coal industry

The Gucker Coal Co. office shares its west border with the Marceline Carnegie Library to the west. To its south, across E. California Ave. is Ripley Park. To its east, across an unnamed public access way, is the Santa Fe Depot, now known as Walt Disney’s Hometown Museum. A green space is due east of the office building and continues to the unnamed alleyway acting as the properties east border. To its north is the “MFA Agri Services” complex.[1] The south border of the property is the sidewalk, with Ripley Park to the south. Photos 1-4 illustrate these borders.

It’s located one block east of the northern block of the downtown commercial district.

The Gucker Coal Company office is the only building that currently sits on the property (Figures 7-8; Photos 7-11); three other structures (temporary wooden coal bins, shed, and coal scales) have historically been on the property (Figure 6 and 12).[2] It is situated in the southwest corner of its historical property. The current lot is the historical lot; there have been no changes to the boundaries.[3] The site is generally flat. A cement sidewalk stretches from the public sidewalk to the front door of the office.

The office walkway is elevated about three (3) inches above the surrounding ground.

The external scales abut the east elevation and extend about three feet north beyond the east elevation wall. These have been filled in; however, the top of the cement borders of the scales are visible.

Three trees and a modern utility junction line the east border of the property along a road without a name . A green space takes up approximately two-thirds of the space to the east of the office. The south border is the public sidewalk just beyond the landscaping. The west elevation is delineated by old, used railroad ties laid to delineate the property line between the office and the Carnegie Library to the west. The north boundary runs from the west boundary near the library, along an east to west line past the non-historic storage building just to the north of the property. It ends at the unnamed road making up its east border.

A utility pole is in the northeast quadrant of the property.

The office building historically straddles Lots 17 and 18. Lots 19-20 make up the rest of the property. At the time Hemmings owned it, he also had an easement “along the northerly side of the westerly end of lot 20 – 12 t. wide by 75 ft. long.”[4]

 

EXTERIOR

The Gucker Coal Company office is a single story, rectangular building measuring 18’ x 14’,[5] with the east and west elevations being the longer sides. The external walls are covered in stucco painted white (Photos 1-4, 8-11). It has a hipped roof with non-historic asphalt shingles. A flat, un-detailed, wood cornice wraps around the top of each external elevation wall; it is painted green. The property is level. The historic scales (Photos 2 and 5) that abut the east elevation wall are filled in, but the tops of the scales’ concrete walls are still evident. Non-historic gutters approximately 3 inches deep run the full length of the primary (south elevation) and secondary (east elevation) façades with a drainpipe affixed to the secondary façade. No gutter exists at the north or the west elevations.[6]

South Elevation (Primary Façade)

The south elevation, which is the primary façade, is square. It is a concrete building covered in stucco painted white. There are two bays.

In the western bay, an historic wood door (not original) is set within a wooden frame with a wood lintel and a single light. It is elevated about 6 inches off a cement sidewalk. The remnants of the hinges where a historic screen door used to be on the left hinge jamb remain. The frame and wood lintel are painted green.

The door has three horizontal panels and a large upper window with the following phrases painted on it:

Gucker Coal Co.

Frank Gucker

Est. 1941

A cornice painted green runs the entire length of the façade under the roof overhang and above each window and door lintel. These lintels are wood and painted green.

The second bay, at the eastern side of the façade, contains a one-over-one window with historic wood sashes, sill and frame. The window has a wood lintel matching the lintel over the façade’s historic door.

An historic bell system that rang when the company received a phone call is affixed to the upper left (west) corner of the soffit running the length of the façade.

 

East Elevation

This elevation is divided into three bays.

The southernmost bay contains a window identical to those described above. A wire runs up the wall and travels along the soffit. A non-historic downspout hangs from the southernmost corner of the elevation. A non-historic gutters/eave trough runs the full length of the elevation’s eave.

The central bay contains only a window identical to those described earlier. A wire is affixed to the cornice and drapes over the sash. No wiring travels into the interior because the building does not contain any electrical functions such as outlets or phone jacks.

The northern bay holds an historic wood door and frame. The frame, lintel, and sill match the main entryway door on the south elevation wall. This door is different from the historic door of the south elevation. This door has a larger area about the windowpane and the bottom of the door is covered with a wood panel. The window light has the same painted phrases as seen on the primary façade’s door. A non-historic screen door covers this door.

The wiring that starts in the utility box on the southern bay extends around two devices that keep it from hanging loose and travels to the northeast corner of the wall where it meets the underside of the roof overhang.

The historic scales abut this elevation.

 

North Elevation

The elevation has the same white painted stucco and the cornice painted green running across the top of the wall under the eave. A non-historic security light is affixed near the northeast corner of the board.  The elevation contains one window in the same style as seen on the south elevation: the same size, same style lintel, frame, sill, and lights. It is positioned slightly to the west of center in the wall.

 

West Elevation

The elevation has the same white painted stucco and cornice running across the top of the wall under the roof overhang. It is divided into two bays. Each bay contains a window identical to the owns listed above. The foundation was slightly exposed on this side showing a foundation of concrete.[7]

 

Roof

As noted above, the roof is a hipped roof with non-historic asphalt shingles. Non-historic eaves/gutters (see above) run the full length of the primary (south elevation) and secondary (east elevation) façades with a drainpipe affixed to the secondary façade. No gutter exists at the north or the west elevations. These eave troughs and drainpipe were added later; the date is unknown.

 

INTERIOR

The interior is one room. It measures 17’ 9” by 13’ 6”. There is no basement. Each internal plastered wall is covered with white paint. The historic green paint is obvious under the chipped off spots of the paint. The ceiling is plaster, also painted white, but in some areas the historic paint is seen. The historic windows are all the same as seen externally. They consist of wood trim, lintels, and sills of approximately 4 inches in width and sashes containing a single-pane one-over-one window. These are all painted white.

Historic wood trim painted white runs around the bottom of each wall. Both doors leading from the primary and secondary facades are framed by historic wood lintels, headers, and jambs. The door to the east has the bottom panel boarded over. It is lit primarily by sunlight coming through the doors and windows. The historic wood flooring is covered by linoleum laid in the 1950s.[8] The subfloor can be seen in Photo 19; below it, somewhat exposed, is the historical wood flooring. A large swath of non-historic plaster covers parts of the north wall and the ceiling. The building was heated solely with a “warm morning stove using coal”; it was located near the north wall.[9] The historic scale is set against the east wall.

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The first is the historic external scale (contributing) located immediately east of the building. This was used in conjunction with the historic internal scale located on the east wall of the building. The concrete tops of the external scales are visible in Photos 2, 5, and 6. The entire functioning mechanism was buried intact for safety reasons after the area was no longer used for coal-related purposes.

A memorial stone was placed in the second cement block north of the public sidewalk (Figure 21). It reads:

GUCKER COAL CO.

Established September 1941

Dedicated November 8, 2003

In Loving Memory of Frank & Inez (Hoskins) Gucker

INTEGRITY

The Gucker Coal Company office building is in very good condition and its integrity remains largely intact.

The non-permanent wood coal bins and an outhouse (later conversed to a shed) have been removed and the scales filled in until only the top concrete border of them is still visible.

The non-contributing, non-extant outhouse fell into disrepair and was removed in the 1940s.

The second non-contributing non-extant resource are the coal bins (non-contributing) seen in the 1930 and 1939 Sanborn maps were part of the property (the East half of Lots 17-20) during the POS; while the information on the easement in Lot 21 says westerly,[11] the records may be wrong, since the bins extended through the northeast—not the northwest—corner of the property. The bins seen in the Sanborn Maps were wood as well; they were never concrete. Gucker replaced the old three-sided temporary wood bins with similar style ones after he purchased the property, situating them in the area seen in Figure 12. As noted, the bins were temporary. They did not require heavy equipment or dismantling to move. As seen, these were three-sided, wood, open-air bins with no top or bottom. They faced the unnamed alley where the rail spur was located.

These alterations have some impact on the overall integrity of the property, but because the shed was a lean-to and never meant to be permanent and as the same goes for the bins (coal could have just as easily been dumped in piles on the side lawn), these two alterations are not as serious and damaging as the filing in the scales for safety reasons. Some loss of integrity, therefore, exists externally.

While there have been other minor alterations, primarily regular maintenance, none of these alterations have significantly negatively impacted the overall internal integrity of the property as discussed below. Painting, patching and other minor maintenance issues effect the look of the property, not the feel, setting or sense of place. Therefore, these maintenance alterations do not significantly impact integrity in a negative manner.

While the scales have been filled in the scale itself is fully intact; excavation of the structure would reveal such; thus, once the infill is removed, the site would recover more of its integrity regardless of the condition of the scales. As a result, the entire site maintains much of its historic look and feel.

Internally, the only major alterations to the building have been to the roof (not uncommon for any building) and the plastering of the north internal walls and ceiling to seal a leak, the resource remains as it was when there were no other structures (temporary like the coal bins or permanent like the scales and latrine).

Despite the alterations, “the overall sense of past time and place is evident.”[12] The historic integrity of the office building is largely intact, with most internal features remaining historic. The general layout of the property both the interior and exterior retain their historical integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association remain largely intact. The office sits exactly where it did during the period of significance. The design is unaltered; the layout is intact and recognizable to anyone who might look at a Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. The setting also remains largely intact despite the coal bins and an historic shed/latrine having been removed, the scales filled in, and non-historic landscaping added, because the two most important features of the property—the office and scales—remain intact under the infill. The material is largely historic; the internal and external walls, except for the plastering to prevent leaking, is historic). Otherwise, the windows, internal and external sills and lintels, the stucco and building materials (wood and concrete) are nearly all historic. The feeling is retained as well. The site is in its original place, exactly where it was when it was supporting Marceline’s coal industry.

 

[1] “MFA” stands for “Missouri Farmers Association.”

[2] The temporary non-extant coal bins (Figure 10) were located along the alley facing the alley. The non-extant shed

was near the northeast corner of the office building; it was not attached. The scales, as noted, are directly to the east of the building.

[3] While the 1930 and 1930 Sanborn Maps show the coal bins extending onto Lot 21, Waddle, Tanjua. Recorder of

Deeds for Linn County, Missouri, stated that the property never included Lot 21.

[4] Waddle, Tanjua. Recorder of Deeds, Linn County, Missouri, Interview. 17 August 2023.

[5] Physically measured on 13 September 2023.

[6] Compare Photo 1 with Figure 15. Gutters are different, plus there has been the addition of a downspout to the east

wall.

[7] Painting and work on the filling in the exposed foundation was completed in December 2023.

[8] Lewis, Michelle. Personal Interview. 27 July 2023.

[9] Ibid.

[10] All alterations discussed are a result of speaking with the owner.

[11] Waddle.

[12] National Register Bulletin: How to Complete the National Register Registration Form. U.S. Department of the

Interior National Park Service, Cultural Resources. 1997, p. 4.