National Register of Historic Places

Greenfield Public Square Historic District

Greenfield, Adair County, Iowa
Listed
September 16, 2014
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
14000623

About this property

Greenfield Public Square Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Greenfield, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. At the time of its nomination the district consisted of 52 resources, including 42 contributing buildings, one contributing site, six noncontributing buildings, and three noncontributing objects. The historic district covers part of the city's central business district in the center of the original town plat. There is a significant number of one- and two-story, brick, commercial buildings, as well as a few three-story structures. The Commercial Italianate style is dominant. While the vast majority of the buildings are commercial buildings, there are four government buildings in the district: the Adair County Courthouse (1892), public library (1916), city hall (1930), and the municipal light plant (1940). Besides the courthouse, the other buildings that are individually listed on the National Register include Warren Opera House Block and Hetherington Block (1896), Adair County Democrat-Adair County Free Press Building (1903), and the Hotel Greenfield (1920). The most unique feature of the district is the square itself, which is the contributing site. It is a Lancaster Square, of which there was only one other in an Iowa county seat, Fort Dodge. Unlike Greenfield, the courthouse in Fort Dodge was never in the square. In a Lancaster Square the streets enter the square in the middle of the surrounding blocks rather than at the corners (a Shelbyville Square), which is the most common form of public square in Iowa. The streets that surround the square are not named, so building addresses are rendered with the building number and then "Public Square." Building numbers begin on the west side of South First Street with 102 and follow clock-wise around the square ending at the east side of South First Street with 362.

Location

102-362 Public Sq., 201-215 S. 1st St., 107-110 E. Iowa
Greenfield, Adair County, Iowa

Categories

COMMERCEARCHITECTURE
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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LiDAR Terrain
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Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
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Historical Maps
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Finds & Access
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Literature
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Points of Interest
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Questions about this property

When was Greenfield Public Square Historic District listed on the National Register?

Greenfield Public Square Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 16, 2014.

What type of historic resource is Greenfield Public Square Historic District?

Greenfield Public Square Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Greenfield Public Square Historic District?

The period of significance for Greenfield Public Square Historic District is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Greenfield Public Square Historic District?

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