The City of Chillicothe is considering adding properties to a historic preservation district after receiving a state grant to survey part of the community’s south side.
The funding comes from the State Historic Preservation Office and includes a matching contribution from the city. The area under review, known as the Wabash Railroad Industrial Neighborhood, lies just south of Chillicothe’s downtown core.
According to City Zoning Administrator Gil Gates, the proposed district includes property south of where the railroad once ran through the city. “The old depot was actually converted to a restaurant at one time down there that’s already been mapped and everything,” Gates said. “This is all south of there and runs an east and west direction.”
Chillicothe has worked with the State Historic Preservation Office before and has several sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the downtown commercial district and the courthouse square.
In 2012, the city added the campus of the former Industrial Home for Girls to the register. Established in 1888 as one of Missouri’s first juvenile justice facilities, the site covers nearly 50 acres and once served as a detention center for girls.