Since 1998, the city’s Most Notable Property (MNP) Program has been highlighting and celebrating the historical significance of properties in Columbia, Missouri. The Program is managed by the city’s Historic Preservation Commission. In order to be considered for MNP recognition, a residential or commercial property must be at least 50 years old, within the city limits, and possess historical or architectural significance unique to Columbia.  To make a nomination or find more information about the MNP Program visit https://www.comopreservation.org/most-notable-property-program. Applications are due by the end of the year.

Built in 1944 this property was recognized as a Most Notable Property in 2015. As described at that time by local Historic Preservation Consultant, Deb Sheals, in the Most Notable Property archives:

“This is lot #12 of Hubbell Place. Addresses change over the years, this was 6 Hubbell through 1948 or later. The Hubbell Place Addition was platted in June 1909, by John M. Hubbell. John M. Hubbell was a businessman who spent many years in the grocery and dry goods business and later worked as the business manager of the Columbia Daily Tribune. Mr. Hubbell was subdividing land that had been in his family for decades.  His parents, John Price and Anna Marie Hubbell, moved to Columbia in 1886 and by 1875 they had purchased two-thirds of a city block which became Hubbell Place. Atlas maps show that they had a house at the approximate location of 1201 and 1203 E. Walnut as early as 1876. They gradually added houses to the east end of their property, but kept the west end as open land. 

The Hubbell Place Addition included 7 lots facing E. Walnut Street, and it created Hubbell Drive, which runs perpendicular to Walnut and contains 11 small house lots. New houses were built on the Walnut Street properties soon after the plat was filed, but the lots on Hubbell Drive were slower to develop. Mrs. Anna Hubbell (Widow of J. P. Hubbell) built the first house facing Hubbell Drive (now 103 Hubbell) and J. B. and Cora Reno had a house across the street by 1925 (now 104). The other lots remained empty until shortly after the death of John M, Hubbell in 1926. A notice of his death published in the Tribune in 1926 mentioned that he had been in poor health, which may have prevented him from developing the other lots. 

The mid 1920s brought a flurry of construction to Hubbell Drive--nine houses were built there between 1926 and 1928. All of those houses are relatively modest Craftsman style bungalows of comparable size and form; it is likely that they were built from mass produced plans. The final two houses in the subdivision, 108 and 112 Hubbell Drive, were added in the 1940s, and the street has seen few changes since.”

CoMo Preservation is devoted to helping homeowners, landlords, and institutions prevent the destruction of historic architecture. Original period styles might be replicated, but will forever lack the social history of authentic structures. The preservation of historic places and spaces is necessary for Columbia’s residents, students, and visitors to achieve a sense of place and also for our city’s continued economic success.

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Sources

Columbia’s Historic Preservation Commission. “Most Notable Properties-What Does It Mean To Be A Most Notable Property?” City of Columbia Community Development, Columbia, MO. 

"Most Notable Properties Database." Prepared for Columbia, Missouri’s Historic Preservation Commission, by Historic Preservation Consultant Deb Sheals, https://www.como.gov/boards/historic-preservation-commission/most-notable-properties-program/. Accessed September 26, 2023.