State Historic Preservation Office

A Sampling of Architectural Surveys

Below are links to some of the architectural surveys, reports and maps held in the State Historic Preservation Office's inventory in Jefferson City.

Each link in the list below leads to a PDF of a short survey report, a map or a survey (usually a set of inventory forms and photographs). Many of the surveys are quite large --  even when a survey has been broken into part 1, part 2, etc., the file sizes range from a few MB to 100 MB; the time required for loading will depend on your connection speed. For best results download each pdf to your computer (right-click and choose "save link as") rather than attempting to view the pdf in your browser. You may obtain a free copy of Adobe Reader software required to read the materials by visiting our Help page. Please beware that the older surveys were prepared on typewriters or -- occasionally -- by hand. We have OCR'd the best available copies, but the results are uneven. Relying on "find" or "search" is not reliable in these circumstances.

Please note, also, that some surveys were prepared by professionals and others by volunteers with a variety of skill sets. More importantly, these surveys, maps and reports reflect the terms used to categorize significance at the time the surveys were made. Some of the surveys posted here have resulted in the listing of buildings or districts in the National Register of Historic Places. Others have not. Even districts that have been listed in the National Register after having been surveyed may have had their boundaries reduced. In addition, a district or building that may have been determined to have potential for listing in the National Register when the survey was made, may have been so altered since that point that a nomination is no longer possible. To determine whether or not a property has been listed in the National Register please check the relevant county page. To determine whether a specific property in a National Register district still contributes to a district, please contact the SHPO.

The following surveys are currently available for download:

For more information about these and other surveys, please call our survey coordinator at 573-526-1680 or arrange a visit to our inventory in the department's Lewis and Clark State Office Building. Our inventory is open to the public and serves both as a comprehensive database for cultural resource management and a valuable research archive. Our hours are Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., but please call 573-751-7861 for an appointment so we can make certain the materials you need will be available to you.

* The Rural Churches and the One-Teacher Schools are not surveys, but both are based on surveys of Missouri property types, and each provides a context to simplify the National Register process for listing rural churches and one-teacher schools that meet the specified criteria).