National Register of Historic Places

Eligible properties are typically at least 50 years old and have either a historic or architectural significance. Generally, age is not the only thing we consider when determining significance. A property must have both cultural/historical significance and integrity to be eligible for listing. As part of the nomination process, you will need to establish why the property has a historical/architectural significance.

Properties are eligible for the National Register must be associated with one or more of the four established Criteria:

• Events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history
• The lives of significant persons in our past
• Embody the distinctive characteristics of an architectural type, period, or method of construction
• Have yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory

Historic documentation must be provided to support a claim of a property’s significance. It has to go beyond being loosely associated with or having existed at the time of the historic event or person.

Some alterations are acceptable. As long as the property still appears much as it did during the time it is considered significant. There are seven aspects of integrity used to determine whether or not a property retains its historic integrity necessary to be eligible for listing:

• Location: has the property been moved from its historic location?
• Design: has to overall appearance/layout been significantly altered?
• Setting: is the area surrounding the property much as it was historically?
• Materials: have much of the historic fabric been replaced with non-historic material?
• Workmanship: is the care and craftsmanship of the historic period still evident?
• Feeling: does the property provide a sense of the historic time period?
• Association: does the property maintain a direct link with its recommended significance?

Fill out and submit a Preliminary Evaluation Form. Nebraska State Historical Society staff will review and contact you regarding the eligibility of your property. If eligible, the preparation of a National Register of Historic Places nomination form can begin to:

• Download and prepare the Nomination Form
• Instructions for completing the form can be found in National Register Bulletin 16a
• Extensive historical research and documentation are required to sufficiently demonstrate that a property is eligible for listing in the National Register. These resources can help:
  1. National Register Bulletin 39: Researching a Historic Property
  2. Researching Your Nebraska Property

NSHS is here to help you prepare your nomination by providing professional guidance on the historical and architectural aspects of the property, verifying the nomination is properly documented to demonstrate its significance, and ensuring that it is prepared properly and meets the National Park Service requirements.

Nominations are presented to the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Board. The Board meets three times per year: January, May, and September. Pay close attention to dates and deadlines for each Board meeting (available upon request). Properties within a Certified Local Government (CLG) will need to be presented to the CLG’s Historic Preservation Commission before going before the State Board.

Nominations approved by the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Board are then forwarded to the National Park Service for final review and listing in the National Register.

Anyone! Property owners, members the general public, local historical societies, public agencies, college professors and their students, special interest groups, or homeowner associations, just to name a few. You may also hire a professional consultant to complete the nomination form.

Please keep in mind that the nomination of private property requires the consent of a majority of its current property owners

This depends on a number of factors, primarily who is preparing the nomination, how much time they devote to its preparation and when the nomination preparation begins. It is possible to complete the process in six months, but most nominations take a year from beginning to official listing.

No, there is no requirement to allow for public viewing. Many private residences and buildings are listed in the National Register – your property rights are not infringed upon by the National Register listing.

In most cases, no. A large number of studies have shown that properties with historic designation actually increase in value.

Proudly standing 120-feet tall, the Oshkosh Water Tower has been an iconic landmark in Garden County since 1920. Like a lighthouse to the plains, its welcoming presence can be seen from miles away. In 2019, almost 100 years since its construction, the tower has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. This designation recognizes the importance the tower has in the development of Oshkosh from a village to a prosperous community.

The tower is in excellent condition and is a classic example of a “tin-man” type elevated tower. These “tin-man” water towers were once standard across rural Nebraska communities, but are quickly disappearing as new technologies take hold. Even though the tower was retired as a water delivery system in 2018, the residents of Oshkosh banded together to save this landmark. According to the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, “A heart is not judged by how much you love; but how much you are loved by others”—this is certainly true of Oshkosh’s very-own “tin-man.”