Neligh Named Historic After Years Of Perserverance

Buildings Contributing and Non-Contributing to distinction. 
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105 E 3rd    Hanson, Robert A
108 E 4th    Marshall, Ronald J & Lois A
110 E 4th    Pitzer Digital Llc
111 E 4th    Morrison, Dorian E
112 E 4th    Schreger V
116 E 4th    Pitzer Enterprises LLC
202 Main    City Of Neligh
204 Main    City Of Neligh
210 Main    Senior Citizens Program Inc
212 Main    Educational Service Unit #8
214 Main    Tunink, Arlyn D
218 Main    Jdmz Properties LLC
220 Main    Reinkes Farm & City Service Inc
223 Main    Gaskill Family Tr
302 Main    Educational Service Unit #8
305 Main    First National Bank Neligh, Heritage~Bankattn: Kevin Henderson
306 Main    Educational Service Unit #8
307 Main    Allemang, Lucille Etal
308 Main    Educational Service Unit #8
309 Main    Hoefer, Trent & Hannah
310 Main    Peterson, Tracie
312 Main    Mickelson, Susan L Etal
313 Main    Stenka, Shawn M & Shaylene G
314 Main    Pitzer Digital LLC
315 Main    Ahlers, Sarah L & Justin A
317 Main    Jessen, Douglas G & Dorine K
319 Main    Jerden Llc
320 Main    Klabenes, Stacy M
322 Main    Jensen, Terry M & Rhonda K
323-325 Main    Morrison, Dorian E
324 Main    National Bank Of Neligh
401 Main    Marshall, Ronald J & Lois A
402 Main    Dennis, Douglas A & Gloria A
403 Main    Baker, Todd J & Christine R
405 Main    Anderson, Dennis H & Jeri L
406 Main    Snodgrass, Seth & Shelby
408 Main    Schindler, Edmund J
409 Main    Gregory & Jenniffer     Blackburn-Nielsen~Funnel Tr
410 Main    Cw Inc
411 Main    Miller, Lonny R & Maryetta Etal
413 Main    Juracek, Lyle F & Loretta J
415 Main    Johnson, Karen D
416 Main    Adams, Tedd
417 Main    Hartz, Vincent Joe & Beverly A
418 Main    Meadows, Donald L & Beverly R
419 Main    Red Barn Enterprises LLC
420 Main    Taylor, Bennie C & Mary Ellen
423 Main    Red Barn Enterprises LLC
424 Main    National Bank Of Neligh
427 Main    Schuller Investments LLC
502 Main    Urbanec, Lisa R
101 W 3rd    Reinkes Farm & City Service Inc
103 W 3rd    Reinkes Farm & City Service Inc
110 W 3rd    Educational Service Unit #8
108 W 4th    Dennis, Douglas A & Gloria A

A walk through Neligh’s Old Mill District has always been a stroll through history. Now, it’s also a stop on the National Register of Historic Places.

Last week, downtown Neligh was officially awarded the national distinction, and Mayor Joe Hartz couldn’t be more proud.

"This is a great thing for Neligh and for Antelope County," Hartz said. "It's a great start to bringing new life into our historical downtown district. We have tremendous buildings, and we need to salvage and preserve them. It's important for our children to see the history of our downtown district, so to redeem them and turn it into a historical site is tremendous for the area."

Every building in downtown Neligh was studied and determined to be either contributing or non-contributing factors to being historical, meaning the architectural style and property types reflect its historical significance.

“The diversity of functions, architectural styles and property types enhance the visual character of the district,” the application stated. “The district’s continued development, reflected in the evolution of the building styles, expresses the commercial improvements or updates and highlights its importance to the social and economic strength of the city during the period of significance.”

Of the 8.1 acres of downtown Neligh, 41 buildings were labeled as contributing to the distinction with 14 not contributing.

Much of the application for national distinction included an indepth look into the structures and downtown economy, which uncovered many details that few many know from previous street names and original businesses to natural disasters and downtown fires.

The downtown was ignited by fire multiple times, but perhaps none more significant than on March 3, 1944, that spread through the 300 block of Main Street. Fire departments from neighboring Brunswick, Clearwater, Elgin, Oakdale and Tilden all provided mutual aid.

The fire started behind Wanek Drugstore, which was then located at 316 Main and spread to the adjacent Moon Theater, J.C. Penny’s and Hewitt Jewelry. An hour after the fire began, several onlookers were injured after an explosion blew off the room of the theater and broke the windows.

The total damage was reported at $200,000. Proof of the community’s perseverance, all of the buildings were rebuilt and all but the theater are in use today.

Another key fire that struck multiple downtown businesses was on February 5, 1960, just a block down, destroying The Firestone Store and White Spot Bar (presently 406 and 408 M Street). Five other buildings were damaged but not destroyed thanks to the efforts of fire departments from Neligh, Oakdale, Elgin and Clearwater.

“There’s a lot of history here in the downtown from the fires that happened years ago and the way the buildings were rebuilt,” said Economic Development Director Gabe Steinmeyer. “Even the buildings that are newer still have the historical significance, and you see that within the architecture as you progress downtown.”

In the 16 years between the fires, the streets of Neligh saw big changes, namely their names. In 1950, the City Council voted to rename the east-west streets to numbers. Coe St. became 3rd St., Putney St. became 4th, Hopkins became 5th and Mill St. became 2nd.

In May 1960, the north-south streets were changed from trees to letters. Cottonwood or M for Main Street was the middle of town with everything west increasing in the alphabet and east streets decreasing.

Steinmeyer said the national distinction puts Neligh in a position to leverage its historical abilities and push local tourism aspects even farther. It also provides extra incentive to business owners.

“If they want to upgrade their building, there are different tax incentives that are available to them that we didn’t previously have. As long as they maintain the historical aspect, they’re able to retain some tax credits and tax relief on those projects,” he said.

Steinmeyer said while it does provide incentives to owners, the distinction isn’t restrictive to progress. Business owners still have the ability to do whatever they want to their property; however, it does mean they won’t receive tax incentives for the changes that change the historical features.

“If a building owner wants to do something to their building, they are able to do that. This doesn’t change anything,” he said. “If they want public funds to do the building, then we as a community can require that historical features are retained.”