Nancy Faulkner and the Great War of Nations Memorial

By Ryan Reed

The Great War of Nations Memorial dominating the Rolla Cemetery skyline was created to honor the twenty-one Phelps Countians who died during World War I.  Dedicated on May 9th, 1923, the memorial of contrasting red and black granite was sponsored by the Noah Coleman Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.  The men who gave the ultimate sacrifice during “the war to end all wars” are well documented.  However, very little is known about the memorial’s designer, Nancy Faulkner.

Great War of Nations Memorial

Nancy Rowe Faulkner was born in DeSoto, Missouri on December 13, 1866 to Dr. Samuel and Mary Hutchings Rowe.  In 1875, Dr. Rowe moved his young family to Rolla from DeSoto and opened a drug store on Pine Street.  After obtaining his MD from Washington University, Dr. Rowe became the chair of the Medical Advisory Board and Assistant Medical Examiner for Phelps County.  While Nancy’s father was achieving great prominence in Rolla, she was educated at the public schools and excelled in the arts.  After completing her studies, Nancy married Millard Fillmore Faulkner, who was employed as a manager in her father’s store.

After their marriage, Nancy and Millard Faulkner continued to live in the residence above Rowe’s Drug Store on Pine Street until the completion of a large two story rock house.  The former Faulkner Home on North State Street is currently occupied by the Triangle Fraternity.  Millard became involved with local politics and eventually became the Mayor of Rolla.  During his political career, Millard took over the operations of Dr. Rowe’s Drug Store and hired several of his nephews to work as clerks and druggists. Among his newly employed family members was Virgil Faulkner, son of his older brother Charles.  Virgil continued to work at the drug store until America’s involvement with World War I.

Virgil Faulkner enlisted as a soldier and left Rolla on April 28, 1918.  His destination was Camp Funston at Fort Riley near Manhattan, Kansas.  Upon arrival at Camp Funston, Virgil became a Private in Company E, 354th Infantry of the 89th Division.  Among 50,000 other recruits from the Midwest, Virgil began basic training under the command of Major General Leonard Wood.  Four weeks later, the 89th Division boarded trains and headed east to New York City.  From New York, the division sailed to England and subsequently France.  Virgil’s baptism by fire occurred on the night of August 6th, 1918 at Toul, France when the 354th Infantry was shelled by canisters of mustard gas.  The following month, Virgil faced the 10th German Infantry in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel.  The 89th Division attacked from Flirey, moving through the Bois de Mort Mare towards Thiaucourt.  The battle concluded after three days and over 7,000 Allied troops were dead.

Nancy Rowe Faulkner

Following the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, the 89th Division joined the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.  Virgil arrived with the 354th Infantry on the night of October 19th.  He was ordered to go into the line along the Sommerance-Romagne Road. This was to the north of the German position which had been taken by the 32nd Divison the week before. The Division was tasked with straightening the front line in the Bois de Bantheville before the planned attack on the 1st of November.  The forest had reportedly been cleared by the departing 32nd Division, but the Germans had re infiltrated and the 354th Infantry set about clearing the forest of enemy soldiers again.  During the push to remove the Germans from the Bois de Bantheville, Virgil Faulkner was killed in action at the age of 22.  He was the first Phelps Countian who gave the ultimate sacrifice during World War I.  He was buried in France and was reinterred in the Rolla Cemetery after the war.

At the conclusion of the war, the Noah Coleman Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution sponsored a memorial to be constructed to honor the fallen soldiers of Phelps County.  Among the members of the chapter was Virgil Faulkner’s aunt, Nancy Rowe Faulkner.  Recognized for her artist talents, Nancy was commissioned to design a memorial. As the memorial was being completed and the city anticipated it’s unveiling, Nancy husband, Millard Faulkner, passed away.  Dealing with the loss of her husband, Nancy attended the dedication where Governor Arthur M. Hyde unveiled the new monument known as The Great War of Nations Memorial.

The memorial originally sat adjacent to the Rolla Post Office on Pine Street, currently the Public Library. In 1956, the monument was relocated to its present location in the Rolla Cemetery.  Among the list of the soldiers of Phelps County who perished during World War I were:

Virgil A. Faulkner

Frances A. Garmack

John Wiedeman

Herman Lupberger

William H. Crolley

Don Mitchell

Albert Eickman

Robert L. Price

James A. Hyatt

Lindsey Lanning

Morris Thomas

Walter Splith

William Allen

Charles Arthur

Homer Reed

Lewis Simms

Ellas Barnical

Emil H. Hoffman

Hugh W. Finley

Oscar Bailey

Issac A. Bridgeman

Tell Sen. Brown to Vote “NO” on SB-5 and SB-32

By Ryan Reed

On Jan 30, 2013, the Senate Committee on Jobs and Economic Development held a hearing on Senate Bill 5 (SB-5) and Senate Bill 32 (SB-32).   Sponsored by Senator Brad Lager of Savannah and Senator John Lamping of St. Louis, each bill would significantly lower the cap on State Historic Tax Credits.  If passed, SB-5 and SB-32 could have a crippling effect on a program that has made a significant financial impact across the State of Missouri.

Created in 1998, the Missouri State Historic Tax Credit is a law providing an investment tax credit equal to 25 percent of approved costs associated with qualified rehabilitations.  The resulting financial impacts have been a boon for the state.  Between 1998 and 2010 the Missouri State Historic Tax Credit has resulted in 43,105 jobs created or retained, leveraged $2.9 billion in private investment, and generated $669 million in local and state tax revenues.  Not only has the tax credits helped out urban centers, it has been beneficial to our rural communities.  In fact, of the 74 communities in Missouri that have utilized historic tax credits, 68 have been rural communities.  Specifically, Springfield leveraged roughly $130 million in private investments from historic tax credits while Cape Girardeau leveraged $35 million.  Why would our state legislature want to cap and sunset an incentive that has compounded benefits economically and greatly enhanced Missouri’s communities?

15 North Main Street in Cape Girardeau.  Before and After.

A specific example on a single property utilizing state historic tax credits and the compounding financial benefits within a community is 15 North Main Street in Cape Girardeau.    Rehabbed by Michael Hess in 2012, the project incurred over $230,000 in expenses of which $212,000 was eligible for the state historic tax credit resulting in $53,000 in credits. Below is breakdown of figures.

Benefits Accrued by the State and Local Community:

An increase of employment from 5 to 30 individuals.
Generating 4 to 5 times more in local sales tax
Generating 4 to 5 times more in state sales tax

 Increase in Tax Revenue:

State income tax will be generated on 30 jobs instead of 5 jobs

Went from paying $2,000 per month in sales tax to nearly $10,000 per month in sales tax

Generating between $3,320 and $4,400 a month more in state sales tax

Generating between $2,680 and $3,600 a month more in local sales tax

Property tax revenue to the county will increase.

Rather than being demolished and all the building material ending up in a landfill, the building has found new life and is a tangible piece of the town’s history.  It keeps the character of the town in place making it unique from any other town.

Our senator, Dan Brown of Rolla, has stated that he is not in favor of the state historic tax credit.  If you live in District 16, which includes Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Montgomery, Osage, Phelps and Pulaski Counties, please contact Senator Brown and tell him to vote “NO” on SB-5 and SB-32.  He can be contacted at Dan.Brown@senate.mo.gov or via telephone at (573) 751-5713.  If you are not sure what to say, please copy and paste the message below into an email with your name.

Senator Brown,

I am a voter in the 16^th Missouri Senate District and I would like you to vote “NO” on SB-5 and SB-32 which would severely cap and subsequently sunset the Missouri State Historic Tax Credit.

The Missouri State Historic Tax Credit has been economically beneficial for the State of Missouri since its creation in 1998.  Specifically, the Missouri State Historic Tax Credit has resulted in 43,105 jobs created or retained, leveraged $2.9 billion in private investment, and generated $669 million in local and state tax revenues.  Not only has the tax credits helped out urban centers, it has been beneficial to our rural communities.  In fact, of the 74 communities in Missouri that have utilized historic tax credits, 68 have been rural communities.  Specifically, Springfield leveraged roughly $130 million in private investments from historic tax credits while Cape Girardeau leveraged $35 million.

As an elected official representing my district, please vote no on SB-5 and SB-32. 

Thank You

(YOUR NAME)

If you live outside of Senator Brown’s district but are not sure who your senator is you can find them on the Legislative Look-Up on the State of Missouri's website.

Thank you for your time and commitment!

Rolla Preservation Alliance

Deciphering Preservation Jargon: Local and National Historic Districts

By Ryan Reed

Making a case for preservation opens a lexiconic can of worms that can be overwhelming and difficult to understand.  Historic district, contributing resource, state and federal tax credits, preservation review can easily confuse and scare anyone not familiar with the language.  Broken into manageable pieces, the different facets of the laws that can assist or hinder preservation efforts are pretty simple.

Phelps County Courthouse.  Listed in the National Register in 1993

The National Historic Preservation Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 15, 1966.  This act established a national policy regarding preservation and created several institutions including the National Register of Historic Places.  The register is an official list of districts, buildings, sites, structures and objects worthy of preservation with significance to our culture, architecture and history.   For inclusion on the National Register, a property’s physical appearance and significance must be evaluated through a nomination process.  To be in the National Register, the nominated property must meet at least one of four criterions.  This criterion includes an association with a significant person or event in American history, significance in design and construction and/or potential information that could be garnered through archaeology.  Concerning the physical integrity of the building, if several historic elements of a building (i.e. windows and wall cladding) have been removed or heavily altered; the building may not make it past the nomination process.  If your property has not been heavily altered, is significant through one or more criterion and is over 50 years old, it has the potential to be listed on the National Register.

Many questions from property owners can arise when their home or business could potentially be listed in the National Register.  Will the government tell me what color I have to paint my house?  Do I have to make my house look like it did in 1885?  Will my house be open to the public?  The short answer to all of the above is no.  On its own, the National Register has little impact on private property owners.  For starters, individual properties cannot be nominated without the owner’s consent.  Historic districts cannot be listed without the permission of a majority of property owners within the district’s boundary.  The federal government does not implement any design guidelines for your home if it is individually listed or within a historic district.  Also, listing in the National Register does not protect sites from demolition or alteration.  The only restriction that comes with listing is a review of projects using federal funds that could negatively impact the site or district.  Known as a Section 106, this is one of the many institutions created when the National Historic Preservation Act was signed into law.  The project potentially affecting the property is reviewed by federal and state agencies.  These agencies work to mitigate the effects of the project which could include blocking demolition or moving the affected property.

1435 Salisbury in North St. Louis. Located in the Hyde Park Historic District, owners were able to utilize state and federal tax credits for a rehab.

When individuals discuss how they can’t replace their windows or tear down their garage, they are referring to local historic districts.  Unlike national historic districts, a local historic district is a bottom up operation involving rules and regulation created by neighborhood residents.  In comparison, homeowners in a national historic district are not bound by any commitment as to how their property will look or by any rules that govern future repairs of their home.  Local historic districts require a tremendous amount of community support.  Typically, residents in a neighborhood will create and consent to a set of design guidelines.  These design guidelines typically govern new construction and relate to all exterior features including windows, rooflines, paint colors, etc.  Therefore, the people of the neighborhood, not the government, create and agree to follow a set of local regulations.

There are several advantages to being in a local or national historic district.  Many property owners seek National Register designation, because it allows access to state and federal historic tax credits.  If your building is a contributing resource in a district, meaning the building adds to the historic integrity of the district, it is eligible for tax credits.  Luckily, the State of Missouri has a state tax credit that can be used in combination with the federal tax credit.  Combined, the credits could potentially offset rehabilitation costs by 45%.  The State Historic Preservation Office, created by the National Preservation Act to monitor preservation activities at the state level, reviews and approves rehabilitation work for state tax credits.  Federal tax credits are limited to income-producing, depreciable property.  This would include commercial or residential rental property.  A personal residence would not qualify for the federal credit.  The state credit also applies to income-producing property.  Additionally, a personal residence can qualify for the state tax credit.

Since the inception of the federal tax credit in 1976 and the state tax credit in 1998, both incentives have encouraged economic growth in urban cores, residential neighborhoods and small towns across Missouri.  Tax credit projects in Springfield, Missouri during 2011 created $130 million in private investment for the community.  Over 74 communities across the state have benefited from the incentives.  Overwhelmingly, 73% of the total communities who have used tax credits were situated in rural areas in the state.  In the last 14 years, the Missouri Historic Tax Credit Program has created over 40,000 jobs in the state.  During the fiscal year 2011, $116,244,410.00 in tax credits were issued statewide!

Currently, Rolla only has four individual properties listed in the National Register  and zero historic districts.  If you believe Rolla should establish historic districts and benefit economically like the 74 other communities across the state from historic tax credits, contact your local council person.  Contact information for each council person can be found at the bottom of the post concerning Rayl Cafeteria.