Tips for researching old buildings

Quite often on the Facebook page, Remember When in McCook, Nebraska, people post vintage pictures of McCook businesses or buildings. You are allowed to comment on those posts, give opinions as to where you think the building was located or what store is in that building now.

Two things have to be mentioned initially: 1. The building may not exist today, and another building would be in its’ place and, 2. The building’s original facade may be so altered today that you would not recognize it.

So how do you determine if that building ever existed in McCook and what street it was located on? You research! Here are some tips to making those determinations.

First, look at the architecture of not only that building but any other structures that are shown on the photo. Is there a distinctive design or landmark such as the clock that sat in front of Sutton’s Jewelry store and now is displayed in front of the Carnegie library building next to the museum? Look for arched windows, third stories, parapets or brick patterns.

Next, look for any advertising that may exist on the building or on structures next to it. You may need to enlarge the picture or use a magnifying glass to read the letters if enlarging renders them un-readable.

Third, try to determine which side of the street the building is located on. Is the view looking down Norris Avenue or up the street from the railroad depot? Once you’ve determined all those things, you are ready to research.

With that information in hand, I go to www.chroniclingamerica.gov if the picture appears to be earlier than 1920. In the newspapers section I click on ADVANCE SEARCH, pick the McCook Tribune from the drop down of available newspapers and then I start searching for business advertisements by placing the name in the phrase box. As an example, Bill Baumbach posted an early picture of what appeared to be the building where Vogue Clothing was located for many years. I determined from the picture that the building was located on the West side of the street and on the corner of an intersection. On the building were two advertisements: “Famous Clothes” on the ground floor level and “Nebraska Loans and Banking” on the second floor.

By searching for both advertisements, I found an ad for “Famous Clothes” which opened on Monday, January 3, 1887. “Nebraska Loans and Banking” ads started in 1889, mentioning that they were located in the old Land Office rooms so obviously, the Land Office was on the second floor of the building prior to their relocation to upper Norris Ave.

Next, I left the government web-site and moved onto www.swngs.org, the Southwest Nebraska Genealogical Society web page. I wanted to research the McCook Sanborn Maps, which are maps created for Fire Insurance companies. Knowing that the businesses existed in 1887, I picked three maps, 1889, 1897, and 1909 to compare notes. On the 1889 map the building sitting on the NW corner of Main street between N. Railway street and Dennison Street is shown to be a two-story building with a clothing store on the main level, offices on the second floor and a billiards room in the basement. In 1897, the main floor shows no occupant and the 2nd floor is noted to have a photographer shop. The last map, 1909, that I pulled showed the building to be a general store with rooms above and notes unprotected wood structure on the west and south side. The 1909 map is very important to researchers because it is the first map available that shows the renaming of McCook’s streets and provides a Key to those changes: N. Railway became A street; Main street became Norris Avenue and Dennison became B street.

So, by 1909, the building’s address was 122 Norris Ave. The question I can’t answer yet is if the beginning structure is the same structure that exists today. The architecture does not match nor does the brick and the building has a third story now. I’ve heard that the architecture was changed when the third story was added, but that is another mystery to solve.

SWNGS library, 110 West C, suite M-3, is open Tuesday and Thursday for research. There is an elevator for your use and our members can help you navigate the internet or locate the books on hand that will help you answer your mysteries.