Page 22 - Brookings, SD Historic Preservation Plan

Historic Contexts and Themes
Historic contexts are narratives that group information related to
existing historic structures based on themes, specific time periods,
or geographic areas. The relative importance of an individual historic
structure can be better understood by determining how it relates to
these historic contexts. An individual historic structure may relate to
more than one of these areas. The South Dakota State Historical Soci-
ety, or the SHPO, has published a series of historic contexts, including:

Historic bridge in Brookings County; • Architectural History in South Dakota
from the South Dakota Digital Archives • Churches in South Dakota
(South Dakota State Historical Society) • Historic Bridges of South Dakota
• Homesteading and Agricultural Development
• Schools in South Dakota
• South Dakota’s Railroads

These historic contexts and others published by the SHPO may be
applicable to historic resources in Brookings.

Surveys
Historic resource surveys collect information about the history and
disposition of properties citywide or in selected areas. They use
adopted criteria for determining which properties or districts have
413 1st Street South, a contributing historic or archaeological significance.
building in the Sexauer Seed Historic
District (W&Co, 2020)
Communities initiate historic resource surveys in order to determine
whether structures have historic significance and to properly docu-
ment historic resources. Based on survey results, a community may
decide to designate individual structures as historic at the local, state,
and or national levels. The survey may also provide evidence that a
historic district designation is possible. Updates to historic surveys
are conducted when new information or resources are available
about a historic structure or district, if the cultural significance has
yet to be incorporated into the survey, if the criteria for designation
have changed, or if the condition of the property needs to be exam-
ined.

921 5th Street, a contributing
property to the Central Residential
Historic District (W&Co, 2020)

Main Street, now part of the Commercial Historic District (photo from Brookings
staff)

18 Brookings Historic Preservation Plan