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MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — A neighborhood in a northern Idaho town has more than doubled the number of prewar homes in a historic district following an expansion of its boundaries.
The National Register of Historic Places has expanded the boundaries marking the Fort Russell neighborhood in Moscow, pushing the number of historic sites in the district to 243, the Lewiston Tribune reported .
The Fort Russell historic district was established in 1980 and initially contained 116 homes built between 1875 and 1930. The homes recently added to the district and designated historic were built from 1930 to 1940.
The year 1940 was selected as the property cutoff date for inclusion into the district following a survey, said Nels Reese, the vice chairman of the Moscow Historic Preservation Commission.
"If you want to see how people lived before the war, it's a great place to observe that," said Reese, who also lives inside the district.
The commission hired a consulting firm that examined the more than 300 houses surrounding the original district area, and it proposed the expanded boundaries. The expansion proposal was sent to the National Register of Historic Places, which approved it earlier this year.
"When you walk through the district you feel like you're walking back in time," Reese said. "I've traveled all over the state of Idaho and I've been in every town looking at housing districts. Fort Russell is the best example of 200 or more houses that are really quality homes built in a particular style between 1875 and 1940."
In addition to the neighborhood and the downtown historic district, Reese said the commission is seeking to form another historic district out of about 20 buildings on the University of Idaho campus.
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Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com
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