Historic commission fetes depot centennial

By DAVID GUNTER

Feature correspondent

SANDPOINT — Ours is a town rich in historic value, with at least seven buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and countless others that serve as a direct link to our past.

Most of the physical evidence of Sandpoint’s earliest days as a township is virtually gone — now entombed in concrete under the Sand Creek Byway or covered by waterfront condominiums. However, the next chapters that were written have remained remarkably intact. Once the city founders made the call to leapfrog the creek and develop what is now the downtown core and its surrounding neighborhoods, Sandpoint’s future pivoted away from the Humbird Mill on the lake to spread out in new directions.

The Sandpoint Historic Preservation Commission is determined to make sure the city’s surviving historic places are not only identified, but also held up as a point of community pride. On Nov. 16, the group will host a fundraiser at Idaho Pour Authority to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Sandpoint Train Depot and, if all goes as planned, drum up enough money to fund an updated historic walking tour brochure.

Some years ago, local historian Nancy Renk researched and compiled a fine walking tour that, it could be argued, started the ball rolling on historical awareness. In the interim, new sites have received historic designation, including the depot, the Heartwood Center and the Nesbitt House.

“All of those are recent additions,” said Sandpoint Historic Preservation Commission Chair Steve Garvan, adding that the same trio of structures also won top honors in May 2015 when Sandpoint hosted Preservation Idaho’s annual Orchids & Onions Awards ceremony.

“It was the first time the event had been held in North Idaho,” Garvan said. “They said it was their biggest turnout ever — and it put Sandpoint on the map in the historical preservation world.”

At present, Sandpoint’s codified inventory of historic places resembles pieces of patchwork, laid out around town waiting to be joined and quilted together. Between them lie perhaps dozens of other structures that would easily clear the bar.

“The city has applied for and received four Certified Local Government grants from the state historical preservation office for the purpose of surveying neighborhoods and finding properties — both commercial and residential — that meet the standards of historical status,” said former Sandpoint mayor and historic preservation commission member Carrie Logan.

Still waiting to be identified are some of the old Humbird millhouses — which have been moved to new locations over time — and a handful of former officer’s quarters that were barged up from Farragut Naval Base and plopped down in various Sandpoint neighborhoods at the end of World War II.

“And there are a lot of potential properties in South Sandpoint that could expand that list,” said Garvan.

Add to that the as-yet-unlisted buildings in the original business district and you have an impressive portfolio of historic places shaping up.

According to Logan, work already is underway to expand the parameters of historic surveys beyond the downtown district. With that expansion comes additional opportunity to evaluate properties, some of which might be appropriate for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

In other regions of the U.S., property owners might be understandably reluctant to have their home or business listed as having historic value, as such a designation might render them “untouchable” in terms of making any changes to the structure. Not so in Sandpoint, the commission members noted, because Idaho’s requirements are far less stringent than those of many locales.

“There’s a lot of misinformation regarding the register,” Logan said. “Some people believe — incorrectly — that if they’re designated as a historic property, they can never do anything to that home. That’s completely inaccurate.”

“Any fears would be unfounded,” added Garvan. “In some places, it’s very restrictive. Here, it’s not.”

With an annual budget of only $300 from the city, the Sandpoint Historic Preservation Commission has been somewhat hamstrung as far as funding research and designation projects. But recent approval for the commission to engage in fundraising has put a new light on that situation.

The Nov. 16 event, for instance, could underwrite the new walking tour brochure, while future plans call for things such as installing memorial plaques on historic downtown buildings to give visitors a more detailed look into the city’s colorful past. Too, the commission hopes to mount an educational program to spur local curiosity and further involve the community in the process of unveiling and uplifting its own history.

The benefits, Garvan listed, include preservation, restoration, protection and cultural enhancement.

“And a sense of pride,” said Logan. “Pride in where we were and where we are now.”

The Sandpoint Historic Preservation Commission train depot centennial celebration will take place on Nov. 16, from 5-8 p.m., at the Idaho Pour Authority, 203 Cedar St., in Sandpoint. The event will include a silent auction, raffle and live music by Marty Perron and Doug Bond, plus a giant birthday cake from C is for Cake.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call Ryan Shea at 208-263-3370.

For more details on the Sandpoint Historic Preservation Commission, visit online at: www.cityofsandpoint.com and find the Preservation Commission link under the Your Government button at the top of the home page.