Highland Historical Society looks to place Latzer Homestead on national register

If Highland historians have their way, the Latzer Homestead in Highland will be the first site in town to be on the National Register of Historic Places.

Jacob Rose, president of the Highland Historical Society, said the group is working on their application to the national register, focused on the quality of the 120-year-old building and its historical significance.

Louis Latzer returned to Highland in 1869 to take over his family farm, and perfected the process of condensing milk and canning it to prevent spoilage. He took over the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company in 1887, which became the Pet Milk Company in 1922 and currently has more than 20 plants across the United States.

The Latzer house was built in 1901, with modern amenities like running water and speaking tubes between the rooms. His daughter Alice lived there in the 1920s after Latzer died, Rose said, and the house passed through several hands after Alice died in 1954. It was then deeded to the Highland Historical Society, which has maintained and restored it much as it was 120 years ago — albeit with a different roof installed in the 1970s, as the sheer cost of an all-copper roof was prohibitive even then, Rose said.

“Still, a lot of the period construction is still available,” Rose said. “It’s a pristine example of late Queen Anne style architecture.”

The house is not in any danger requiring the National Register’s protection — if anything were to happen to the Highland Historical Society, Rose said it would automatically go to the Madison County Historical Society.

“For our particular situation, the benefit we’re looking for is advertisement and awareness,” Rose said.

However, being added to the National Register would also make the Homestead eligible for certain grants in the future, he said. It also will not infringe on anyone else’s property rights, he said.

The preliminary application was completed in October, and soon the final application will go through the state. If approved, it will then go forward to the National Register in Washington D.C. for consideration.

“We are very excited,” Rose said. “It’s taken a little bit of time, but we’re being so careful because until now, there hasn’t been a single comprehensive document about the Homestead.”

Much of the work has been compiling the history into a single, extensive document, he said.

Other sites in Madison County sites

Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register both recognizes and helps protect historic and archaeological resources in the United States.

There are nearly 2,000 sites in Illinois. Of those, approximately 42 are in Madison County, including the Alton Military Prison site, Brooks Catsup Bottle in Collinsville, Cahokia Mounds, the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, the Benjamin Stephenson House and the Leclaire Historic District in Edwardsville.

The Homestead is located at 1464 Old Trenton Road, and tours can be arranged in groups of eight or more.

This story was originally published February 13, 2022 at 11:04 AM.