STATE CENTER — A building in State Center once described as “the perfect model for a small-town gas station” received official placement on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on June 16, 2025.

The building – the former Home Oil Co. service station – 108 Fourth St. SE – was for several decades an important part of the town’s commerce. It sold gasoline, fuel oil, 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,” wrote former mayor and resident Harlan Quick.

In later years, it served area residents as a café.

State Center Mayor Craig Pfantz, the city council and the town’s Historic Preservation Commission (SCHPC) were informed on June 23, 2025, he said.

“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 Jennifer Price of Coralville.”

Quick is also a noted author and Lincoln Highway historian. He is a retired educator from the West Marshall Community School District in State Center. Quick, Mayor Pfantz, spouse Mary Pfantz, and State Center residents John Byerly and Catherine Noble are members of the commission.

Noble said the award is important – it reinforces the concept that existing buildings can be re-purposed.

“It is an excellent example of adaptive re-use serving as State Center’s police station,” she said. “The inside is a fully functional space with state-of-the art electrical and energy efficiency. When the envelope of a building is used versus demolition and new construction the cost savings are significant.”

In 2012, the town began efforts to convert the building into the police station. That renovation was completed in 2014.

In the application, Price of Price Preservation Research, 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 – 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,” Quick wrote. “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 the coveted 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, was awarded NRHP designation earlier in 2025, said owner and resident Noble.

Noble, 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 as a woman-owned business.

It provided a critical health care service to rural residents before automobiles were commonplace and the state highway system was completely paved.

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

The National Park Service – which oversees the National Register of Historic Places program – is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior. State Center is also renowned as “The Rose Capital of Iowa” and celebrated its 68th annual Rose Festival from June 18-21.