STATE CENTER — A building in State Center once described as “the perfect model for a small-town gas station” has received a coveted placement on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

The National Park Service – a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior- recently informed the town and its Historic Preservation Commission (SCHPC) of the award, said mayor Craig Pfantz.

The building, the former Home Oil Co. service station at 108 Fourth St. SE, was for several decades an important part of the town’s commerce. It sold gasoline and fuel oil and offered a gasoline tank wagon service, automotive repair and more, according to the NRHP application. The one-story cottage-style building when opened had modern restrooms, a fireplace and an enclosed service bay or “grease house,” according to former mayor Harlan Quick.

“We, the SCHPC, are relieved the award was made,” said Quick. “The process required several years of work by the committee and of our consultant.”

Quick is also a noted author and historian specializing in the Lincoln Highway. He is a retired educator from the West Marshall Community School District.

Quick, Mayor Pfantz, his wife Mary Pfantz, and residents John Byerly and Catherine Noble are members of the commission. In the application, consultant Jennifer Price of Price Preservation Research in Coralville, who prepared the NRHP application, wrote: “The Home Oil Service Station complex retains integrity and meets the NRHP seven aspects of setting, location, design, workmanship, materials, feeling and association.”

The property’s exterior and interior are in excellent condition, which was an asset in the application being approved. It has a concrete foundation and its walls are made of brick, concrete and stucco, according to the application.

“The one-story, masonry three-bay service garage addition with flat roof, set back six-feet from the station façade was built in 1950,” wrote Price. “A concrete masonry block building with a flat roof was built in 1955.”

Importantly, east and westbound vehicles using the historic Lincoln Highway — and later renamed U.S. 30 — could conveniently access the station.

“In 1934, the cottage-style service station became part of the Home Oil Co. of – Oskaloosa,” wrote Quick. “The corporation was renamed Home Oil when it moved to State Center. The primary owners were Mayo and Sophia Colville. Ray Wilkeining, a local resident, became part towner and operated the tank wagon, making gasoline deliveries to area farmers and businesses, while Dwight German operated the Highway 30 service station.”

The property is now the fourth in State Center to earn NRHP designation. They are Watson Grocery Store and a three-block downtown area on Main Street, the Pfantz home and the Wohlert House.

The Wohlert House, a former maternity hospital in the 1900s and now a residence, was awarded NRHP earlier this year, according to Noble.

The committee member, who is also a librarian technician at the Iowa Veterans Home, did extensive research on the property and learned it had too once been an important part of the town’s business community and a woman-owned business.

“State Center is a leader in historic preservation efforts in the state of Iowa,” said Price

In 2012, the town began efforts to convert the Home Oil service station building into its present-day police station.

State Center is also renowned as “The Rose Capital of Iowa” and celebrated the 67th annual Rose Festival from June 19-22.