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Home My WebLink AboutVollmer Slaughterhouse Demolition Documentation Historic Preservation Consulting: History, Architecture, and Archaeology Renewable Technologies, Incorporated 502 North 16th Avenue Bozeman, Montana 59715 406.782.0494 May 12, 2017 Maddy Pope The Trust for Public Land 1007 East Main Street, Suite 300 Bozeman, Montana 59715 Reference: Vollmer Slaughterhouse site, Story Mill Community Park Dear Maddy: As requested by the Trust for Public Land (TPL), I have completed a field inventory and historic overview of the former Vollmer slaughterhouse facility, located on the future site of the Story Mill Community Park. The results of this work have been compiled on a “Montana Historic Property Record” site form, which is appended to this letter. After TPL review, this form should be filed with the Montana State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and I will be able to facilitate that if needed. SHPO will provide a formal site number for the property, which will complete the documentation. The purpose of this site form is twofold: to provide an archival record of the property as it exists in 2017, and to determine the property’s historic and/or architectural significance. The latter determination is expressed in terms of the property’s likely eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The NRHP eligibility determination may be relevant in undertaking public or private planning decisions impacting the site. While my research indicated that no prior historic site forms for this property exists, most of the features at the site were briefly evaluated during the preparation of the “Northern Pacific / Story Mill Historic District” NRHP nomination, completed in 1996. (Virtually the entire site is within the boundaries of that historic district.) The 1996 documentation found the main slaughterhouse building to be a “contributing” resource in the historic district, while the rendering plant and railroad spur were at the time not old enough to be considered contributing. (Both have since reached the 50-year age threshold typically required for NRHP significance.) The vehicle bridge at the east edge of the site was not previously recorded. Maddy Pope May 12, 2017 Page 2 Historic Preservation Consulting: History, Architecture, and Archaeology My 2017 evaluation of the Vollmer site found the slaughterhouse building to be a non- contributing resource, primarily due to potential historic integrity issues that were not addressed in the 1996 NRHP nomination. The rendering plant and railroad spur are now classed as contributing resources, since they retain integrity and now exceed the 50-year NRHP threshold. Because of integrity issues with the primary building at the site, and the removal of the livestock pens that formerly dominated the outdoor space at the location, the complex as a whole is not considered eligible for the NRHP. Since the overall slaughterhouse complex is a relatively minor component of the overall Northern Pacific / Story Mill Historic District, these status changes will not impact the NRHP eligibility of the district as a whole, and any future alteration or removal of the buildings would also not impact the district’s overall eligibility. This evaluation was conducted in conformance with generally accepted professional procedures and standards, and I am qualified to complete these evaluations according to the National Park Service professional standards outlined in 36 CFR Part 800. I have performed this work professionally since 1987. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this letter or the attached site form. Thank you for contacting me about this project. Sincerely, Mark Hufstetler MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD For the Montana National Register of Historic Places Program and State Antiquities Database Montana State Historic Preservation Office Montana Historical Society PO Box 201202, 1410 8th Ave Helena, MT 59620-1202 Property Address: Story Mill Road Historic Address (if applicable): City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 24GA____ (An historic district number may also apply.) County: Gallatin Historic Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Original Owner(s): Joseph Vollmer, Sr. Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: abandoned Owner(s): City of Bozeman Owner Address: P.O. Box 1230 Bozeman, Montana 59771 Phone: 406-582-2321 Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 02S Range: 06E SW ¼ NW ¼ NW ¼ of Section: 5 Lot(s): Block(s): Addition: Year of Addition: USGS Quad Name: Bozeman, Montana Year: 2014 Historic Use: Slaughterhouse complex Current Use: abandoned Construction Date: 1938 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov NAD 27 or NAD 83(preferred) Zone: 12T Easting: 498342 Northing: 5060387 National Register of Historic Places NRHP Listing Date: Historic District: NRHP Eligible: Yes No Date of this document: May 1, 2017 Form Prepared by: Mark Hufstetler Address: 502 North 16th Avenue Bozeman, Montana 59715 Daytime Phone: 406-587-9518 MT SHPO USE ONLY Eligible for NRHP: □ yes □ no Criteria: □ A □ B □ C □ D Date: Evaluator: Comments: MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Other: If Other, specify: vernacular industrial Property Type: Industrial Specific Property Type: slaughterhouse Architect: Architectural Firm/City/State: Builder/Contractor: Company/City/State: Source of Information: The Vollmer & Sons slaughterhouse complex is an historic site consisting of two large buildings, a short railroad spur, and a small steel-stringer bridge, located approximately two miles north of the eastern end of downtown Bozeman. Constructed in 1938 to house a small beef and hog slaughterhouse operation, the facility was expanded after World War II and remained in operation until the 1970s. The complex has been unused and largely abandoned in the years since. Just beyond the current northern outskirts of the community, the location’s immediate setting is a relatively rural mix of farmland, houses, and bottomlands, with the channel of Rocky Creek to the east and the Story Hills rising beyond. The abandoned grade of the Northern Pacific Railway’s Story Mill Spur, now a pedestrian trail, is just to the west, and the partially removed grade of an abandoned Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific railroad branch is to the east, beyond Rocky Creek. To the north are the locations of large, now-disused commercial/industrial sites that once served the region’s agricultural community, including a livestock sales facility and a grain elevator/mill complex. Access to the site is from Story Mill Road (to the east), via an unimproved dirt track that crosses Rocky Creek on a steel-stringer bridge (Feature 4, below.) Flora at the location includes primarily non-native grasses, and scattered deciduous trees and shrubs. Approximate elevation of the site is 4720 feet. Although no site form was prepared, the slaughterhouse complex was first recorded in 1996, as part of the documentation for the Northern Pacific / Story Mill National Register of Historic Places historic district. The historic district listing briefly described the two buildings remaining at the site, as well as the railroad spur, but did not document the bridge. In addition, the 1996 documentation noted the existence of a network of wooden livestock pens, which occupied the southern portion of the site, along with an attached storage building. These features were removed at an unknown date between 1996 and 2016, and no evidence of them remains today. It is likely that the removal of the livestock pens substantially altered the overall visual appearance of the site. Each of the four remaining features at the site is described briefly below. Feature 1: Vollmer & Sons slaughterhouse building (constructed 1938), Non-contributing: The slaughterhouse building itself is located in the northwest quadrant of the site, and is the largest and oldest feature in the complex. It occupies a footprint measuring approximately 100’ (north-south) by 60 feet (east- west). Substantially smaller at the time of its 1938 completion, the building was enlarged multiple times during its period of use, and the current building’s exterior surfaces are largely the product of those additions. The additions are not definitively dated, but appear to date from ca. 1949 into at least the 1960s. The building rests on a concrete foundation and displays an overall rectangular mass, with rectangular wings on the south and east elevations. Current walls utilize a variety of structural and cladding materials, but load- bearing concrete (pumice) block walls are most prominent. These appear to postdate the building’s original MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 Architectural Description Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ construction, and some portions of these walls may be newer than others. Smaller areas of corrugated-metal wall cladding are also visible on most elevations; again, these likely date from different periods of construction. Some of the corrugated metal wall surfaces may be original to the building, while others (particularly to the south) are likely non-historic. Finally, there is a smaller, rectangular addition on the building’s east elevation constructed of red brick laid in a running bond; these materials match those used in the Feature 2 rendering plant, suggesting that the addition shares Feature 2’s 1949 construction date. The building is beneath a shallow- pitch, asymmetrical, wood-framed gable roof, with shed-roofed additions on the south and east. The building’s fenestration pattern is functional and limited, with small rectangular window openings, primarily on the west, and current or former door locations on all four locations. Some former door openings have been sealed with concrete block, and most other door and window openings are now blocked with plywood, with the original doors and windows no longer in place. A relatively large opening on the south location indicates the location where live cattle entered for slaughter and processing, and another large opening on the north serves a small wooden dock where packaged products would be loaded onto railroad cars spotted on the adjacent Northern Pacific spur. Now-sealed openings on the east elevation likely indicate the former location of a structural bridge that once connected the slaughterhouse to the rendering plant building. While not fully mapped, the building’s interior appears to retain the configuration that was in place during the facility’s last years of use as a slaughterhouse. Live animals entered the building on the south elevation, with a kill room and meat processing rooms to the north. Most rooms have concrete floors, and the rooms where meat was processed have ceramic tile walls. Metal runners for meat hooks are suspended from the ceiling in major rooms. A two-level office and storage area occupies the western portion of the building, in an addition that may not be historic. Feature 2: Vollmer & Sons rendering plant (constructed 1949), contributing: The rendering plant is a two-story building displaying a simple rectangular mass. The building’s foundation and first-level exterior walls are poured concrete, while the second-level exterior walls are red brick. The building has a shallow-pitch shed roof, behind low parapet walls on all but the east elevation; the north and south parapets are slightly stepped. The building’s historic fenestration pattern appears to almost wholly survive. Primary access is via an overhead door on the first level of the west elevation; a man door, accessed by an exterior wooden staircase, is on the second level of that elevation. Window units are metal-framed; typical windows display a 12-light configuration, with a six-light awning section at the center of the unit. Interior spaces are utilitarian, with a single large room occupying each level. Square concrete support pillars in the first-level space support the second-level floor. A large freight elevator exists near the center fo the north elevation. Feature 3: Northern Pacific Railway spur (constructed c. 1948), contributing: This feature consists of a short section of railway track north of the slaughterhouse building, and near the north end of the site. The spur enters the site from the west, and proceeds in an east-northeast direction along a slight curve for approximately 100 feet before terminating. (It is possible that originally, the spur may have extended slightly farther east.) West of the site, the spur originally connected with the Story Mill spur of the Northern Pacific railway, which ran in a north-south direction just beyond the western end of the site. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 Architectural Description Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ The track exhibits standard attributes of American railway construction, with steel rails spiked to standard-sized wooden ties. No ballast or constructed subgrade is (or was) present. Thick grasses hide nearly all of the track structure, and spur’s existence is not readily apparent to a casual viewer. Feature 4: Rocky Creek Bridge (constructed c. 1938), contributing: This is a single-lane roadway bridge crossing Rocky Creek, near the northeastern corner of the site. Constructed on an approximate east-west axis, the bridge carries an unpaved access lane running west from Story Mill Road to the slaughterhouse site. The bridge is a single-span structure, approximately 35 feet long. The superstructure consists of a series of five steel I-beam stringers, evenly spaced. The stringers support a wooden deck comprised of 10” wide planks, with longitudinal curb planks on both sides of the span. The deck planking may or may not be original, but many of the planks show substantial decay. The substructure includes abutments made of vertical pipe, perhaps driven in as pilings, supporting wood plank backwalls. Some erosion has occurred behind the backwalls, particularly the western one, making current vehicular use of the bridge problematic. ------------ The southern half of the site now consists of a grassy, open field, but was once the location of the facility’s livestock pens. The 1996 National Register listing briefly describes the area, and also noted the existence of a large outbuilding in the area. No trace of those features remained as of 2016. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 History of Property Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ HISTORY OF PROPERTY Euro-American agricultural activity in the Gallatin Valley dates from the gold rush era of the early 1860s, when the first homesteaders began developing local farms to, in part, supply foodstuffs to the local mining communities. Small-grain agriculture soon became the valley’s primary agricultural product, but large numbers of cattle and sheep were also grazed in southwestern Montana. Centered in the surrounding hills and arid bench lands, the region’s livestock industry produced meat for local consumption as well as live animals for shipment to feedlots and slaughterhouses elsewhere. Other livestock grazed here seasonally, and were driven to other pastures in the colder months. Established in 1863, the community of Bozeman immediately became the economic center of the valley, and as the region’s agricultural economy developed Bozeman saw the construction of a number of wholesaling and processing facilities for the valley’s farm output. The growth and stability of these businesses was assured after 1883, when the Northern Pacific Railroad (NP) completed its transcontinental line running through Bozeman. The NP quickly became a dominant transportation provider in the area, and numerous agricultural wholesaling and processing facilities were developed along the line in the following decades. The largest facility was the substantial Story Mill grain elevator complex north of town, which was reached by a short NP spur. The Story Mill complex was developed by Nelson Story, Jr., the valley’s most prominent and prosperous 19th century capitalist, and remained in the Story family for decades. These Bozeman businesses processed and wholesaled wheat, sweet peas, and other farm products, but well into the 20th century there was apparently no large-scale facility devoted to processing locally raised cattle or hogs. (Smaller slaughterhouse facilities undoubtedly existed to supply local grocers and restaurants.) This situation changed in 1938, when a Bozeman resident named Joseph Vollmer, Sr. began construction of the valley’s first modern slaughterhouse complex. Vollmer selected a site for his new business just south of the existing Story Mill complex, purchasing the land from T. Byron Story, one of Nelson Story’s sons. Vollmer’s son later recalled that the site was chosen partly for its proximity to railroad service (the NP’s Story Mill spur), and partly because the nearby Rocky Creek channel could be used to dispose of blood from the slaughtered animals. Interestingly, the slaughterhouse location was also near a headquarters facility for some of the Story family’s extensive ranch operations, and soon after Vollmer’s slaughterhouse was built a large livestock auction facility opened on a Story-owned tract of land between the slaughterhouse and the Story Mill. Though unconfirmed, this suggests the possibility that the Story family may have had at least some indirect involvement in the Vollmer project. Regardless, by 1939 both the slaughterhouse and the livestock auction were in business, completing the valley’s first complex of cattle wholesaling and processing facilities. This was likely a marked benefit to at least some local cattle and hog producers, who previously needed to ship most of their finished livestock to out-of-state sales and slaughter facilities. The first building at the Vollmer site was completed in the summer of 1938 at a reported cost of $6,500.00, and the business began operation that autumn. The enterprise proves successful, and in 1949 Vollmer constructed a rendering plant nearby while also enlarging the main slaughterhouse building. The enlarged facility employed a typical workforce of eight people, and had the ability to process approximately 200 head of beef per month. From 200 to 500 hogs were also processed monthly, as well as a small number of sheep. Tallow could be shipped out by rail in tank-car lots, and the hides were shipped to tanneries. Bone meal was sold to local mills for use in animal feeds. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 History of Property Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ Although the ability existed for the longer-distance shipment of the meat itself, the vast majority of the product was likely sold to food wholesalers, grocers, and restaurants in southwestern Montana. Even by the 1950s, packing houses elsewhere offered greater economies of scale and were nearer to locations where cattle-raising was also a more-prominent economic force. While the Vollmer operation served an important local role, it was not designed to compete with national producers, nor was it designed to do so. The Vollmer facility apparently remained in operation into the 1970s, continuing as a family-run business throughout its existence. A number of factors likely contributed to its ultimate closure, including the ever- increasing dominance of larger-scale feedlots and slaughterhouse facilities elsewhere; a trend by retailers to purchase nationally, rather than locally; and declines in the livestock production in the immediate Bozeman area. The site has been abandoned since the slaughterhouse’s closure, and the adjacent livestock auction business was later closed and relocated, as well. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY “Bozeman Livestock Commission Co.” Intermountain Press Pictorial Magazine, October 30, 1947, 4 Burlingame, Merrill G. Gallatin County’s Heritage: A Report of Progress, 1805-1976. Bozeman: Gallatin County Bicentennial Publication, 1976. Dunbar, Robert G. “The Economic Development of the Gallatin Valley.” Pacific Historical Review 47:4 (October 1956), 117-123. Gallatin Valley Railway Company. “Right of Way and Track Map, June 30, 1918.” Author’s collection. Hoy, William S. Railroad Stations in the Gallatin Area, Montana. Montgomery Village, Maryland: Keystone Press, 1998. McDonald, James D., et.al. Bozeman’s Historic Resources: Bozeman Historic Resource Survey. Report prepared for the Bozeman City-County Planning Board, 1984. Polk’s Bozeman [Montana] City Directory, Including Gallatin County. Butte: R.H. Polk & Company, 1892 – date. Title and publication information varies. Showell, Jeffrey Adams. “Chronologies and Corporate Histories of Montana Railroad Lines.” Unpublished manuscript, dated 1988, in Montana Historical Society vertical file, Helena. Smith, Phyllis. Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley: A History. Helena: Twodot Press, 1996. Strahn, Derek. “Northern Pacific/Story Mill Historic District, 24GA1100.”. National Register of Historic Places nomination, listed 1996. Vollmer, Joseph. Interview by Derek Strahn, June 29, 1993. Recording in interviewer’s collection. “Vollmer Slaughterhouse Necessity in Everyday Living,” Bozeman Daily Chronicle, March 26, 1956. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Statement of Significance Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NRHP Listing Date: NRHP Eligibility: Yes No Individually Contributing to Historic District Noncontributing to Historic District NRHP Criteria: A B C D Area of Significance: Period of Significance: STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse complex is an integral component of the Northern Pacific / Story Mill Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The district as a whole was found to be eligible under all four National Register criteria, as follows: The Northern Pacific/Story Mill Historic District is historically significant for its association with Bozeman’s steady economic and demographic evolution during the Village, Civic, Progressive, and Nationalization phases of development. In particular, the district’s resources are representative of the fundamental role that the Northern Pacific Railroad, and later, the Milwaukee Road, played in this dynamic process of historical change. As the undisputed transportation hub of southwestern Montana’s impressive agricultural economy, the Northern Pacific/Story Mill Historic district is reflective of broad historic patterns of commerce, travel, and settlement, and, therefore, qualifies for National Register listing according to criterion A. The district also meets criterion B for its associations with Bozeman capitalist Nelson Story, Sr. and, to a lesser extent, his decedents. The district also qualifies for the Register under criterion C as a representation of standardized transportation technology, engineering, and architecture during the period of significance as well as for the design influence of Fred Willson, a regionally important architect. Finally, a domestic trash dump site [exists] within the district boundary containing datable pottery, cans, and glass. Study of this site holds promise for yielding information about residential habits and patterns on this industrial fringe of town, shedding light on an otherwise unchronicled aspect of the district’s history. Among the existing resources at the Vollmer site only the Feature 1 slaughterhouse building is listed as a contributing resource. The Feature 2 rendering plant and feature 3 railroad spur were counted as non- contributing since they were less than 50 years old at the time the nomination was prepared, and the feature 4 bridge was not described in the nomination. The 1996 document also noted a system of livestock pens and a large metal outbuilding, which were counted as a single contributing resource. These two features, which would have likely been counted separately by today’s standards, were removed sometime in the two decades following 1996. The 1996 National Register listing does not more explicitly specify which of the resources it contains directly contributes to specific aspects of significance, but the statement contained in the 1996 document supports the significance only of the slaughterhouse building and livestock pens under National Register Criterion “A.” A review of the site’s potential National Register significance in 2017 confirms that the site possesses potential National Register significance under Criterion A, as a representative example of a mid-twentieth century commercial enterprise designed to support the Gallatin Valley’s important agricultural economy. While small- MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Statement of Significance Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ grain farming was the primary historic focus of the valley’s agricultural activities, commercial cattle and sheep ranching have been present in the area since the 1860s, and were important contributors to the regional economy. Many area ranchers occupied local range tracts only seasonally, and often used truck and rail shipment to transport live cattle to larger markets, but the Vollmer slaughterhouse provided a reliable local wholesale outlet for finished livestock, while simultaneously offering grocers and wholesalers a local source for cut and packaged meat products. The former livestock auction facility, just to the north, shares this historic role and significance. Together, the two businesses provided area ranchers with the valley’s only wholesale-level sales outlet for finished cattle. The Vollmer complex does not possess demonstrated significance under National Register Criterion B, since no individuals of demonstrated significance are strongly associated with the property. Although not noted in the 1996 document, the Vollmer complex also possesses potential National Register eligibility under Criterion C as a representative example of a mid-20th century animal processing facility. Both surviving buildings at the site display materials and designs typical of small-scale, mid-century agricultural processing facilities, including clay-tile walls and metal-framed hopper/awning windows. Additionally, the overall site layout and arrangement of feature types were historically characteristic of such a facility. The complex is not believed to include historic archaeological resources that would be potentially eligible for the National Register under Criterion D. While a formal pedestrian archaeological inventory was not conducted at the site, a comprehensive surface reconnaissance of the area failed to note evidence of any surface archaeological features. While the characteristics of the Vollmer site indicate that the location displays potential significance under National Register criteria A and C, a site must also retain a sufficient level of integrity to be considered eligible. As noted in the following section, the overall integrity of the Vollmer site has been diminished in a variety of ways: heavy modifications and additions to the primary building at the site; the removal of the character- defining livestock pens that once visually dominated the site; and damage caused by vandalism. Combined, these changes have degraded the site’s integrity to the point where the property as a whole is no longer independently eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The most significant losses are the removal of the cattle pens, which visually defined the function of the site, and the non-contributing status of the slaughterhouse building itself, the largest and most prominent architectural feature at the site. Even though the Vollmer site as a whole is not independently eligible for the National Register, individual resources at the location still have the potential to count as contributing resources in the existing Northern Pacific / Story Mill Historic District. Both the Feature 2 Rendering Plant and Feature 3 railroad spur would likely count as contributing resources to the district today. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Integrity Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) While the principal buildings of the Vollmer slaughterhouse complex remain in place in their original locations, the site displays a diminished level of integrity overall due to a series of sequential, undated modifications to the primary slaughterhouse building (Feature 1), and the loss of the historic cattle pens and storage building which once visually defined the outdoor portion of the site. Brief integrity assessments of the individual features at the site follow: Feature 1 – Slaughterhouse Building: The historic 1938 core of the slaughterhouse building appears to remain largely intact, though the construction of later additions means that relatively little of the original exterior wall surface or material is visible to an outside viewer. The primary exterior surface material is now pumice block, which dates from one or more later additions, and the original building form is no longer readily discerned. An oral history interview about the slaughterhouse operation suggests that at least part of the pumice block addition dates from 1949, though the visual appearance of the walls suggests that at least some of it may be more recent; in addition, some of the pumice block wall faces contain areas of sheet-metal cladding that clearly postdate the pumice walls. Based only on visual appearances, the metal wall cladding may date from the 1960s. A smaller, metal-clad addition on the building’s south elevation clearly postdates the historic era. Overall, the building’s exterior mass no longer displays an appearance that clearly conveys its historic function, and the appearance and massing date from the end of the period of significance, or later. Smaller building changes, partially due to the building’s decades of abandonment, have also impacted the feature. The fenestration pattern that was in place at the end of the building’s period of active use appears to largely survive, though door and window materials are broken and missing. More significantly, the former structural bridge that apparently connected this building to the Feature 2 rendering plant is no longer extant. Graffiti and other evidence of vandalism is evident throughout the building. Feature 2 – Rendering Plant: This building displays a higher level of historic and structural integrity than the slaughterhouse building. The building’s original historic massing and structural/cladding materials remain, and the historic fenestration pattern survives intact, although doors and windows are broken and partially missing. Two former openings on the west elevation have been sealed with pumice block, perhaps in the 1960s or so. As with the slaughterhouse building, substantial evidence of vandalism is evident, and the former structural bridge connecting this building to the slaughterhouse is now missing. Feature 3 – Northern Pacific Railway spur: The railway spur appears to survive largely intact, though it is now nearly completely obscured by heavy grass overgrowth. All remaining materials appear to be historic. Though uncertain, it is possible that the spur may have once extended somewhat farther east beyond its current terminus. The former location of the switch connecting the spur to the railway’s Story Mill line is outside the western boundary of the site and was not examined, though the connection appears to have been at least partly removed. Feature 4 – Rocky Creek Bridge: This structure displays an almost wholly vernacular appearance, with little visual indication of changes that may have taken place. At least most of the current structure appears to date MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 11 Integrity Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ from the same construction project, though some deck material may have been replaced in-kind, and changes to the west abutment may have occurred due to ongoing erosion. It is not known whether this structure is the original bridge at this location, but it appears to date from the period of significance. Damage due to deck decay and recent erosion of the west abutment is apparent, and makes the structure unsafe for vehicular use, but does not substantially impact historic integrity. Former Stock pen area (1996 feature #12C): The former system of livestock pens at the site no longer exists, and the large outbuilding that reportedly once existed in the pen area has also been removed. No physical evidence of either feature remains today. Overall, the facility fully retains integrity of location, and partially retains integrity of design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 12 Photographs Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ Feature # 1 and 2 Facing: North-northeast Description: Site overview Feature # 1 Facing: Southeast Description: North and west elevations MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 13 Photographs Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ Feature # 1 Facing: Northeast Description: West and south elevations Feature # 1 Facing: Northwest Description: East elevation detail MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 14 Photographs Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ Feature # 1 Facing: Southwest Description: West and north elevations Feature # 1 Facing: Nnortheast Description: Typical interior view MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 15 Photographs Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ Feature # 2 Facing: Northeast Description: West and south elevations Feature # 2 Facing: Northwest Description: South and East elevations MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 16 Photographs Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ Feature # 2 Facing: South Description: Typical interior view Feature # 3 Facing: West-southwest Description: General location view MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 17 Photographs Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ Feature # 4 Facing: East-northeast Description: West abutment and deck Feature # 4 Facing: Southwest Description: Substructure view MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 18 Site Map Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ Site 24GA____ Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Story Mill Road Bozeman, Montana MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 19 Topographic Map Property Name: Vollmer & Sons Slaughterhouse Complex Site Number: 24GA____ Bozeman, Montana (2014) 1:24,000 topographic map UTM Zone 12T Site location: 498342 Easting; 5060387 Northing NW ¼ NW ¼ Section 5, T2S, R6E, MPM 1 Remembering the heritage of the Vollmer Slaughterhouse complex The land to be occupied by the Story Mill Community Park has seen a variety of historic uses since the first Euro-Americans settled in the Gallatin Valley in the 1860s, including areas long devoted to transportation and industrial functions. These activities relocated elsewhere during the last third of the 20th Century, but scattered physical reminders of this past still remain. The most significant of these reminders – the story Mill grain elevator complex – is just east of the park, serving as a continued visual landmark for the area. A portion of the Park itself is within the boundaries of the Northern Pacific-Story Mill Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Most of the district’s historic resources are outside the Park boundaries, but two of the district’s properties are wholly or partially within the park perimeter. A former Northern Pacific (NP) Railway spur line traverses the eastern portion of the park from south to north, bisecting the park property. The spur, constructed in the 1880s, connected the Story Mill complex with the NP main line; it has now been out of service for some three decades, although title to the right-of-way still rests with the successor railroad. Now leased to the City of Bozeman, the historic grade has been redeveloped into a pedestrian trail. The former railway corridor retains much of its historic character, including the original subgrade and historic timber-pile trestles. Though the trail itself is not part of the Park project, its location will make it an integral component of the functioning park, and use of the trail corridor is expected to increase as the Park is developed. This will bring increased attention to the historic resource, and we will explore opportunities to further convey the corridor’s significance through interpretive signage and other elements. A second railroad-related historic resource also exists just east of the former NP grade: a timber-pile railway trestle that was once part of a branch line operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad between about 1910 and 1978. (For an unknown reason, this trestle was not included in the 1996 historic district documentation.) Little other evidence of this former railway line still exists in the immediate Park area, but the trestle retains a high level of historic integrity and is a significant reminder of the area’s former transportation routes. We have documented the history of this structure, and plan to preserve it as part of a new trail route.. Interpretive signage or other materials may also be provided to inform visitors about the history of the former “Milwaukee Road” corridor. The Park also includes the former location of the Vollmer & Sons slaughterhouse complex, which operated from approximately 1939 into the 1970s. While in operation, the facility included two substantial buildings, a network of cattle pens, a short railway spur, and an access road with a bridge crossing the East Gallatin River. The buildings, cattle pens, and railway spur were included in the National Register listing for the historic district, although the cattle pens were removed at a later, 2 unknown date. The remaining features are not considered independently eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (see below), though at least some of the remaining features still contribute to the overall significance of the historic district. The future uses of the remaining features at the Vollmer site were considered as part of the planning processes for the Park, but the retention of the two slaughterhouse buildings was found not to be economically or logistically viable, for a variety of reasons. Costs for stabilizing and adaptively reusing the buildings would have been prohibitively high, as would the cost of bringing public utilities to the site. The planning documents for the park therefore call for the removal of both buildings. While this action will reduce the number of contributing resources in the Historic District, it will not jeopardize the District’s National Register status, and this action is considered necessary for the full, successful development of the Community Park. Even with the necessary removal of the Vollmer buildings, however, it remains both appropriate and important to recognize the history of the Vollmer site, and the role that it filled in the broader historic cultural landscape of the Story Mill area. The following three steps will be undertaken to help preserve the site’s history, and interpret it to future park visitors: 1. Documentation: The history of the Vollmer property was briefly documented during the preparation of the National Register nomination for the Northern Pacific-Story Mill Historic District in 1996, although the study left some data gaps and the building descriptions and National Register evaluations are no longer current. This information has been expanded and updated with the 2016-17 completion of a current Historic Property Site Form document for the Vollmer property. This document updates and expands the information provided in the earlier National Register nomination, and provides a final baseline of information documenting the site. This record will be submitted to the Montana State Historic Preservation office, as an archival reference for use by future historians and researchers. Park planners may also use information in the document as they prepare interpretive materials for the site and the Park. 2. Interpretation: Although the former slaughterhouse site will not be intensively developed as part of the Park project, its location just east of the Northern Pacific rail-trail will remain highly visible, and easily accessed by Park visitors. This provides opportunities for historic interpretation of the Vollmer site geared towards park users along the trail, as well as those who may venture beyond the trail into the site itself. Possibilities for this interpretation include the installation of one or more interpretive sign panels at a point along the trail itself, and/or at the former locations of the Vollmer buildings. These panels could provide a brief historic overview of the former facility, telling the story in the broader context of the Northern Pacific trail and the entire mill area. A sketch map and photographs of the former site 3 could be included. Combined with the documentation prepared above, the preparation of these sign panels would be an effective and visible way of explaining the site’s story to future visitors, while simultaneously mitigating the loss of the former Vollmer buildings. 3. Commemoration: As part of the restoration of the former Vollmer site, consideration will be given to the possible retention or recreation of limited structural elements intended to give a visual sense of the former building placements at the site. Though it is not considered practical to preserve substantial portions of the existing building walls, it may be feasible to retain or place structural or landscape material that would indicate the outline footprints of the former buildings. In conjunction with the interpretive panels described above, this would effectively convey a visual sense of the site as it existed prior to the Park’s development. A short spur track into the Vollmer complex from the NP Story Mill line still remains in place, largely intact. It may be feasible to retain this spur in a similar fashion, perhaps even utilizing the existing materials still in place. This would help preserve an identified historic resource while serving a contemporary interpretive function, as well. STO R Y M I L L S P U R P R O P E R T Y L I N E PRO P E R T Y L I N E L S T R E E T PROPERTY LINE E A S T G A L L A T I N R I V E R LIMIT OF PLANTING LI M I T O F W O R K LIM I T O F W O R K LIM I T O F W O R K LIMI T O F W O R K L I M I T O F W O R K L I M I T O F W O R K L I M I T O F W O R K L I M I T O F W O R K LIM I T O F W O R K LIMIT OF WORK LIMI T O F W O R K LIM I T O F W O R K LIM I T O F W O R K LI M I T O F W O R K MAT C H L I N E - S H E E T L 8 - 1 2 MAT C H L I N E - S H E E T L 8 - 1 4 NORTH 0 ORIGINAL SCALE: 20'40'80' 1"=40' SITE PLANTING SERIES C DESIGN DATE#DESCRIPTION ISSUE DATE: SHEET NUMBER REVIEWED: PROJECT NUMBER: DRAWN: 1 WORKSHOP REVISIONS 5404 2 3 4 5 6 7 A B C D E ST O R Y M I L L CO M M U N I T Y P A R K BO Z E M A N , M T C O P Y R I G H T D E S I G N W O R K S H O P, I N C. F 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 W W W . D E S I G N W O R K S H O P . C O M A p r 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 - 2 : 1 0 p m F: \ P R O J E C T S _ R - Z \ 5 4 0 4 - S t o r y M i l l C o m m u n i t y P a r k \ D - C A D \ 0 2 . S h e e t s \ d w - 5 4 0 4 - L 8 - P L A N T I N G . d w g 120 East Main Street Aspen, Colorado 81611-1787 (970)-925-8354 March 31, 2017 MP/CM AA/KC 60% Construction Documents L8-15 SITE KEYNOTES:DETAIL / SHEET 9.0 PLANTING AND LANDSCAPE 9.1 9.2 Deciduous Tree Planting on Slope 2 / L9-01 RELATED DETAIL(S) SPEC. SECTION 000000 9.3 Coniferous Tree Planting 3 / L9-01 000000 9.4 Coniferous Tree Planting on Slope 4 / L9-01 000000 9.5 Shrub Planting 1 / L9-02 000000 9.6 Shrub Planting on Slope 2 / L9-02 000000 9.7 Lawn 3 / L9-02 000000 9.8 Perennial Planting 4 / L9-02 000000 9.9 Landscape Edging 5 / L9-02 000000 9.10 Enhanced Edging - Gravel Fines Path 6 / L9-02 000000 9.11 7 / L9-02 000000 9.12 Rain Garden/Bioswale Planting 1 / L9-03 000000 Deciduous Tree Planting 1 / L9-01 000000 Fescue Seeding 9.13 Deciduous Tree in Gravel Mulch 5 / L9-01 000000 KEY PLAN (NOT TO SCALE) PLANTING REFERENCE NOTES 1 Mulch around existing trees to remain. 2 Food Forest understory by others. RIPARIAN WOODLAND / SHRUBLAND TREE-PROPOSED WOODLAND MESIC GRASSLAND DRIER GRASSLAND FESCUE LAWN VEGETATION LEGEND MULCH WHIPS TREE-EXISTING TREES SHRUBS ABR BOTANICAL NAME COMMON NAME Pt Populus tremuloides Quaking Aspen Ptm Populus tremuloides Quaking Aspen Pv Prunus virginiana Chokecherry Pa Populus x acuminata Lanceleaf Poplar Pd Populus deltoides Plains Cottonwood Pn Pinus nigra Austrian Pine Cm Crataegus monogyna Hawthorne Gt Gleditsia tricanthos 'Harve'Northern Acclaim Honeylocust Af Acer x freemanii 'Autumn Blaze'Autumn Blaze Maple Qm Quercus macrocarpa Bur Oak Sa Salix amygdaloides Peachleaf Willow Ms Malus sylvestris 'Sweet Sixteen'Sweet 16 Apple Mg Malus 'Goodmac'Goodmac Apple Pmr Prunus 'Mount Royal'Mount Royal Plum Pmo Prunus 'Moongold'Moongold Apricot Pu Pyrus 'Ure'Ure Pears Rr Ribes rubrum Red Currant Sar Shepherdia argentea Silver Buffaloberry Am Aronia melanocarpa 'Elata'Glossy Black Chokeberry Rg Ribes grossularia Gooseberry Lc Lonicera caerulea Honeyberry Ri Rubus idaeus Red Raspberry Rw Rosa woodsii Wood's Rose Pb Prunus bali Evans Bali Cherry Pc Prunus cerasus 'Meteor'Meteor Cherry Rn Ribes nidigrolaria Jostaberry Em Elaeagnus multiflora Goumi Ca Corylus americana American Hazelnut Sn Sambucus nigra Elderberry Tc Tilia cordata Littleleaf Linden Ap Acer platanoides 'Helena'Helena Maple As Acer saccharum 'Fall Fiesta'Fall Fiesta Sugar Maple Ps Populus songarica Songarica Poplar Sv Syringa vulgaris Common Lilac Pp Pinus ponderosa Ponderosa Pine Js Juniperus scopulorum Rocky Mountain Juniper LX-01 LX-02 LX-03 LX-05 LX-06 LX-07LX-04 LX-09 LX-10 LX-11LX-08 LX-12 LX-13 LX-14 LX-15 9.1 TYP. (75,510 SF) MESIC GRASSLAND (34,475 SF) DRIER GRASSLAND (5,400 SF) RIPARIAN WOODLAND/SHRUBLAND (4,110 SF) MESIC GRASSLAND (2) Cm (1) Ptm (3) Pt (1) Ptm (1) Sa (1) Sa (1) Ptm (2) Pt (2) Ptm (1) Ps (1) Pt (3) Pd (2) Pa (1) Ptm (7) Pt (1) Ps (2) Ps (1) Ptm (2) Pa (1) Pd (2) Cm (1) Ptm (1) Pd (9,500) MESIC GRASSLAND (1,225 SF) RIPARIAN WOODLAND/SHRUBLAND