Historic House of the Month: April 2026
119 N. University Street is the Vermillion Historic Preservation Commission's Historic House of the Month for April. The house is in the University Historic District, just south of the University of South Dakota campus. This neighborhood was Vermillion's first historic district and was originally called Vermillion Historic District when listed in 1975. Most houses were constructed between 1875 and 1930, developing as the town and university grew, providing single family, duplex and boarding house accommodations for townspersons as well as many students, staff and faculty of the university.
The one and one-half story Craftsman bungalow at 119 N. University Street was built in 1921. The owner of the property at the time was Annie B. (Cleland) Nelson and husband Willie. In 1923, nurses Kathryn Cowan and Kathryn F. Troy bought the house and moved their St. Catherine's Hospital from 428 Cottage St. to this location. (See: Evelyn Schlenker, The Dakota Hospital Association and the Building and Maintenance of the Dakota Hospital in Vermillion, SD at cchpc.org.) Current owner Susan Keith Gray purchased the house in 1995. Gray is the current chair of the Vermillion Historic Preservation Commission and has served as chair of the University Historic District Neighborhood Association.
The side-gabled bungalow has original wood lap siding and wood shingles (on the gable fronts). Original windows are grouped in multiples and are one-over-one double-hung with prairie grid muntins in the upper sashes. The enclosed front porch has contemporary metal combination storms/screens. A 1978 garage sits at the back of the property. Cottage garden landscaping fills much of the yard. The interior remains in good repair with original oak moldings and flooring. The kitchen and bathrooms have been remodeled at least twice and the sleeping porch in the back is closed in. More information about 119 N. University Street and its district can be found in the nomination document at the National Register of Historic Places website, also accessible through the commission’s website.
Each month, the commission is highlighting a house in Vermillion that is classified as a contributing property in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places (NR). Houses listed in the NR have maintained the historical integrity of their architectural and/or historical significance and are at least fifty years old. The house will be featured on the commission's website at VermillionHPC.org and on its facebook page, @Vermillion Historic Preservation Commission. The owner receives a certificate and a sign will be placed in the front yard of the property for the month.
The Vermillion Historic Preservation Commission is a volunteer commission whose mission is to protect, preserve, and restore Vermillion's historic and cultural assets through public education, workshops, and outreach to the community. VHPC commissioners and city staff contribute match for annual grants from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior through the South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office.
Photo: Susan Keith Gray
Historic House of the Month: March 2026
The Willey House at 104 Court Street was added to the National Register in 1982. At the time, it was owned as rental property by Judith and James Krueger. Judith Krueger is the author of a book on the Forest Ave. Historic District and wrote the nomination document submitted to the National Register for Willey House. The house is now in the Bluff Historic District which was formed in 2016.
W.E. Willey was influential in the city and state politics as the owner and editor of the Dakota Republican newspaper from 1883-1903. His house was built in 1895 by Andrew Pickett, who also built the Austin-Whittemore House. Stone mason, Hans Becklin built the granite foundation. Becklin also worked on the H.L.Dow-designed, First Baptist Church building.
Current owner Holly Straub purchased the Queen Anne house in 1999. By that time, it had been converted back to a single family structure. Straub had it painted in the current color scheme highlighting the porches, roof angles, and other external features. A detached garage with features designed to match the style and period of the house was constructed on the south side after 1999.
More information about 104 Court Street and its district can be found in the nomination document at the National Register of Historic Places website, also accessible through the commission's website.
Each month, the commission will highlight a house in Vermillion that is classified as a contributing property in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places (NR). Houses listed in the NR have maintained the historical integrity of their architectural and/or historical significance and are at least fifty years old. The house will be featured on the commission's website at VermillionHPC.org and on its facebook page, @Vermillion Historic Preservation Commission. The owner receives a certificate and a sign will be placed in the front yard of the property for the month.
The Vermillion Historic Preservation Commission is a volunteer commission whose mission is to protect, preserve, and restore Vermillion's historic and cultural assets through public education, workshops, and outreach to the community. VHPC commissioners and city staff contribute match for annual grants from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior through the South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office.
Historic House of the Month: February 2026
216 Forest Avenue is the second house in the Vermillion Historic Preservation Commission's (VHPC) Historic House of the Month project. It was built in 1923 by Peter Miller, a Vermillion Banker. It is located in the Forest Avenue Historic District. Forest Avenue began to develop in 1873 as a location that was scenic and provided accessibility to the town below the bluff via the adjacent ravine road (Dakota Street). After the flood in 1881, and the growth of the town above the bluff, the area developed much more rapidly. According to the Dakota Republican newspaper in 1886, due to its rare trees, the area attracted "a good class of citizens" who wished to be near the downtown and the university.
This two-story Colonial Revival maintains its symmetrical facade of a central entry porch with columns and an upper story balustrade. Three-sectioned, six-over-one windows in both stories, flank each side of the entry. The current house owner is Erin Beyers. Renovations only to the interior were made in the late 1990s.
More information about 216 Forest Avenue and its district can be found in the nomination document at the National Register of Historic Places website, also accessible through the commission's website and in The Forest Avenue Historic District: Vermillion South Dakota, 1873-1980 by Judith Gudger Krueger.
Each month, the commission will highlight a house in Vermillion that is classified as a contributing property in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places (NR). Houses listed in the NR have maintained the historical integrity of their architectural and/or historical significance and are at least fifty years old. The house will be featured on the commission's website at VermillionHPC.org and on its facebook page, @Vermillion Historic Preservation Commission. The owner receives a certificate and a sign will be placed in the front yard of the property for the month.
The Vermillion Historic Preservation Commission is a volunteer commission whose mission is to protect, preserve, and restore Vermillion's historic and cultural assets through public education, workshops, and outreach to the community. VHPC commissioners and city staff contribute match for annual grants from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior through the South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office.
Photo is Calligraphy by Don Levsen
Historic House of the Month: January 2026
This January, the Vermillion Historic Preservation Commission (VHPC) is launching its Historic House of the Month project. Each month, the commission will highlight a house in Vermillion that is classified as a contributing property in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places (NR). The house will be featured on the commission's website and on its facebook page, @Vermillion Historic Preservation Commission. The owner receives a certificate and a sign will be placed in the front yard of the property for the month.
Houses listed in the NR have maintained the historical integrity of their architectural and/or historical significance and are at least fifty years old. Houses may be listed individually or as part of a district. Vermillion has four residential historic districts-University, Forest Avenue, Bluff and Jolley, as well as several houses listed individually. Other local historic properties include the Downtown Historic District, the USD Historical Core District, and a number of individually listed properties.
For the first house, the commissioners chose the Jacobson House at 1101 James Street. The owner is Jim Wilson. The Basil H. and Frances Jacobson House was designed by architect John Normile, who was the Building Editor of the Better Homes & Gardens magazine for more than 30 years. The plans for the home were purchased through the Better Homes & Gardens' house plans service, and the house was constructed in 1968 for the Jacobsons as first owners. It is an example of a Mid-Century Modern style of architecture referred to as the Contemporary style. It has been referred to locally as an "Atomic Ranch" style house.
The house maintains many of the characteristics of this style. This single-family, one-story house has a shallow roof with overhanging eaves. The roof beams extend into the patio and porch spaces in the front and are exposed in the internal vaulted ceiling over the open floor plan.
The style encourages a connection between the indoors and the outdoors. A notable landscape feature is an ash tree growing through the open porch roof. In an atrium in the main living area, plants grow under skylights, in a soil-filled pit. Sliding windows and doors connect to the natural setting outside. Natural materials are used throughout including the large brick fireplace and chimney.
Some changes appear to have been made to the original plan at the time of construction. Minimal changes, perhaps in the 1980s or 1990s, such as kitchen and bathroom flooring, and kitchen cabinets, used matching materials. More information about the Jacobson House can be found in the nomination document at the National Register of Historic Places website, also accessible through the commission's website.
