Chestnut Street District Receives National Recognition

Downtown Hays receives national recognition as the historic Chestnut Street District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 9, 2008.
The register is an official list of historically significant properties throughout the country. 

The application process began in 2005 when then Downtown Hays Development Corporation hired preservation consultant Susan Jezak Ford to survey the downtown’s historic resources.  Once the City of Hays and the Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review approved the nomination, it was then forwarded to the Keeper of National Register for final approval.

The historic downtown district is comprised of 80 buildings stretching from seventh to thirteenth street, including properties going west on Ninth, 10th and 11th Streets and going east on 11th and 12th streets.  Of these 80 properties within the district, 51 are labeled as contributing and 29 are labeled as non-contributing properties.  Contributing properties are said to bring historic significance to the district and also may qualify for rehabilitation incentives.  Non-contributing properties, on the other hand, hold no significant value since they are either not historic, meaning they are not 50 years old yet, or they have been altered to where they no longer reflect their historic appearance.

There are three buildings in the district that were already listed in the national register individually.  These include the old First Presbyterian Church located at 100 West 7th St, which is today known as the Ellis County Historical Society Museum; the Philip Hardware Store building located at 719 Main; and the Kreuger Building, known locally as the Opera House, located at 811 Fort.

According to preservation consultant Ford, the majority of the buildings within the Chestnut Street District were built from 1874-1958 with the district’s period of significance being from 1874-1958.  It was said that the district was nominated to the national register for having “an outstanding collection of buildings that show the development of a western Kansas town.”

Next time you are in the area, make a visit to the Chestnut Street District where history is alive and present.  To read more about the history of the Chestnut Street District, visit our website at www.chestnutstreetdistrict.com.