3. Leeper Park - Navarre Cabin_COA 2023-1106A

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APPLICATION ITEMS: “Cabin to be relocated to the museum’s west campus as part of a larger interpretive site. To be used for educational purposes. See attached plan for details.” DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED PROJECT: The Northern Indiana Historical Society (NIHS, also known as The History Museum) has applied to remove the Navarre Cabin from Leeper Park East and move it to a purpose-built interpretive area on the west side of the museum’s campus (along Laurel Street). a. The Cabin will be removed from the current location by Lykowski Construction: i. The Cabin will be lifted up and transported off-site, ii. The piers will be disassembled for reuse at the new location. b. The site will be graded and reseeded, including: i. The removal / filling in of the pier foundations, ii. The removal / filling in of the interpretive burn pits, iii. The removal / grading of the small sections of stone wall, iv. The removal / filling in of the disused pioneer herb garden, The cabin colloquially known as the “Pierre Navarre Cabin” originally stood on the north side of the river somewhere west of what is now Michigan Street Bridge; it was moved to Leeper Park in 1904, only to be moved/repositioned within the park in 1916. The cabin was again moved in 1954 to its present location. The structure was renovated using South Bend Parks funds in 1960. The Common Council of South Bend passed a resolution in 1988 establishing the cabin as an honorary landmark as part of the Hoosier Celebration ’88 activities; a few years later in 1996 the Common Council passed an ordinance formally adopting the entirety of Leeper Park as a Local Landmark. Leeper Park was added to the Indiana State Register of Historic Places in April of 1999 and the National Register of Historic Places in June of 2000, where the Navarre Cabin is indicated as Building ‘B4’ in the nomination form. The structure was rated Outstanding in the most recent City of South Bend Historic Sites and Structures Inventory. In 2005, The History Museum partnered with the Historic Preservation Commission and Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana (now Indiana Landmarks) to pursue funding assistance from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to facilitate the structure’s rehabilitation. The National Parks Service furnished $41,000 through the ‘Historic Preservation Fund’, with the remainder of monies being raised by The History Museum through fundraising. The cabin was eligible for this Federal funding because of its status as an included asset within the National Register-listed Leeper Park. As a condition of the funding, the State of Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology maintained an internal and external easement on the structure from 2005 until its expiration in 2015. National Register listing is often the key to unlocking the few funding opportunities that are available related to Historic Preservation efforts. Moving the structure from Leeper Park will nullify the Cabin’s existing status (see Title 36: Parks, Forest, and Public Property, Part 60—National Register of Historic Places, §60.14 ‘Changes and revisions to properties listed in the National Register’), as well as potentially preclude the structure’s future eligibility for re-inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. The structure’s new location is within the West Washington National Register District. Were the structure to be moved to this new location, the structure would not be a contributing resource in the West Washington National Register District. The loss of this status will negate future opportunities for rehabilitation grants to preserve the structure long term. Without those grant opportunities, long term maintenance of the structure will fall exclusively to the owner. The History Museum has stated that moving the cabin will lead to greater utilization and more engagement with the structure. The History Museum previously used the structure for “Cabin Days”, a three-day long event that occurred annually. The History Museum has stated that amenities (bathrooms / comfort stations, storage facilities) are not available at the site in its current configuration, and that moving the structure to The History Museum campus would provide those amenities. The proposed new location would be secure, but open to the public as part of the museum’s campus.