FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  June 23, 2004

CONTACT:  Jeff Mammenga, (605) 773-6000

State Historical Society lists six more properties on National Register

PIERRE, S.D. – Six new South Dakota properties have been included in the National Register of Historic Places, according to the South Dakota State Historical Society.

The National Register is the official federal list of properties identified as important in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering and culture. The State Historic Preservation Office of the State Historical Society works in conjunction with the National Park Service, which oversees the National Register program. 

"South Dakota's history is rich in American Indian culture, pioneer life and change," said Jay D. Vogt, state historic preservation officer and director of the State Historical Society. "Properties listed in the National Register are important for their role in South Dakota's culture, heritage and history."

Buildings, sites, structures and objects at least 50 years old possessing historical significance may qualify for the National Register, according to Vogt. Properties must also maintain their historic location, design, materials and association. Listing in the National Register does not place any limitations on private property owners by the federal government. 

The South Dakota State Historical Society operates in five program areas -- archaeology, archives, historic preservation, museum, and research and publishing. The Society's State Historic Preservation Office manages the National Register of Historic Places in South Dakota. Headquartered at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre, the State Historical Society is an office of the Department of Tourism and State Development. For more information on the National Register or other historic preservation programs, contact the State Historic Preservation Office at (605) 773-3458 or visit the Society's Web site at www.sdhistory.org.

Following is a summary of the newly listed National Register sites in South Dakota:

The Dakota Club Library in Eagle Butte

The library was built by a homesteader in circa 1914 and moved into Eagle Butte in 1928. The Works Progress Administration improved the building and added an addition in 1935. The library is the first library on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation and played a role in employing South Dakotans during the Great Depression.  It is also eligible for its sod construction and its association as a WPA project.

The Walla Lutheran Church in New Effington

The listing includes the church, a cemetery and a shed. The Gothic Revival style church was constructed in 1902, and the shed was constructed in the early 1900s. The cemetery has been in use since circa 1895. Characteristics of the Gothic Revival style found on the church include:  Gothic arch windows and openings, steeply pitched roofs, and decorative spires and towers that emphasize vertical lines.

The J. Whitney Goff Round Barn near Winfred

It is a hollow-tile barn built in 1915. It is one of seven such barns known to have been built in South Dakota. The barn has hollow clay tile walls, an interior silo, and a gambrel conical roof.

The Pettigrew Barns in the Flandreau vicinity

They were constructed in 1901 and consist of a Polygonal Barn and a Wisconsin Dairy Barn. The polygonal barn is an Early Period Polygonal Barn; characteristics of this type include a sectional roof, a smaller interior diameter, a smaller cupola, and no interior silo. The Wisconsin Dairy Barn has a gambrel roof and a large interior central aisle lined with stanchions. The barns are significant for their architectural styles and also for the role they played in the agricultural development of Flandreau and Moody County.  

The Raesly House in Plankinton

The Queen Anne style home was built in 1883 by Marian and Josephine Raesly.  Characteristics of the Queen Anne style found on the Raesly House include:  irregularly shaped roof, two-story bay window, asymmetrical facade, and a wrap-around porch.

The William P. Smith House in Stickney

The Bungalow/Craftsman style home was built in 1914. Characteristics of this style found on the Smith House include wide unenclosed eaves, exposed rafter ends, and a porch supported by tapered columns.

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