How to successfully nominate a house to the National Register of Historic Places

By Luke Sprague        |     December 30, 2018

Image of the Harry and Fern Campbell House

Harry and Fern Campbell House, 101 E 4th Street, Troy, Idaho.

On December 3, 2018, the National Park Service listed the Harry and Fern Campbell House, 101 E 4th Street, Troy, Idaho, on the National Historic Register of Historic Places#: SG100003175. The listing is the result of a multiyear effort by the author along with the members of the Latah Preservation Commission.

When working with a team, six elements must come together in order for a National Register nomination to succeed:

  • 1
    Active and willing support of the property owner
  • 2
    Local people other than the owner who are willing to do research
  • 3
    A reliable contractor for writing the nomination
  • 4
    Financial and in-kind support by the local government
  • 5
    Informed local government employees who are aware of the process
  • 6
    Someone who brings all these elements together into a cohesive nomination
  • It takes a team to successfully complete a National Register of Historic Places nomination.

Here is the December 12, 2018, Moscow-Pullman Daily News article:

The building, completed in 1927, is locally significant for architecture that represents a vernacular variation that is both an excellent and unique example of the Tudor Revival style. While it clearly expresses the key character-defining Tudor Revival features – steep roof pitch with cross gable, moderate eave extension with decorative bargeboard, faux half-timbering, and a prominent brick chimney – it also incorporates hallmark elements of the contemporary Craftsman style, such as knee brackets under the eaves, exposed rafter tails, and three-over-one double-hung wood windows with vertical muntins.

For more detail on this nomination click here: Harry and Fern Campbell House nomination form

Image of Harry Campbell's sunroom fresco

This is one of Harry's first frescoes in the sun room above the fireplace. Harry painted a number of frescoes throughout the house on the walls and then framed them as if they were built into the wall.