During the 2000-'01 school year the SHPO's Preservation Education Coordinator, Karen Grace worked withCarol Bohl, an eighth-grade teacher at Harrisonville Christian School to develop a multi-level pilot project focused on the Harrisonville Courthouse Square National Register Historic District. The project turned out so well that staff decided to share it with other teachers and the general public via the SHPO website.
The four-phase project involved a considerable amount of research at the Cass County Courthouse, Harrisonville City Hall, the local library, historical society and the SHPO's Cultural Resource Inventory as well as through oral interviews. The class was divided into five work groups, one for each side of the square and one for the courthouse. Each group was assigned to complete a poster (presentation board), a walking tour brochure, an oral history interview and a diorama of one side of the square or the courthouse as it looked in 1918.
Student Project Syllabus
by
Carol Bohl
Rather than do a traditional research paper, the class will complete several research projects based on the history of the Harrisonville Square. This will encompass a variety of skills including writing, documentation, interviewing and visual presentations.
Each group of three students will research and document the following projects:
PRESENTATION BOARD 200 points
All text appearing on the board will be historically researched and accurate - 10 points
All information will be neatly arranged and visually attractive - 10 points
All headlines and labels will be computer generated - 10 points
All work will be spelled correctly and grammatically correct - 10 points
Map or diagram of area - 10 points
Pictures of all the buildings on designated side showing then and now with date - 25 points
Description of architectural styles of the buildings - 25 points
Timelines concerning construction, renovations and business over time - 25 points
Newspaper ads for businesses or news stories about events in the area - 25 points
Annotated bibliography of all sources consulted - 50 points
WALKING TOUR BROCHURE 100 points
Design a three-fold brochure of a walk through time for your side that would tell tourists about the history of the square or courthouse and other pertinent or interesting information.
Design is clean and visually appealing - 20 points
Information is historically accurate - 20 points
Text is spelled correctly and grammatically correct - 20 points
Brochure includes scanned pictures - 20 points
Work is neatly done and meets deadline - 20 points
ORAL HISTORY 50 points
Interview at least one person who worked on the square to record their memories on either audio or video tape. Prepare questions ahead of time. Make the contact and set up the date. Be polite at all times.
SQUARE DIORAMA Art class project
Working with your team, construct a model of your side of the square as it would have been in 1918. Try to make it architecturally correct. Storefronts should have names of businesses gleaned from research and details as found in available pictures.
Where the Harrisonville Students Found Information
Courthouse/City Hall
Tax Assessor - record of ownership of real property and its value
Probate Court - Wills, inheritors, estates
Building Department - record of renovations
Planning Department - Plat maps
Library/Historical Society
City Directories- names and addresses of owners and people who worked at businesses downtown; photos of owner's homes and businesses; advertising for businesses
Newspapers (and clippings)-store openings and closings, ads for merchandise, owner's activities, important cases at courthouse, renovations, obituaries
Sandborn Maps -record of ownership, site plan, building foot print, building materials
Photos -buildings and their owners
Books -histories, biographies, souvenir or vanity publications
Private Collections photos, letters, diaries, artifacts
Oral History
Interviews with owners, workers or their descendants
SHPO Cultural Resource Inventory
National Register of Historic Places - town/neighborhood history, architectural style, architectural description, architect or builders, age, legal description, site plans, biographies of significant persons, photos, maps, floor plans, site plans.
Statewide Survey Files -same as above
County Files -booklets, brochures, letters, unpublished histories, photos, newspaper clippings
Maps -survey, National Register, plat, topographic, Sandborn, bird's-eye views
Research Library county/city/regional/state histories, ethnic histories, architectural histories, builder's handbooks and catalogs, planning, how-to information for homeowners, architectural encyclopedias and dictionaries, preservation periodicals (1968-2001), etc.
Materials List for Harrisonville Project
Presentation Board
1. posterboard or foamcore
2. historic (ca 1918) and current photos of each building
3. computer for labels
4. plat map
5. photocopies of newspaper ads or stories or artifacts
Walking Tour Brochure
1. computer with photo scanner and desktop publishing program
Oral History
1. recording device either audio or video
Diorama
1. white cardboard cubes
2. scrap cardboard
3. construction paper
4. paint and marking pens
5. brick stencil
6. glue
7. mat knife
8. scissors
Sample Timeline
South Side of Harrisonville Square
by Bonnie Cohee, Drew Powers, Ben King
Harrisonville Christian School
| 101 W. Wall | 103 W. Wall | 101 E. Wall | 103 E. Wall | |
| 1886 - 1891 | 1886 - 1891 | 1900 - 1901 | 1900 - 1901 | |
|
2001 |
Growth Industries (Dunmire) |
Growth Industries (Dunmire) |
Anderson and Milholland law office |
Anderson and Milholland law office |
|
1991 - 2000 |
Growth Industries (Dunmire) |
Growth Industries (Dunmire) |
Anderson and Milholland law office |
Anderson and Milholland law office |
|
1981 - 1990 |
(1983)Printed Products Co. Inc |
(1983)Markee Women's Clothing |
(1983)Teen Sports |
Drug |
|
1971 - 1980 |
(1972)Fashion House Fabrics |
(1972)Markee Women's Clothing |
(1972)Sears Catalog Store-Les Young |
Grahm's Southside Drug |
|
1961 - 1970 |
(1964)Markee Women's Clothing |
(1964) Sevy's Shoe Service |
(1972) Foster Southside |
|
|
1951 - 1960 |
(1951) Russell Market |
Southside Drug |
||
|
1941 - 1950 |
Russell Grocery |
Boman's Studio until 1942 |
Hugo Nimmans Grocery |
Bairds Southside Drug |
|
1931 - 1940 |
Clements Hardware |
Bomans Studio (photo) |
Bairds Southside Drug |
|
|
1921 - 1930 |
(1923; 1929) Will T. Price Jewelery |
(1928) Boman's Studio |
Top-W.M. French Dentist, Dr. J.B. Sell |
Drug |
|
1911 - 1920 |
Will T. Price Jewelery |
Grocery |
A.C. Leavel's Drug Store |
|
|
1901 - 1910 |
vacant |
Restaurant |
Grocery |
Drug |
|
1891 - 1900 |
Bank |
Grocery |
(1900)J.J. Burke and Company grocery |
(1900) Levi Smith's Meat Market |
|
to 1890 |
T.R. Simpson Dry Good Clothing |
O.B. Smart Grocery |
S.E. Brown County Treasurer |