The NRHP is the official list of historic places worthy of preservation in the US. It recognizes the architectural significance of the house and helps to raise awareness of the importance of historic preservation in southwest Missouri.
Though we often refer to our house as the Ozarks Bungalow, the official name is the Lewis Shaw Coleman House. Mr. Coleman and his wife Mary Kate Miller Coleman, whose families both owned area lumber yards, built the house in 1914 on a corner lot overlooking Oak Park. The Colemans chose a Craftsman bungalow for the style of their new home and included exposed rafters in open eaves, low-pitched gable roofs with wide overhangs, decorative gable beams, large windows to connect the house with nature, and a prominent front porch with tapered stone columns. (For more details, see our nomination.)
The Craftsman bungalow style was unusual for Aurora in 1914 and so the construction project made the local paper. The Aurora Advertiser reported the Coleman family was "completing a beautiful bungalow on East College" and the new Coleman bungalow showed "the progressive spirit of the city."
Four homeowners later, we are thrilled to be awarded this NRHP listing recognizing the architectural significance of what the Colemans envisioned a century ago. It is the only building in Aurora included on the NRHP.
In our excitement, we print this temporary plaque to hang by the front door!
Yours in living in an historic place,
Mary
