Many property owners across the country are learning about historic designation and its advantages. The information contained here will provide you with information about historic designation, the Mills Act, how to research and designate your home, and some links to helpful websites.

Whether or not you decide to pursue designation for your property, you may find it rewarding to conduct some research on the history of your property and its past owners. During the course of your research you might locate previous owners or their descendants, learn interesting facts about your home's early residents, and perhaps discover some interior or exterior historic photographs.

While it is a great experience to learn about your house's history, conducting research can be a time consuming and sometimes frustrating process. The tips included here will give you a concrete framework within which to work and help you to eliminate some of the learning curve. Here's a Step-by-Step Guide.

WHAT MAKES A HOUSE OR BUILDING HISTORIC?

Here are the National Register criteria:

• The building is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or
• it is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or
• it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represents the work of a master, or that possesses high artistic values, or that represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or
• has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

Helpful articles from SOHO's newsletter Reflections

• Facade Easement Issue 1 - 2001
• Owners of Old Homes Issue 2 - 2001
• Four Treatments Approaches Issue 1 - 2002
• Mills Act Information Issue 2 - 2002
• Historic Districts - What Are They? Issue 2 - 2003
• Incentives Issue 2 - 2004
• Seven Key Benefits that Historic Preservation Offers Issue 2 - 2004
• Historic Landscape Concern Issue 2 - 2004
• New Resources in the California Room Issue 3 - 2004
• Historical Landmarks Issue 1 - 2005
• Mission Hills Heritage Issue 1 - 2005
• Economics, Sustainability, and Historic Preservation Issue 2 - 2006
• Coronado City Council Upholds Designation Issue 3 - 2006
• Historic Preservation - The Greenest of Conservation Solutions Issue 3 - 2006
• Preservation and Repair of Historic Stucco Issue 3 - 2006
• Creating Community Preservation Groups Issue 4 - 2006
• First do no Harm - Advice for the New Old House Owner Issue 4 - 2006

Helpful articles from SOHO's Our Heritage magazine

• The Historic Home - Landscape and Gardens Issue 1 - 2007
• Every Bungalow Represents our History Issue 1 - 2007
• Preservation Community Issue 1/2 - 2008
• Character Matters Issue 3/4 - 2008
• Smart Growth - or is it? Issue 3/4 - 2008
• The Impact of Historic Districts Issue 3/4 - 2008
• Preserving Community Character Issue 3/4 - 2008
• Kensington's Historic Streetscapes Issue 3/4 - 2008
• Sherlock Homes - Old House Owner's Program Issue 3/4 - 2008

Other Resources

• SOHO's 2013 Resource Directory
• Ancestry.com ancestry.com
• California Office of Historic Preservation www.ohp.parks.ca.gov
• City of San Diego www.sandiego.gov
• City of San Diego Deeds
• City of San Diego Historical Resources Board Information Line: (619) 235-5224
• City of San Diego Land Records, 1850-1966
• City of San Diego Lot Books
• Estimating the Value of the Historical Designation Externality (8-page pdf)
• Geneology, the Complete Resource Guide
• Historic Designation & Residential Property Values (10-page pdf)
• San Diego Public Library Digital Library Online Collections
• San Diego Union Tribune (Searchable archives)
• National Register of Historic Places www.nps.gov/nr
• San Diego Historical Society Research Library www.sandiegohistory.org/online_resources/archives.html
• San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk arcc.co.san-diego.ca.us/
• Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties
  (182-page pdf)