Group is hopeful it can preserve historic house in Jackson

Jackson residents will meet at 6 p.m. today in hopes of saving the Frizel-Welling House, 209 W. Main St., thought to be the city's second-oldest residence.

Tom Strickland of Strickland Engineering LC is spearheading the effort, which began with an initial gathering last month. He would like to see someone buy the structure, maintain it or renovate it, he said.

A neighboring church wanted to purchase the building, demolish it and use the area as a parking lot. Since the community became aware of the possibility of losing the home, the owners -- who live in Tennessee, California and Charleston, Mo. -- are negotiating a compromise with the church that would not involve razing the structure, said Realtor Estelee Wood of Coldwell Banker Abernathy Realty in Jackson. She believes an agreement can be reached that will satisfy the interested parties.

The Frizel-Welling house is seen Friday, March 8, 2013 at 209 W. Main St. in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

"We definitely want to see it preserved," Strickland said. "It's not saved until someone is willing to take it on."

The house was built by Joseph Frizel, one of the town's first merchants who opened a general store on Main Street in 1817. A year later, he constructed the Cape Cod-style cottage and married Sarah Bollinger, the daughter of prominent pioneer George Frederick Bollinger. Frizel served as a Cape Girardeau County judge and a state representative. He co-founded and organized a Masonic lodge at his home with Alexander Buckner, who would become a U.S. senator from Missouri.

After Frizel's death in 1823, Charles Welling purchased the house. He also was a Main Street merchant active in politics and the community. He, too, married into the Bollinger family. His wife was Elizabeth Frizel, the daughter of Joseph and Sarah. The Wellings enlarged the house in 1838, keeping the original cottage as a wing to a Greek Revival-style addition.

The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Noted of significance were the home's limestone foundation, timber frame with mortise-and-tenon joints, entablature window heads and a pedimented, three-bay front gable. Inside are the original cherry stairways, paneled doors, carved mantels and ornate millwork.

"While the Frizel-Welling House is associated with Jackson history and the pioneer family of George Frederick Bollinger, it is primarily significant for its architecture. Rendered in frame and clad in its original weatherboarding, the Frizel-Welling House is a valuable local example of an early vernacular Greek Revival dwelling," the nomination form for inclusion on the registry stated.

"[The owners] never did anything, really, that took away from the historical features of the original home," Strickland said.

The approximately 2,000-square-foot home is listed for $135,000 and is being sold with many original furnishings. Wood said the home has been vacant for about 25 years and needs a lot of updating -- including electrical, heating and plumbing improvements -- to bring it up to modern building codes.

Strickland has contacted state Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, for assistance. Wallingford's office pointed him to possible tax credits that could help with preservation, but they can be used only by an individual owner, not an entity, Strickland said.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources State Historic Preservation Office also has been contacted about turning the house into a state preservation site, he said.

Strickland said walking around the house is a way to experience how people lived in the past. It was built while the nation's fifth president, James Monroe, was in office.

"Before [Abraham] Lincoln even thought about being president," Strickland said. "It's a big part of our history and once a historic home like this is torn down, it's gone."

The meeting will be at the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce, 125 E. Main St., in the conference room.

salderman@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

125 E. Main St., Jackson, Mo.

209 W. Main St., Jackson, Mo.