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Home My WebLink About1998-11-18 PACKET 06.B.RE QUEST OF Ci TY C OUNCIL AC TION COUiVCIL AGENDA MEETING ITEtVI DATE 11/18/98 �R - � ` PREPAR BY Community Development Kim Lindquist ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT STAF� AUTHOR a a x s a �� a t t t rr<,r > w a+�:e t ��.t � t a+ t z x x+ rr m x+ x x < x t x s:e :t f: s COUNCIL ACTION REQUEST Hold the scheduled public hearing relative to the nomination by the Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation to designate property at 7003-7007 East Point Douglas Road as a Historic Site and adding it to the City's Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks. Modify the Preservation Planning Report for purposes of ensuring tne property's future use is consistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan and zoning regulations and defer the acceptance of this Report and final adoption of a resolution until the December 2, 1998 meeting. BUDGET IMP�ICATION N/A N/A BUDGETED AMOUNT ACTUAL AMOUNT ADVISORY COMMISSION ACTION �: ❑ PtANNING ❑ PUBLIC SAFETY ❑ PUBLIC WORKS ❑ PARKS AND RECREATION ❑ HUMAN SERVICESlFtIGHTS ❑ ECONOMIC DEV. AUTHORITY � ACHP _ 9/21/98 REV{EWED ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ APPROVED ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ � DENIED ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS � MEMO/�ETTER: fVlemo from John McCool dated 11l12/98 � RESOLUTION: Draft ❑ ORDINANCE: ❑ ER1GIiVEERING RECOt�hi�ENDATIOP�: ❑ LEGAL RECC}MINENDATION: � C)THER: Preservatian Planning F2epart ADMIRIISTRATC7RS COMMERITS: - -- - / � tl City Administrator Date ��.�«�<�.�>�¢.��..<.��.�«��..*�>��<��>��x�� ou�c�� ,c - r�mc�� ❑ �p�RavE� � ��E� ❑ ar�� F:�GaRC (9F51F}I.ANNIN�\`. gg8\CITYG6UN41i46C,i6soncavt i-12-98.doc fTi1�►�r[�7:7_1�1�11J► 1 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Ryan Schroeder, City Administrator FROM: John McCool, Senior Planner DATE: November 12, 1998 RE: Hill-Gibson House, 7003-7007 East Point Dougias Road — City Registration of Historic Site Nomination Introduction The City's Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (ACHP) and the City Historic Preservation Officer (CHPO) is nominating the Hill-Gibson House, 7003-7007 East Point Douglas Road to the City Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks. The Preservation Pla�ning Report prepared by Robert Vogel is attached. Background City Ordinance No. 355 established the Gity Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks was adopted on August 19, 1981. Since that time, the City has approved thirteen sites to be on the City's Register. The City's ACHP determined the Hiil-Gibson property eligible for listing in the City Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks and issued a finding of significance on September 27, 1990. Mr. Hugh Gibson, currenf owner of the property has requested that his property be added to the City's Register. A copy of his request is attached. Discussion The historic significance of this site is primarily architectural. The existing residential dwelling is classified as a nineteenth century vernacular cottage of the Gabled EII type that was constructed in iwo sections. The north section was built around 1855 and the south section around 1900. The property was used as a farmstead for more than a century and all but iv✓o of the outbuildings have been razed. E�erior finishes and architectural details have been rehabilitated and the overail condition of the dweliing is one of the best-preserved nineteenth century farmhouses in the City. City Council Members and Ryan Schroeder Hill-Gibson Historic Site November 12, 1998 Page 2 The property is presentiy zoned B-2, General Business District and the future land use map from the City's adopted Comprehensive Plan designates this area as commercial. The continueci residenfial use of this property is nonconforming and inco�sistent with the Comprehensive Plan. On page ten of the Historic Planning Report, it references that every reasonable effort should be made to presenre the residential use of the property. It also stipulates an option of adapti�g it to some kind of commercial use as long as it does not conflict with preservation objectives. Because the residential use is inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan and zoning regulations, the draft Preservatian Planning Report should be modified to de-emphasize residential use by promoting future use of the property to be consistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan and zoning regulations. Recommendation Open the scheduled public hearing to allow testimony favoring or opposing the designating of 7003-7007 East Point Dougias Road as a historic. It is further recommended that the Preservation Planning Report be modified for purposes of ensuring references to the property's future use is consistent with the City's Cornprehensive Plan a�d zoning regulations. Council is requested to defer acceptance of the Preservation Planning Report and final adoption of a resolution adding this property to the City's Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks until the regular meeting on December 2, 1998. RESOLUTION NO. 98-XXX RESOLUTION TO DESIGNATE THE HILL-GIBSON HOUSE, 7003-7007 EAST POINT DdUGLAS ROAD AS AN HISTORIC SITE IN THE CITY REGISTER OF HISTORIC SITES AND LANDMARKS WHEREAS, the Hili-Gibson House, 7003-7007 East Point Douglas Road, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, has been nominated to the City Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks by the Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation; and WHEREAS, the Hill-Gibson House has been evaluated as historically significant and determined eligible for listing in the City Register on the basis of its historical associations and architectural design values; and WHEREAS, the Hii(-Gibson House retains historic integrity of tnose features necessary to convey its significance; and WHEREAS, on November 18, 1998, the City Council of the City of Cottage Grove held a public hearing on the matter listing the Hill-Gibson House in the City Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks; and NOW 7HEREFdRE BE IT RESOLVED, the City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, County of Washington, State of Minnesota, does hereby designate the Hill-Gibson House, 7003-7007 East Point Dougias Road as an Historic Site pursuant to §13A-4 of the City Code. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, by this resolution the City Council accepts and adopts the Preservation Planning Report as revised on November 18, 1998, and as submitted by the City Historic Preservation Officer, as the authoritative guide to be used by the City for design review decisions in relation to the Hill-Gibson House Historic Site. Passed this 2nd day of December, 1898. John D. Denzer, Mayor Attest: Caron M. Stransky, City Cierk .............. ._._.. u..�_ �w .i�� rr.:vrein Ms, Kim Lindquist Community Development Director City of Cottage Grove 7516 80th Street South � Cotcage Grove, MN 55016 LQj U tl L � �-' ,, y __ t ��,�� _ �� r .`.� i ��( �P - 3 1998 i <;i 136 6th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 September 3, 1948 I am writing to request tl�at you initiate the process for listing of my property at 7003- 7007 East Point Douglas Road on the City's Register of Historic Sites. As you know, the City has issued a finding of historic significance for the Lewis HiII - Gibson house located at fhis address and has determined that this site is eligible for placernent on the City Register. I think that the site couid be defined as being coextensive with progosed Puce1 #2 as shown on the survey maps submitted to the City as part of my pending application for a simple lot division (proposed Parcel �2 is south of East Point Douglas Road). I would tike very much for this process to be completed 'oy the end of the yeaz. This is likely te mea�i chat the initial City Cou�zci: hearing on t��is inatter wouid take plaee in November and finzl Council action in Deeember. As you know, I also strongly favor rezoning the house from commercial (B2} to residential in connection with the Ciry's review and updating of its comprehensive plan and master zoning map. Please Yee1 free to contact me at (202) 260-2717 (daytime phone) if you would Iike to discuss any aspect of this request. Thank you very much for your assistance. Sincerely, G Hu Gibson � �� . � � • � �l � �� ., � DOCUMENTATION SUPPORTING THE NOMINATION OF THE HILL-GIBSON HOUSE, 7003-7007 E. PT. DOUGLAS RD. TO THE CITY REGISTER OF HISTORIC . � . � . � DRAFT October 30,1998 Please send comments to: Robert C. Vogel City Historic Preservation Officer 7516 80th St. So. Cottage Grove, MN 55016 (651)604-0175 voge1014@tc.umn.edu INTRODUCTION This preservation pianning report was prepared by Robert C. Vogel, City Historic Preservation Officer, and presents documentation supporting the nomination of the Hill-Gibson House to the City Register of Historic Sites and Landmazks pursuant to City Code § 13A- 4. The City Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks is the officia] list of buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts significant in Cottage Grove history, azchitecture, azcheology, engineering, and culture. In general, the format of the report foilows the National Register of Historic Piaces Registration Form data elements and temunology. (For guidance, see National Register Bulletin 16A: How to Complete the National Register Registration Form.) The report reflects the comments and suggestions of many individuals from the City of Cottage Grove and the Minnesota Historical Society. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the late Mr. Donald Gibson, who provided valuable information on his family's long connection with the historic site. Mr. Hugh Gibson, the present owner of the property, provided valuable encouragement to the registration effort and took time out of his busy schedule to review and comment on draft nomination documents. Special appreciation is extended to Mr. Gregory Rothweiler, who documented the property as the city's historic azchitectural consuitant in 1984, and to the members of the Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation, past and present, who helped compile and analyze site data. ADMINISTRATIVE DATA Name of Property The historic name of the property heing nominated is the Hill-Gibson House, commonly known as the Gibson House. It has been assigned file number WA-CGC-022 in the Cottage Grove historic resowces inventory. Location The house occupies the trapezoidal shaped lot which forms part of the SE'/< SE'/< SE'/< SE'/a of Section 7 and the SW'/. SW'/. SW'/. 3W'/, of Section 8 in T27N R21W. The street address is 7003-7007 East Pt. Douglas Road [Fig. 1]. Ownership The property is owned by Mr. Hugh Gibson,136 6th Street N.E., Washington, DC 20002; telephone (202) 226-3920. Acreage The historic site covers an area appro�mately 1.6 acres in extent. HiPt-Gibson House - page 1 Boundaries The listed historic property includes ail of pazcei number 08-027-21-33-00 lying south of East Pt. Douglas Road, being the entire area historically associated with the Hill-Gibson House that was not taken for highway and roadway construction. Zoning The property is zoned B-2 (retail business). Resource Category For preservation plazuiing purposes, the Hill-Gibson House is categorized as an historic buiiding. Number of Historic Resources Within the Property The property nominated to the City Register consists of a main resource (the house) and two contributing secondary resources (a barn and a shed). Historic Function The Hill-Gibson House was originally constructed for domestic use as a multiple-unit (duplex) dwelling. Current Function The property remains in residential use as a multiple-unit (duplex) dwelling. Preservation Pianning Background The Hill-Gibsan House was first recorded as an historic pronerty by the Cottage Grove cultural resources reconnaissance survey in 1983, at which time it was misidentified as the ca. 1849 house built by pioneer 7ohn Atkinson. More intensive investigation as part of a thematic study of properties associated with eazly Euro-American settlement documented its historical association with Lewis Hill (see Vogel, The New Bngland of the West, pages 41-44). The property was included in thematic studies of Cottage Grove farmstead azchitecture (1989) and agricultural history resources (1994). The Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation determined the property eligibie for listing in the City Register of Historic Sites and Landmazks and issued a finding of significance on September 27, 1990. A public hearing on the nominaiion of the Hill-Gibson iiouse 4o the City Register of Historic Hill-Gibson House - page 2 Sites and Landmarks was held before the City Councii on November 18, 1998. Resolution 98-xx, listing the Hill-Gibson House in the City Register, was passed on , 1998. DESCRIPTION Architectural Ctassification For preservation planning purposes, the Hill-Gibson House is classified as a nineteenth century vernaculaz cottage of Che Gabled Ell type (see National Register Bulletin 31: Surveying and Evaluating Yernacular Architecture, pages 32-33). Narrative Description The I-Iill-Gibson House is a one-and-one-half story, wood frame, vernacular cottage located on a lazge, wooded lot at the base of the Camel's Hump in the old Corners settlement [Fig. 2]. The house consists of two units: a a1855 core (north unit) and a c.1893-1919 wing (south unit), which form an L-shaped ground plan composed of different sized rectangulaz rooms with less than room-sized projections from the principal mass [Fig. 3]. Stcucturally, the house is a combination o£braced frame and balloon frame systems and features heavy timbers, rough (unhewn} log floor joists, and two-by-four studs with nailed joints. The exterior walls are sheathed in 4'/Z-inch beveled weatherboard siding with simple corner boards and a flat cornice. The intersecting gable roofs have varying pitches, with slighUy overhanging open eaves, rake moldings, and flat fascia. The original sawn wood shingles have been removed and replaced with composition shingles. The house rests upon a mixed materials foundation consisting of coursed rubble limestone, poured concrete, and concrete block. The building footprint measures approximately 36 by 24 feet. The house has a number of minor azchitectural details that heip define its historic chazacter. The west facade was historicaliy the house's principal elevation, looking out across the farm yard toward the Point Douglas Road (now U.S. Highway 10-61), and features a 30-foot open front goreh and two small *oof dormers [Fig. 4]. There is also a sznal] portico with spindled wooden columns on the south side of the house [Fig. 5]. Historically, the house was heated by cast iron stoves vented through small masonry flues, and three slender brick chimneys have been retained. The pattem of fenestration is typical of late-nineteenth century vernaculaz houses, with symmetrically piaced double-hung windows and paneled doors set in simple wooden casings. The west elevation featwes a distinctive grouping of windows on the ground floor of the south wing, consisting of a lazge square window surrounded on three sides by narrow window panes. Although the interior spaces have been extensivety remodeled, the original floor plan is intact and there aze no intemal passages between the two dwelling units. The physical history of the Hill-Gibson House has been reconstructed from documentary and orai history sources. Admittedly, some of these data aze vague and contradictory. Deed records show that Lewis Hili and his wife obtained their £azm holding at the Comers in 1855, which ftxes Hitl-Gibson House - page 3 the approximate date of construction of the original house. Cazeful examination of the construction materials and form of the oldest parts of the historic structure support the theory that the north unit of the Hill House is the original mid-nineteenth century dweliing. As built, it had a simple rectangulaz ground plan and was one story in height with a side-gabled roof covering a laterally arranged suite of multi-purpose rooms. Generally, the north unit incorporates many of the traits historicaliy associated with the Hall-and-Parlor type of folk house that was introduced into Minnesota by New England immigrants. According to information provided by the late Mr. Donald Gibson (1904-1992), the Hiils enlarged their original dwelling during the 1870's in order to accommodate the faznily of their married daughtez, Emma (1857-1899). However, this is contradicted by county assessor records and by the physical record of construction materials, building shape, and design details, which suggest that the south wing was probably added c.1900 (possibly as early as the 1890's or as late as the 1910's). The 1905 state census shows that Abbie Hill was still living on the farm at the Comers in the household of her unmarried son Frederick (b. 1876). Deed and taac records show that the properiy passed through several hands before it was acquired by Joseph Gibson (d. 1926) in 1917 or 1918. At about this time (assessment records suggest 1920, but Gibson family tradition infers an eulier date), the core of the house was enlazged with the addition of the present-day kitchen off the north unit. Gibson, a rai]road worker from St. Paul, used the place as a°summer fazm" and according to his son he made only minor alterations to the house. The bathroom and east side entry additions were made in 1946. After ponald Gibson acquired the old smnmer farm in 1954, there was a succession of interior remodelings and exterior repairs, culminating in major refurbishing of the property by the present owner during the 1990's. During the Gibsons' tenure, both the Pt. Douglas Road and the Chicago, Mi2waukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad tracks were realigned and reconstructed, dramatically changing the house's relationship to the historic transportation corridor. Since the construction of the Highway 61/80th Street interchange in the eazly 1980's, the house fronts east onto East Pt. Douglas Road, which was constructed in 1982 as a service roadway off 80th Street. The hisYoric viewshed toward the west and south is now obscured by the 80th Street/Grange Boulevazd overpass, although because of grading and vegetative screening, the intrusion of the highway corridor upon the historic setting has been minimized. The house itself is sited amongst scattered deciuuons and avergreen trees on an undulating bench at the base of a steep, wooded slope that rises more than 100 feet to the summit of the Camel's Hump, a prominent local topographic landmazk. The property is served by municipal water and sewer and has been zoned commercial since the 1960's. The Hill-Gibson properry was used as a farmstead for more than a century. However, all but tv✓o of the outbuildings shown on air photos flown during 1936-1970 have been razed. The most conspicuous surviving outbuilding is the medium-sized general purpose barn located southeast of the house (where it was moved a short distance from its original site in 1982). This two-story frame structure has a gabied roof and vertical boazd-and-batten siding [Fig. 6]. The other outbuiiding is a small frame shed with a gabled roof and horizontal drap siding walis [Fig. 7]e Both the barn and the shed aze �aditional outbuilding forms and eachibit design traits (e.g., overhanging eaves, exposed rafter tails) suggestive of an eazly-twentieth century origin. Wlule EIill-Gibson House - page 4 they contribute to the overail historic chazacter of the property, neither possesses historic significance in its own right. Condition 'The Hill-Gibson House is in an excellent state of preservation. The present owner has invested in rehabilitation of the exterior finishes and azchitectural details, including the front porch and windows. It is one of the best preserved nineteenth century fazmhouses in the city. I�lillTiil11��7�i Applicable City Register CriYeria The Hitl-Gibson House has been evaluated as eligible for listing in the City Register of Historic Sites and Landmazks because it meets the foilowing criteria contained in the city's historic preservation ordinance: Its chazacter, interest, or value as part of the history or cultural heritage of the city, the state or the United States (§ 13A-4(a)); Its association with persons or events that have made a significant contribution to the cultural heritage of the city (§ 13A-4(b)); Its embodiment of distinguishing chazacteristics of architecture type or style, or elements of design, detail, materials, or craftsmanship (§ 13A-4(d)). Areas of Significance The Hill-Gibson House is historically significant in the areas of exploration/settlement and agricvlture. It is also significant as a raze surviving example of nineteenth century vernacular ccttage architectu:e. Period of Significance The property attained historical and architectural significance when the north unit was constructed for Lewis Aill in a1855. The closing date for its period of significance is 1946. Significant Dates Major events in the history of the Hill-Gibson House occurred in: c.1855 - date of construction of core (north unit) c.1900 - date of construction of wing (south unit) Hill-Gibson House - page 5 1417 - property purchased by Joseph Gibson 1946 - house remodeled Significant Persons The Hill-Gibson House is historically associated with the lives of pioneer settler Lewis Hill (1822-1888), and his wife, Abbie Welch Hill (1836-?). Architect Builder The Hill-Gibson House was not designed by a professionally trained architect and the names of the builders or contractors are not lrnown. Historic Context The T-Iill-Gibson House is significant within the local historic contexts, "Eazly Euro-American Settlement (1838-18']0)" and "Agriculture and Rural Life (1870-1940)," as outlined in the city historic preservation plan. Narrative Statement of Significance The significance of the Hill-Gibson House is the product of its historical associations and azchitectural design values. Contextually, it relates to two locally important patterns of events: the settlement of the Corners neighborhood and Cottage Grove's agricultural development. It is also associated with the lives of pioneer settiers Lewis and Abbie Hill. In terms of its design and construction, it is a notable example of nineteenth century cottage architecture and a raze surviving example of the vernaculaz Gabled Ell house type. Built in two stages between a 1855 and a190d, it provides an outstanding physical record of the social and azchitectural history of rural Cottage Grove during the late nineteenth and eazly twentieth centuries. The &*si perntanent Euro-American settler at the Corners was John Atkinsan (2 805-1892), who emigrated to Cottage Grove from Lincoln County, Maine, in 1846. Atkinson established his original ciaim neaz present-day Oid Cottage Grove village, but in 1849 he moved his family to a new fann in the NE'/< NW'/a NW'/< of Section 17, in the westem "comer" of the Cottage Grove settlement. (Corner was a colloquial New England term for the west end of a village or a rural neighborhood located at the interior point where two converging boundary lines meet.) Because of its proximity to the junction of the Crrey Cloud, Cottage Grove and Stillwater Road (modern 80th Street) with the Territorial Road that ran from Pt. Douglas to St. Paul (modem Highway 61}, Atkinson's Comers was an unportant locus of early settlement, with a school (founded 1853), post office (commissioned 1861), and several prosperous farms. Sometime after 1873, Atkinson moved away from Cottage Grave, but left his name imprinted on local geography at the Atkinson Cemetery. The Comers remained a distinctive rural neighborhood within Cottage Grove Township untii the 1930's. Hili-Gibson House - page 6 Like Atkinson, Lewis Hill was one of Cottage Grove's original Yankee pioneers. Two brief sketches of his life were published during the late nineteenth century. The first, presumabIy compiled from an interview with the subject, appeazed in Wamer and Foote's 1881 History of Washington Counry: Lewis Hill is one of the early pioneers of Washington commty. He was born at Hollis, York county, Maine, 1822. When he attainted his majority he started for the Falls of St. Croix. During the tedious joumey he was laid low with fever and ague. He found many kind and generous friends who cazed for him and assisted him in procuring work after recovering. In 1844 he went to Cottage Grove, and engaged in farming some years, then sold and removed to Dakota county, in 1855. A few years later he retumed to Cottage Grove, and located at his present residence at the Comers. He married Miss Abbie Welch in 1854. Emma C., Jessie L., and Frederick E. G. are their living children. Pioneer chronicler William H. C. Folsom printed an abridged version of Warner and Foote's sketch on page 363 of his Fifry Years in rhe Northwest, published in 1888, the yeaz Hill died. The basic facts contained in these accounts are bome out by the azchival record. Hill's name appeazs in several entries in William R. Brown's 1846 diary (Loehr, ed., Minnesota Farmers' Diaries, pages 72, 73, and 79) and his originai claun in the SW'/< SWY< SE'/< of Section 4(part of the tract known today as Shepazd's Woods) is described in Robert Watson's pioneer memoir (Notes on the Early Settlemena of Cottage Grove, pages 7, 9, and 10) and in an article which appeazed in the St. Paul Minnesota Pioneer on August 30, 1849. The earliest official record of Hill's presence in Cottage Grove is contained in the Washington County Recorder's book of originai land entries, which shows that he entered claims in Sections 3 and 4 between 1848 and 1854. The Minnesota Pioneer of Apri13, 1850, contains his notice offering for sale his 80 acre fartn "with log buildings, and 40 acres of woodlands, the timber and prairie joining," and while this may mark the beginning of his Cottage Grove hiatus, he was back in south Washington County within a few years, for he voted in the territorial legisiative elecrion held on October 11, 1853 (Journcsl of #he House afRepresentatives, pag� � 03). Deed records show that I�ill purchased a small fann at the Corners in 1855, where the 1857 state census found him domiciled with his wife, Abbie, and their infant daughter Emma. Abbie Welch Hill was born in Maine in 1836, the daughter of David and Betsy Welch, who immigrated to Minnesota in the 1840's. After they were married in 1854, Lewis and Abbie fazmed and raised three children in the house at the Corners. Lewis was elected justice of the peace in April, 1861, and later served on the board of directors of the Atkinson Cemetery Association. He died on February 11, 1888 {the township register of deaths records the cause of death as "genl. debility"). Abbie died sometime after 1905 (the date on her tombstone inscription is partially obscured) and was buried alongside Lewis and the graves of their three youngest chiidren in the Atkinson Cemetery. Land use at the Hill-Gibson farm between c.1855 and 1946 reflects the dominant trends in Cottage Grove's agriculiural history. The first Yuil:ee farmers settled in the oak openings (also Hill-Gibson $ouse - page 7 called oak savanna) that gave Cottage Grove its name and showed a preference for homesites on elevated, wooded tracts near the mazgins of the high prairie. In its natural state, the Comers locality would have been extremely attractive to Yankee pioneers like Atkinson and Hili, with its dense stands of bur oak timber interspersed with tailgrass prairie and prairie wetlands, and an abundance of good water (from ponds and springs) and wood for fuel and building materials. The Comers was also situated within the major railroad-highway transportation comdor linking St. Paul and Hastings, and the accessibility of these urban markets favored the development of commercial agriculture. Wheat was the chief crop during the pioneer period, but its importance diminished after a 1890 as local farming became more diversified. During the period of late nineteenth agricultural expansion (a 1870 to 1915), fann output from the Comers neighborhood consisted chiefly of wheat, com, oats, hay, and dairy products. The lazge tracts of woodlands in the West Draw Highlands also provided fanners with cash income from the sale of timber, firewood and other wood products. Where farming was still carried on in the first haif of the twentieth century, dairying and livestock raising were more important than cash grain crops: while operating the old Hill place as a 55-acre "summer farm," Donald Gibson remembered fields of com, oats, and hay and a milk herd (Washington Counry Bulletin, 7uly 19, 1979). The Corners remained primarily agricultural until after World Waz II, when the rapid influx of suburban immigration transformed much of the neighborhood for urban uses. In terms of its azchitecture, the Hill-Gibson House e�ibits all of the diagnostic traits which distinguish the Gabled Ell vernaculaz house type. The great majority of the dwellings constructed in Cottage Grove during the middle decades of the nineteenth century were simple vernacular houses that were devoid of azchitectural style and derived their basic form and design chazacteristics from the gabled, one-story, frame houses traditionally erected by farm famities in the New England states. It is likely that the prototype of Hili's c.1855 house was the Hall-and- Pazlor follc house. The south wing of the house reflects the late-nineteenth century cottage movement influenced by the pattern book designs of Andrew 7ackson Dowiung, Caivert Vaux, and others. However, the pattem language is entirely vemaculaz and consistent with Gabled EI] famihouses constructed between the 1880's and 1920's. It is a modest, practical, sensible house that was intelligently planned and built with durable materials by expert workmen striving for �omfort and beauty. Related Historic Properties Although the Hill-Gibson House has been nominated for individual listing in the City Register, it is related physicaily and historically to at least three other significant historic properties: the William R. Munger Aouse (WA-CGC-031}, the Atkinson Cemetery (WA-CGGl81), and the Camel's Hump (WA-CGC-207). Bibliograp6y Andreas, Alfred T. An IIlustrated Historical Att¢s of the Seate ofMinnesota. Chicago: Andreas, 1874. Hill-Gibson &Iouse - page 8 City of Cottage Grove. Township Records, 1858-1965 (unpublished documents). Cottage Grove City Hall. Folsom, William H. C. Fifty Years in the Northwest. St. Paul: Pioneer Press Co., 1888. How to Complete the National Register Registration Form. National Register Builetin 16A. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Pazk Service, 1991. Journal of the House of Representatives of the Territory of Minnesota Durzng the Fifth Session of the Legislative Assembly. St. Paul: Territorial Printer, 1854. I,oehr, Rodney C., ed. Minnesota Farmers'Diaries: William R. Brown, 1845-46, Mitchell Y. Jackson, 1852-63. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1939. Minnesota Pioneer (St. Paul), August 30, 1849, and Apri13, 1850. Minnesota State Census, 185? {microfilm). Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul. Minnesota State Population Census Schedules, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905 (microfilm). Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul. Plat Book of Washington County, Minnesota. Minneapolis: Northwest Publishing Company, 1901. Ramsey & Washington Counties [map]. Minneapolis: Foote & Co., 1887. St. Croix Valley Old Settlers' Association. Records, 1877-1922 (unpublished). Minnesota Historicai Society, St. Paul. Surveying and Evaluating Yenaacular Architecture. National Register Bulietin 31 {draft}. Washington: U.S. Deparimeni oz ihe Interior, Nationai Park Service, [i987j. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Federal Population Schedules, 7th, 8th, 9th, and l Oth censuses of the United States: Minnesota, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 (microfilm). Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. Washington County Rir Photos, 1936, 1953, 1964, 1970. Borchert Map Library, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. U.S. General Land Office. Surveyor field notes and plat of T27N R21 W. Minnesota Secretary of State's Office, St. Paui. Hill-Gfbson House - page 9 Vogel, Robert C. The New England of the West: A Survey of Historic Properties Associated with EarlyAmerican Settlement in Cottage Grove, Minnesota (1838-1870). Cottage Grove: Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation, Cultural Resources Survey, September, 1990. Warner, George E., and Chazles M. Foote, comps. History of Washington County and zhe St. Crorx Valley, including the Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota by Rev. Edward D. Neill, and Outlines of Phe History of Minnesota, By J. Fletcher Williams. Minneapolis: North Star Publishing Co., 1882. Washington County Bulletin (Cottage Grove), July 19, 1979. Washington County Assessor. Assessment Records. Washington County Govemment Center, Stillwater. Washington County Recorder. Original entries and deeds. Washington County Government Center, Stillwater. Watson, Robert. Notes on the Early Settlement of Cottage Grove and Vicinity, Washington Counry, Minn. Northfield: privately printed, 1924. DESIGN REVIEW AND TREATMENT RECOMMENDATIONS The preferred preservation treatment of the Hill-Gibson House is preservation in place to sustain its existing form, integrity and materials, and rehabilitation to make possible a compatible, modem use of the property. 2. In reviewing applications for city permits for work that wiii alter the physical appearance of the properiy, the proposed work must be consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's Standazds for the Treatment of Historic Properties in order for a Certificate of Appropriateness to be issued. 3. Every reasonable effort should be made to preserve the residential use of the property. However, the option of adapring it to some kind of commerciai use should not necessarily conflict with preservation objectives, provided that the new use is compatible with the historic character of the property and requires minimal alteration of the building and its environment. However, if it is adapted to non-residential use, the distinctive design features, construction techniques, and materials that chazacterize the historic property will need to be preserved in a manner consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's standazds for rehabilitarion. 4. The gabled e12 ground pian, roof lines, wall cladding, entrances, windows, and porches aze the architectural features of critical importance in defining the lustoric character of the house. Removal or alteration af these distinctive azchitectural features should be avoided. Hill-Gibson House - page 10 5. The property shouid be recognized as a product of its own time. Alterations which have no historical basis and which seek to create an eazlier appeazance should be discouraged. Changes to the house which occutred prior to c.1946 aze evidence of the properiy's history and have acquired lustoric significance in their own right, which needs to be recognized and respected. 6. New additions or alterations to the exterior of the historic house should be kept to a minimum and done in such a manner that if they were to be removed in the future, the essentiai form and integrity of the historic structure would not be unpaired. New work should be compatible with the historic chazacter of the house. The relationship between the house and landscape features on the building site (trees, setbacks, views, driveway) should be an integral part of planning any future work projects. 8. It may be necessary to make modifications to the historic building pian to accommodate future uses of the property. Smali additions may be appropriate, but must be cazefully planned and undertaken so as to not result in the loss of historic chazacter defining features. 9. Every effort shouid be made to retain the timber floor joists and other elements of the nineteenth century framing system. 10. Every reasonable effort shouid be made to preserve the traditional wooden barn and shed, as well as the mature trees, at the historic site. Until new uses have been identified, the barn and shed should be protected and, if necessary, stabilized unti] such time as additionai rehabilitation work may be undertaken. Hill-Gibson House - page 11 Fig. 1. Map showing the location of the Hill-Gibson House Historic Site. -j--- {�� y � � � - ...,'_---� _ �� I .�� ! -� ; � � � � �� _ �— �c�y`�#iy ___ - 'j3,'s � �=_. . _ � i_ ___. --. :- - � 1_. i ^. ?Y — l� �""�, - i .- _ ____ -. J' �,--� ❑; --�1-_ _. - I, ! ___ i =_+ —_. . i -- , I \\-- �_ _'� �.—._. � -, _ _ _.._ - -, — `: c` _ _ � __ _ - _ __ - --- � _. _ _ 1 _->. ._:. ` i::'-'� < `� _ �':: . , Miles 0 1 2 Hill-Gibson House - page 12 Fig. 2. 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