The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has ruled that a Houston building is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The determination came after an opponent to the demolition of the former Houston High School building filed an initial application.
Voters in April narrowly defeated a bond issue that would have resulted in the construction of a new high school, and the former high school building would have been destroyed to make way for the new structure. The school district said the early 1900s-era building, which is named the Fine Arts Building, is too costly to renovate and would not support needed space for students. A majority of patrons agreed, but the issue fell just two or three votes shy of the four-sevenths required for passage. The Houston board of education has not determined whether the issue will return again before patrons.
John Impey, one of the opponents against the issue, said he plans to complete paperwork to get the issue approved for the historical designation. In a May 23 letter to Impey, Tiffany Patterson, National Register coordinator for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, wrote the Houston building is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under the criteria of education.
“The story of the school’s construction by the community with locally harvested and manufactured materials is especially compelling and tells of the community’s dedication to the education of its youth,” wrote Patterson.
Impey said late last week he would begin preparing final documents and revisions required by the state.
Historic places are nominated to the National Register by the state in which the property is located. Anyone can make a nomination. Owners of private property are given an opportunity to concur in or object to the nomination.