(WIBW) - More than a dozen places around Kansas are nominated for spots on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Historic Sites Board of Review voted to forward 15 nominations at its quarterly meeting May 8. If staff at the office of the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. agrees with the board’s findings, the properties will be included in the National Register.

The National Register of Historic Places is the country’s official list of historically significant properties. Properties must be significant for one or more of the four criteria for evaluation: they are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; they are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; if they embody the characteristic of a type, period, or method of construction, or represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic values, or represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or if they have yielded or may be likely to yield information important in prehistory or history.

The National Register recognizes properties of local, statewide, and national significance.

Below are summaries of the nominated properties:

Council Grove Downtown Historic District – Morris County
Council Grove is located at the head of the Neosho River, which stretches southeast 450 miles through southeast Kansas to Oklahoma. The traditional home of the Kansa, Osage, and Wichita Indians, the Neosho Valley faced a period of rapid change during the mid-19th century when the area was opened to Euro-American traders, emigrants, and settlers.

The original town was platted parallel to the Neosho, and the commercial district expanded west of and perpendicular to the river along West Main Street. The downtown buildings represent a century of commercial growth and development from the city’s earliest days as a western outfitting post on the Santa Fe Trail through World War II. Most of the district’s buildings are located in traditional commercial blocks and display a wide range of popular architectural styles from ornate 1880s Italianate and Romanesque designs to simple 1920s Commercial-style structures. The district boundaries are concentrated along three-and-a-half blocks of Main Street and are based on previous historic preservation survey and recommendations by the staff of the Kansas Historic Preservation Office.

H. W. Gates Funeral Home – 1901 Olathe Boulevard, Kansas City, Wyandotte County
Kansas City, Kansas, architect Fred S. Wilson designed this two-and-a-half-story Neoclassical-style building in 1922 for undertakers Horatio and Mary Gates. This was the third home of the H. W. Gates Funeral Home, a family business run by three generations of the Gates family for nearly a century. Its Neoclassical design is reflected in the two-story columned front porch, cornice returns in the gable ends of the main roof and dormers, multi-light windows, and the fanlight and sidelights at the main entrance. The building illustrates the funeral home property type constructed throughout the United States during the early twentieth century, and was nominated for its architectural and commercial significance.

North Market Street Apartments Historic District – 718, 722, and 730 N Market Street, Wichita, Sedgwick County
The North Market Street Apartments Historic District encompasses a cluster of three multi-family purpose-built apartment buildings.
Proximity to streetcar lines and easy access to Wichita’s commercial and industrial districts made the neighborhood around North Market and Pine Streets a desirable residential area. Built in 1914, the two-story Kerbaugh Apartments at 730 North Market were among the earliest multi-family dwellings in the neighborhood. Real estate developer Oscar Shirk constructed the building, which began as a duplex of stacked-flat apartments, but was converted to twelve apartment units in 1929. It features Tudor Revival detailing. The Jayhawk and Alcoba Apartments, located at 722 and 718 respectively, were built in 1929 by J. I. Graham and included nearly identical floor plans with twelve one-bedroom apartments. The Alcoba exhibits the characteristics of the popular early 20th century Spanish Colonial Revival style and is identical to the National Register-listed Fairmount Apartments in Wichita. The Jayhawk features simple Colonial Revival detailing with minimal ornamentation.
The small district was nominated as part of the “Residential Resources of Wichita, 1870-1957” multiple property listing for its architectural significance.

Strasser House – 326 Laramie Street, Manhattan, Riley County
As is typical of mid-19th century vernacular stone houses in Manhattan, the Strasser house was built in phases with the addition of a wing situated perpendicular to a pre-existing gable-front building. It was originally constructed in 1874 as a two-story gable-front limestone house for Phillipena J. Strasser, a German immigrant and widow. She sold the house in 1876 when she married Isom Tull and moved to his Zeandale farm. A subsequent owner added a two-story intersecting wing to the east side of the house in about 1885. In addition to its high level of masonry craftsmanship and vernacular architectural significance, it has important associations with the development patterns of Manhattan. In particular, it documents the development of the area north of downtown in the early 1870s as a residential area. The property was nominated as part of the “Nineteenth Century Vernacular Stone Houses of Manhattan”
multiple property listing.

Gordon Building – 900 and 904 Kansas Avenue, Topeka, Shawnee County
The Gordon Building is a four-story reinforced concrete, stone, and brick building located at a prominent intersection in downtown Topeka.
Local architect Frank Squires designed the building, which was built in 1911. The Gordon Building provided retail and warehouse space for Karlan Furniture from 1914 until the 1980s. The exterior features blond brick with Classical Revival-style terra cotta details. A 1966 tornado destroyed the building’s original double-hung windows on the north and west elevations, and the openings were enclosed with concrete blocks.
The blocks have recently been removed and new double-hung windows installed to mimic the building’s historic appearance. Non-historic aluminum storefront windows and doors, transom coverings, and an awning were also removed as part of the recent rehabilitation. It was nominated for its association with local commercial history and its turn-of-the-century Classical Revival-style architecture.

Hjerpe Grocery – 110 and 112 N Main Street, Lindsborg, McPherson County
Alfred Hjerpe, the son of Swedish immigrants, operated a grocery business out of this downtown Lindsborg building during the 1930s and 1940s. The two-story brick building is located in the middle of the east side of the 100 block of North Main and features two first-floor storefronts with recessed entrances. There is a second-floor apartment that is accessed by an exterior staircase at the rear of the building.
The Commercial-style building retains a high degree of interior and exterior architectural integrity including its original storefronts, entrances, windows, and floor plan. It was nominated for its local commercial history and its architecture.

Wherrett-Mize Drug Company Building – 201 Main Street, Atchison, Atchison County
The Kansas City-based architectural firm Sayler and Seddon designed the 56,000 square-foot Wherrett-Mize Drug Company Building in 1911 when the use of warehouses in Atchison expanded and helped transform the city into a competitive distribution center. Built as a drug wholesale warehouse, the three-story building is constructed of reinforced concrete with red brick walls and features subtle Classical detailing.

These characteristics reflect common attributes of early 20th century industrial warehouses. The company’s offices and showroom were located on the first floor, and they used the warehouse space to store their goods, which included pharmaceutical drugs, patent medicines, toiletries, sundries, gifts, and toys. The building served as a warehouse until July 2009. It was nominated for its local commercial history and its architecture.

Wilson House – 205 N Pershing, Wichita, Sedgwick County
Architect and builder John C. Neely, Jr. built this Prairie-style house in 1929 in the College Hill neighborhood of Wichita. It was built for Fred D. Wilson, a banker and real estate developer in Sedgwick and Butler Counties. Wilson had purchased the Andover Bank in 1924 and assisted in its survival through the Great Depression. Additionally, he developed the private airfield Wilson Field, Inc. The Wilson family owned this house until 1953. The two-story residence is situated on a corner lot and includes an attached two-car garage. The house features a modified foursquare plan with open porches on the front and rear elevations. The exterior is a buff-colored brick veneer and the planes of the intersecting hipped roof are covered with red Ludowici tiles. The residence retains its original casement windows and exhibits a high degree of architectural integrity. It was nominated as part of the “Residential Resources of Wichita, 1870-1957” multiple property listing for its association with the development of the College Hill neighborhood and for its architecture.

Krehbiel and Company Carriage Factory – 128 and 130 E 6th Street, Newton, Harvey County
In the early 1880s, John Jacob Krehbiel purchased the Angood blacksmith shop and two adjacent lots on East 6th Street in downtown Newton. He expanded the business in 1883 and built a two-story brick building to serve as his wagon and carriage factory. The Krehbiel family lived in a house adjacent to the blacksmith shop at 134 E. 6th. Early 20th century city directories listed Krehbiel as a manufacturer of and dealer in “carriages, buggies, farm and spring wagons, bicycles” and related parts and materials. Krehbiel sold his business in 1903 to his eldest son Edgar, who transitioned the business into early auto repair by about 1910. In 1911, Edgar expanded the business and built a two-story brick building to replace the original wood-frame blacksmith shop.

An engraved stone on the second story of the façade says “J. J. Krehbiel 1911” in honor of his father. The Krehbiel family sold the business and property in 1921. The nominated property consists of the 1911 building at 128 E. 6th, the 1883 building at 130 E. 6th, and a memorial park at 134 E. 6th where the Krehbiel residence once stood. The original Victorian-era fence surrounds the lot. Today, the property is home to the Carriage Factory Art Gallery. It was nominated for its local commercial history and its architecture.

Christ Cathedral – 138 S 8th Street, Salina, Saline County
Salina’s Christ Episcopal Cathedral was designed by Philadelphia-based architect Charles Marquendent Burns, Jr. and built in 1907 by Cuthbert and Sons of Topeka. Sarah Eliza Batterson of New York financed the construction of the building in memory of her late husband The Reverend Hermon Griswold Batterson. It features a cross plan form and mimics early English cathedrals with its Gothic Revival architecture. A Gothic bell tower dominates the building and can be seen from blocks around. It is built of limestone quarried in Kansas, which was shipped to Salina by rail then transported to the site by horse drawn wagons. The interior has changed very little since 1907 and still features the original ecclesiastical furniture designed and produced by the Manitowoc Seating Works of Chicago. The 220 freestanding black-stained oak chairs with cane seats and kneelers were installed prior to the building’s consecration in 1908. The towering limestone walls feature numerous stained glass windows manufactured by various companies and installed at different times. The church has hosted Episcopal services continuously since 1908. It was nominated for its architecture.

Hollinger Farmstead – 2250 2100 Avenue, Chapman vicinity, Dickinson County
The Joseph S. Hollinger Farmstead is located along a gravel road approximately five miles south of Chapman in Dickinson County. The property consists of a Second Empire-style farmhouse built in 1880, an L-shaped limestone horse barn built in 1882, the ruins of a late 19th century limestone cow barn and chicken house, and various non-contributing outbuildings. Although not without precedent, the Hollinger farmhouse is a rare example of high-style Second Empire architecture exhibited on a rural farmhouse in Kansas. Characterized by a Mansard roof, central tower, cupola, quoins, eave brackets, bay windows, and decorative one-story side porches, the Second Empire style was popular in the second half of the nineteenth century, specifically 1860-1880. Hollinger was a farmer and cattleman and served as president of the First National Bank in Abilene from 1895 to 1900. He served in the Kansas Legislature in 1877 and chaired the County Board of Commissioners for several years. The property was nominated as part of the “Historic Agriculture-Related Resources of Kansas” multiple property listing for its association with local agricultural history and its architecture.

Shaft House – 1682 FP Road, Cedar Point, Chase County
Shortly after Kansas Territory was opened to settlement in 1854, William and Jane Shaft moved their family from Michigan to a 160-acre farmstead northeast of present-day Clements. In 1857, Shaft and his sons erected a small stone house using locally quarried stone. Less than six months after arriving, William died while attempting to cross Diamond Creek at Harris Crossing. The family persuaded a reluctant Jane to remain in Kansas. Her sons erected a large two-story limestone addition on the south side of the house in 1868, and her name was inscribed in the dressed stone within the east-facing gable. As with other mid-19th century vernacular stone houses, the Shaft house was built in phases with the addition of a wing sited perpendicular to the pre-existing side-gabled building. Differences in the stonework clearly delineate a phased construction, and it reflects the work of the builders who responded to the locally available building materials. The house was nominated for its association with early settlement history and its architecture.

Bierer House – 410 N 7th Street, Hiawatha, Brown County
The Samuel Bierer House was built in about 1888 in a neighborhood of turn-of-the-century residences just two blocks north of downtown Hiawatha. Albert Lawrence, proprietor of the Hiawatha firm Bierer, Lawrence, and Company, built the house and sold it to his business partner in 1891. The two-and-a-half-story wood-frame residence exhibits an interesting blend of late 19th century Victorian stylistic influences with early twentieth century Craftsman updates. The original shed roof porch with Victorian-era spindlework was replaced in 1926 with the current low hipped-roof structure supported by short square wood porch columns typical of the Craftsman era. There is an historic limestone sidewalk with two hitching posts along the north side of the property. A two-car garage was added to the property southwest of the house in the 1920s. The property was nominated for its architecture.

Stevenson House – 2012 N Street, Belleville, Republic County
Belleville resident and dry goods merchant S. T. Stephenson purchased architectural plans from Knoxville-based architect George F. Barber and erected an impressive Queen Anne-style residence south of the courthouse square in 1894. The house was then featured in Barber’s 1901 catalog of residential designs entitled Modern Dwellings. Barber advertised his plans as both convenient and practical to builders and homeowners and offered a wide range of prices and options. His drawings, complete with a list of the necessary construction materials and options for heating and lighting, could be purchased for $25 to $150. Stevenson’s two-and-a-half-story residence features a prominent corner tower and a hipped roof with lower cross gables. It displays Eastlake-influenced spindlework along the front porch and within the wall overhangs left by cutaway bay windows. The house was nominated for its architecture.

Beamer Barn – 2931 CR 18, Oakley vicinity, Gove County
With its rounded Gothic-arch roof, the Beamer Barn dominates this small farmstead that sits along Interstate 70 in the far northwest corner of Gove County. Arch-roof barns, which were designed to maximize hay storage, gained popularity in the late 1910s but are increasingly rare on the modern Kansas landscape. The first story of the Beamer Barn, which was constructed in 1924, features hard-fired ceramic blocks that rest upon a concrete foundation. The second story is wood framed, with horizontal weatherboards within the arched ends and a wood-shingle roof with a graceful Gothic arch. On the east-facing elevation there is a haymow at the roof peak and a large sliding hay door on the second story. Its rafters are constructed of bent round rafters that are four and five boards thick. Horizontal beams near the interior peak provide bracing, as do several spaced vertical beams. Today, the barn is vacant and no longer used as part of a working farm, however, it retains its historic interior features including the central aisle, stanchions, and upper story hayloft. It was nominated as part of the “Historic Agriculture-Related Resources of Kansas” multiple property listing for its association with local agricultural history and for its architecture.