September 2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Weintraut & Associates, the firm involved with the research and writing of the Section 106 iJ Review of places listed on and eligible for the National Registry, recommended several historic structures and local landmarks for National Historic Registry status. Of concern to staff, SHPO Frank Hurtis only found six eligible including the following landmarks: the Ullery/Farneman Farmhouse, the Francis Donaghue Farm, and the Emil Johnson House. HPC staff feels that of the local landmarks impacted by the US 31 project the Union Township, District Two School House/Country Bake Shop and the George and Elizabeth Schafer Farm should also have a place on the list of eligible structures. Additionally, we believe that the Ullery/Farneman house is eligible BOTH for its historic significance and its architectural merit. It is currently recommended only for its historic connection to the early settlers of the county. Staff would like to send a letter to Frank Hurtis, the State Historic Preservation Officer, citing a formal Resolution of the HPC to add these changes and a few others to the Section 106 Review. Of all the schoolhouses remaining in Union Township, the District Two Schoolhouse retains the most charming and interesting architectural features as well as its original T-shaped form and temple -like fagade. One finds an intriguing combination of Queen Anne and neo -Classical details upon this 1902 building. Fish scale shingles elaborate all three gable ends. The arched entryway and window openings were finished nicely with fine brickwork. The symmetrical arrangement and design of the fagade suggests an American vernacular version of a Greek temple or Italian Renaissance reinterpretation of the temple used on church facades. The gable facing US 31 with its gable returns, the band between the shingles and the brickwork, and the division of the first floor into three bays recalls the triangular pediment, entablature, and tri -part division of a simple Roman or Tuscan temple. The temple form resonates within Western high style and vernacular architecture. In this case, building's form may call to mind a temple of knowledge and learning for the members of the Union Township community. In addition to the careful design and construction of the schoolhouse, its location on US 31, once a trail and unpaved road used by Native Americans, pioneers and settlers, connotes much significance. The three most visible sides of the building are articulated with architectural details. Thus, the builder(s) recognized the prominent location of the school along a major thoroughfare and in return graced the school with its architectural character. It would have been a significant marker for any traveler and resident using the Michigan Road. Its presence today reminds contemporary travelers of the scale and charm of rural structures from the early years of the twentieth century. (The schoolhouse/country bakeshop is currently for sale.) The George and Elizabeth Schafer farm, 62290 Miami Trail, one of several farmsteads connected to the prominent and prolific Schafer family, has many original buildings and structures connected to turn of the century farming practices of a German immigrant family adapting to the rural American way of life. The property includes the 1908 neo -Jacobean inspired farmhouse, a very large bank barn, a clay -tiled silo with a gambrel roof, a milk house, and a smaller gabled barn. The relationship of these buildings and structures to one another has a high level of integrity. The owners did build an addition off the side of the house as well as an extensive deck, a structure that is considered removable and thus temporary. The house has a lovely balustrade with Tuscan columns lining the extensive porch as well as fish scale siding details, a pyramidal roof, and asymmetrically placed gables. The contributing resources are all in excellent condition and should be considered eligible for the National Register. It is the opinion of HPC staff that the Jacob Schafer (Todd Zeiger) Farmstead, 61 should also be included in the Section 106 Review as eligible for the National Register. The farmstead dates to the very 2