1885 by Elisha H. Mack. In that year Mack purchased a bankrupt dry goods store on Peach Street, and named it after the city of Boston, then perceived to be a center of fashion and culture. In 1886 Mack moved the Boston Store to the 700 block of State Street after acquiring a narrow three-story building there. This latter location was nearer the center of Erie's commercial district. The Boston Store gradually expanded, purchasing neighboring properties and incorporating the acquired two and three-story buildings into the store. More departments and services were added as the store expanded. Between 1886 and 1930 the Boston Store acquired perhaps as many as eleven separate parcels of real estate in the block bounded by State, Peach, W.7^th, and W. 8^th streets. By the late 1920's the Boston Store had frontage on all four streets defining its block, and owned about two-thirds of the surface area within the block. It is interesting to note that despite all its real estate purchases, the store never owned a single corner property.

Bird Octagonal Mule Barn Birdland Farm, Cropper Kentucky

Henry Bird was a son of Philemon Bird, owner of the property across from this site. Philemon Bird gave each of his children 100 acres, and Henry acquired this site. The present dwelling on this site was constructed in 1896. The mule barn was built in 1880, or possibly earlier. He sold mules to the army and "down south". The barn housed up to forty mules at any one time. There was a narrow aisle, and a central round trough so that each mule could be fed at the same time from one piece. Their heads came together. The farm was inherited by Tate Bird, youngest of Henry's seven children, who operated a dairy farm and added to the barn. Originally he bottled and sold raw milk until regulations required homogenization. Tate Bird operated a retail milk business from ca. 1935 to ca. 1965, selling homogenized milk. He had three delivery trucks, and sold milk throughout Shelby County and as far as St. Matthews in eastern Jefferson County. Eventually expanded to sell chocolate milk and Byerly's orangeade. Barn Description

Maple Grove, Poughkeepsie New York

Maple Grove was built in 1850 as the centerpiece of a 35-acre rural estate, with a long entrance drive flanked by an allee of trees, vistas toward the Hudson River, and a full complement of outbuildings that harmonized with the main residence. Maple Grove was one of a number of country estates that were developed in the 19^th century along both sides of the main road leading south from the city of Poughkeepsie, including the famed Matthew Vassar estate, Springside, and Locust Grove, the property of inventor Samuel F. B. Morse. Maple Grove was originally developed for New York City merchant Charles Macy, and in 1870 it became the country seat of the Adolphus Hamilton family, who owned it until the 1980s. In 1891, the house was competently remodeled to the designs of the Providence architectural firm of William R. Walker & Son. Despite a serious fire in 1985 and a number of years of neglect, the main house retains most features from its original construction and later remodeling. European settlement of the Poughkeepsie area began in the late 17^th century and the village of Poughkeepsie became the county seat in 1717. By the late 18^th century the village had grown considerably in size and importance as a port and industrial center, and farms were developed south of the village along South Road (Albany Post Road, now U.S. 9). The Hudson River Railroad connected Poughkeepsie to New York City in 1849 and Poughkeepsie was incorporated as a city in 1854. The South Road corridor in the southern part of the city and in the town of Poughkeepsie remained agricultural in character until the mid 19^th century, when a number of the farms were developed into country estates by wealthy merchants from Poughkeepsie and New York City. Also, the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery was established there in 1852.

Locust Grove - Samuel Morse House, Poughkeepsie New York

Although it was not until May 24, 1844, that Samuel Finley Breese Morse telegraphed his famous message "What hath God wrought!" from Washington to Baltimore, he had been working on a long-range telegraph since 1832 and had acquired his patent in 1837. Despite the claims of various other inventors, Morse's patent has been upheld, and he is universally credited as the father of the telegraph. Morse purchased Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1847. He had been a wanderer for years, yet he returned to Locust Grove summer after summer, adding sections to the original house and making it very much his own home. Locust Grove has remained substantially unchanged since Morse's occupancy, and has undergone restoration for use as a museum.

Tacony Plantation House, Vidalia Louisiana

Tacony Plantation was the home of planter Alfred Vidal Davis and is the only remaining antebellum plantation house in the Vidalia area. It is also the last remaining brick building in Concordia Parish. It is not known precisely when the house was built. Architectural evidence suggests a date of about 1850.

Merit Underwear Company, Shoemakersville Pennsylvania

The Village of Shoemakersville developed along a transportation route, the Schuylkill River, as settlers (mostly of German extraction) moved inland from Philadelphia in the 18^th century. In 1766, Thomas Wright and George and Henry Shoemaker purchased land which now comprises Shoemakersville. Early development hinged around transportation along the river and later the Schuylkill Canal. A number of early residents were boatmen on the canal. As development in the region continued, coal mining was taking place north of Shoemakersville, and runoff from the mines was polluting the river with pieces of coal and coal dust. This pollution reached the point where it became profitable to extract the coal from the river. This was the start of Shoemakersville's industrial activities. As the area continued to develop and transportation improved, clothing manufacturing became the major industrial base for the community. In the late 19^th century, the textile industry came to cities like Reading because of the willing workforce residing in close proximity to developing textile mills and easy transportation to major markets. As the industry grew, towns such as Shoemakersville became the choice for establishing mills for much the same reason. The Merit Underwear Company is quite representative of this trend. The Merit Underwear Company was organized in Shoemakersville by several industrious individuals who lived in the community, had a desire to start a business and knew there was a ready labor force available. Shoemakersville also had easy access to Reading and larger markets. The Merit Underwear Company which specialized in ladies fine gauge, lightweight underwear had one line, the "Verna", which became internationally famous. This accomplishment demonstrated that a small company, in a small town had the ability to produce a quality product and have it reach the world market.

Wilson Junior High School, Muncie Indiana

The construction of the Wilson Junior High School building reflects theories of school design prevalent in the early 20^th century. These theories appear in several publications of the era that concern themselves with the architecture of public school buildings. Recommendations focus on health and safety issues. Stairways were to be constructed of slow-burning materials capable of resisting high temperatures and flames. They needed to employ sturdy balustrades of closed construction that would prevent the unnecessary failure of the stairway if children were to press against the balustrades in an emergency situation. The sturdy and fire-resistant terrazzo and concrete staircases of the Wilson Junior High School put these recommendations into practice. Wide corridors with glazed brick wainscoting, such as those of the Wilson School, were recommended to maintain clean, safe hallways. Good lighting was an important consideration for school buildings: theorists recommended natural and direct lighting throughout the building. In the Wilson School, large windows, clerestories and skylights bring natural light to corridors and classrooms, while the lightwell lends natural light to the stairwell. Glass partition-walls usher borrowed light into the hallways. Sanborn fire insurance maps of Muncie illustrate the development of the Wilson Junior High School and the surrounding Southside neighborhood, and show how the two evolved in unison. The 1911 map (issued ten years before the school was built) indicated that the neighborhood was still in the process of development: although its street grid was already in place, many lots were still vacant. The block bounded by 13^th, 14^th, Walnut and Mulberry, for example, was largely empty. Beyond the city's corporate boundary, then at 16^th Street, lay open land. By 1934 the streets around the Wilson School were lined with frame houses of small to medium scale; only a few lots remained vacant. The map also illustrated both the 1921 and 1927 stages of the school building, which used "fireproof construction except for wood sheathing and exposed steel in roof." It noted that the walls were of brick, tile or gypsum block, and the floors and roof were constructed of reinforced concrete. The boiler room that now adjoins the west side of the building was labeled "from plans," indicating that it had not yet been built. It too would utilize fireproof construction with brick walls, concrete floors and roof. By 1954 the neighborhood was solidly built up with houses. The school's 1954 south addition, standing two stories high and 170 feet long, was clearly indicated on the map. Like the original structure, it was labeled "non-combustible." It featured concrete floors and a gypsum slab roof on metal joists. The wing contained specialized classrooms, and a spacious gymnasium adjoined its north end. Curiously, the boiler room wing was still noted "from plans."

Irvine Grade School, Irvine Kentucky

Irvine Elementary School was established during a period of extraordinary growth. Fueled by the development of railroad transportation and the extraction of oil reserves, Irvine was settled by throngs of workers looking for social and economic opportunity. This new working class settled in the city of Irvine and began to raise families. Demands soon arose for adequate public educational facilities. The first public grade school in the city of Irvine, deemed the Irvine Public School, was founded in 1897. This structure was a one-story frame building with two classroom spaces. Entrance to the school was accessed through a lobby on which was superimposed a one-and-a-half story frame cupola. The population of Irvine continued to grow and in 1910 the Irvine Public School received a second story addition to accommodate an increasing school-age population. In February 1920, the Irvine Public School burned. According to local historian Hallie Johnstone, there were already plans for more ample facilities when the school building was destroyed. In order to more adequately serve the citizenry of the burgeoning town, the Irvine Grade School was constructed of brick in the popular Mission style. Funds for the new structure were raised through the efforts of a group of prominent local citizens headed by attorney Robert Friend. Friend formed an advisory board, which acquired donations and selected the first governing school board. Regrettably, there are no extant school board records from this time, nor are there any extant newspapers available. Thus, we have no knowledge as to who chose the form and style of the school's architecture or how much was spent on construction of the building.

Lincoln School, Paducah Kentucky

Lincoln School is the most significant building in Paducah constructed for the public education of the city's African American youth. Consisting of three buildings erected in 1894, 1921, and 1938, respectively, Lincoln School was developed to meet the demand for high-quality educational facilities for African Americans, for whom it represented for over 65 years the means to a better life. The first educational institution in Paducah was established in 1829. This was a private school conducted in the home of a local minister. Early private schools included the Paducah Male University and the Paducah Female Academy. These schools were funded by a special lottery authorized by the Kentucky State Legislature. The town's first public schools were established in 1864 when two schools were opened to white students. By 1881, there existed four schools for whites: Jefferson School, Paducah High School, Fourth District School, and Lee School. By 1893, the enrollment in the public schools totaled 2,187.

State Theatre, Elizabethtown Kentucky

Constructed in 1942, the State Theater is one of many movie theatres in the Commonwealth of Kentucky; however, it is a significant reminder of entertainment in Elizabethtown and Hardin County in the mid-20^th century. This theatre is the only remaining structure constructed solely for the purposes of showing motion pictures, and it is one of two structures in Elizabethtown-Hardin County which exhibit the Art Deco style of architecture. It is a product of the demand and needs for entertainment during World War II, and it reflects local, state, and national trends in theatre construction and Art Deco style of architecture. The growth and development of the motion picture industry occurred in the early 20^th century and affected the types of establishments and venues throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the United States. The evolution of the movie theatre and motion pictures clearly demonstrated the progressive and vibrant nature of the nation and affected the way Americans viewed the world. According to the United States Census of Business, the motion picture industry thrived in the early 20^th century. From the kinetoscope, vaudeville, and "silents" to the "talkies," Americans witnessed innovations in motion pictures and theatre construction. Early 20^th century entertainment affected commerce, industry, aesthetics, and technology.

Alma Depot, Alma Georgia

The location of present-day Alma was first a stop on a logging railroad where it crossed Big Hurricane Creek. When the McLaughlin, Deen and Company turpentine business started around 1899, Alma was named and became a post office. The town was incorporated in 1904 but not laid out until 1906. The depot, completed that same year, was outside the original town plan. In 1910 the town population was 458 but after Bacon County was created in 1914, Alma became the county seat and its population rose to 1,061 by the 1920 Census. These first decades of the town's growth saw business and residential structures constructed along either side of the railroad, around the depot. The original rail line through what is now Alma was constructed after 1887 by the Offerman and Western Railroad Company as a logging railroad. The property was sold on July 1, 1902 to the Brunswick and Birmingham Railroad Company. This railroad failed in 1904 and was purchased by the Atlantic and Birmingham Railway (A&B). In 1905, the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railroad (AB&A) was organized to purchase the Atlanta and Birmingham, to extend its trackage, develop mineral lands, and commence rail-water interchange of traffic at Brunswick.

Beattyville Grade School - WBKY Radio Station, Beattyville Kentucky

The Beattyville Grade School was built in 1926. The school housed not only students until its closure in 1967, but also housed the first public educational radio station in the United States, WBKY, aimed at rural communities from 1940-1941. This parcel of land prior to 1920 served as the site for the Ninaweb Inn, which was known as the finest lodging establishment of Beattyville. According to local documentation, the Ninaweb was sold on November 26, 1907 by Mary P. Lyon and her husband F.G. Lyon to Sam Darch for the sum of $10,000. On August 27, 1920 the Ninaweb Inn was sold by J.F. Sutton and William Goocey, Executors of the last will and testament of Samuel Darch to A. B. Hoskins and the rest of the Trustees of Beattyville Graded Common Schools District and their successors in that office. The Ninaweb was torn down and some of the materials were used in the construction of the Beattyville Grade School, whose cornerstone was laid in 1926.

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