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Wikipedia:WikiProject National Register of Historic Places/NRIS information issues

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NRIS information issues identifies possible errors and other issues in the National Register Information System (NRIS) database. This is a working page to detail information system glitches, factual inconsistencies, and potential factual errors in official information regarding properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places of the United States. It is hoped that this recording may facilitate discussion, correspondence with the National Park Service/National Register, and corrections.

See also wp:NHL info issues

Please do not include here what appear to be errors at nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com — that site contains many errors, especially in its consistently yielding area figures for historic districts that are ten times the actual size. This is the result of that website misinterpreting the data from the NRIS.

Types of issues

Discrepances between NRIS database as downloaded vs. "Weekly Listings" announcements

  • For example, for James H. Bounds Barn, in Marshall County, Oklahoma, the only item covering it in NRIS2013a version, as reported in NRHP infobox generator (by checking off "may not actually be listed" checkbox), which actually is supposted to cover up to September 30, 2014 afaik, is just an "DR" entry, which i think means some documentation is received, and it reflects the assignment of a reference number. It does NOT include the actual listing in December 2013 as reported in the Weekly Listings announcment ( "Weekly listings". National Park Service. December 27, 2013. ) and reported in the Featured listing announcement for this site ( "James H. Bounds Barn". Retrieved October 1, 2019. ). This later listing does use the same reference number. I think the NRIS2013a database somehow has just the initial, "DR" event. Do later versions of NRIS have both or does the actual listing replace the "DR" event?
  • In Wikipedia, the National Register of Historic Places listings in Marshall County, Oklahoma page was updated by User:Ebyabe and User:Ipoellet to reflect the December 2013 announcements (and even to add coordinates based on consulting the NRHP registration document and using Google satellite view, I assume). I am afraid there is a discrepancy now between what Wikipedia shows (including this item) vs. what NRIS might show (not including it). --Doncram (talk) 21:49, 1 October 2019 (UTC)

Changes implemented into NRIS directly, adjusting previous items, not reflected in any "Weekly Listings" announcement

There are several known instances of National Park Service making "corrections" by simply adjusting NRIS, but not reporting on that change by including it into a new Weekly announcement list, confound Wikipedia's coverage, which follows the weekly announcements. Some of these have been covered in wt:NRHP discussion previously. --Doncram (talk) 21:49, 1 October 2019 (UTC)

Demolished properties apparently still listed

In many cases a building remains listed on the National Register even though the building was completely demolished. There may be a few cases where the National Register gives a street address where there is no building, while in fact the building still exists. It could be the wrong address, or in rare cases the historic building may have been moved to a different location, as happened for one case in Pasadena, California. doncram (talk) 20:30, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

In 2022, starting Category:Demolished but still listed on the National Register of Historic Places. If a building has been demolished but there has been no status change reported in weekly listings by the National Park Service, then let's categorize these. There are so many. They should also receive categories Category:Demolished buildings and structures in STATE and Category:Buildings and structures demolished in YEAR, as for Rose Building (Fairbanks, Alaska), for example. --Doncram (talk) 12:47, 8 October 2022 (UTC)

Listing and delisting dates

The NRIS is an authoritative source on NRHP listing dates, but even in this topic there are issues: this discussion "Shortest time on Register" at wt:NRHP details a good number of listings for January 1, 19XX of various years that really apparently mean "some unknown date in the year 19XX". --doncram 18:11, 6 August 2013 (UTC)

Misc and unsorted towns issues

Actually, let's detail those, please. Detailing in progress.... doncram (talk) 20:26, 8 January 2009 (UTC)
Not sure how to further research and/or submit this one. doncram (talk) 20:48, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Coordinates corrections

NOTE: COORDINATES CORRECTIONS probably are not worth noting here. See discussion at #Connecticut: coordinates

Correspondence with the National Register

  • The National Register has previously corrected NRIS or related webpages in response to error reports on other occasions. For example, an incorrect URL in the current Weekly Listings National Register's "Weekly Featured Listing" , at http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/nrlist.htm, was fixed today, on Wednesday September 3. Or at least it was fixed, and I received an email reporting it today. This was in response to a report I sent in during the weekend (and Monday was a holiday too). doncram (talk) 18:02, 3 September 2008 (UTC)
  • Also, the National Park Service has corrected other information, such as an incorrect address for a building in Syracuse, apparently reported after a photo of the building at that address was posted in wikipedia. And it addressed a mis-identification of the wrong building in New York City (Florence Mills House) as a National Historic Landmark, by de-designating the building and removing it from the National Register on January 16, 2009.
The NR_RT reports has reviewed those 20, has submitted fixes to be input into NRIS for 19 of them. I note which those are, below. While the changes will be input into NRIS shortly, the NRIS database is only republished a few times per year, so it is not yet known when the fixes will be apparent on-line. They prefer to get error reports batched by state, to facilitate checking with the state in cases needing that. I'll submit more batches by state. doncram (talk) 00:03, 5 March 2009 (UTC)
  • I've now submitted six batches
  • batch01: 20 name issues
  • batch02: 45 coordinates issues
  • batch03: 73 name issues
  • batch04: 29 town issues
  • batch05: 19 county issues
  • batch06: 26 street address issues
I think that totals to 214 items reported. doncram (talk) 21:42, 6 March 2009 (UTC)
  • Update, April 27, 2009: The National Register has verified 66 corrections needed, based on our reports, and is implementing those. Further corrections being researched. Their internal Word document covering the 66 is in tabular format, with column headings "State", "RefNo", "Property name", "Typo", "Correction", and another column for their use. It would probably be most helpful if we presented new batches in that tabular format. doncram (talk) 19:38, 27 April 2009 (UTC)
  • Update: on September 3, I received an update that they are addressing batch04 now, and hope to do another batch before the end of this month. It is slow going, but I believe they appreciate our efforts to identify corrections and will eventually respond to all that we submit. doncram (talk) 00:03, 7 September 2009 (UTC)
  • Batch07 to address issues accumulated for state of Ohio alone, of all types of issues noted for NRHP listings in the state. See wp:NRIS info issues OH, the split-out Ohio-only issues subpage. doncram (talk) 16:10, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

Reports organized by state

Not yet sorted by state

Coordinates issues

Washington, D.C.

Puerto Rico

Virgin Islands

Notes

Table issues

Owner objections, and delistings

Delistings and NRHP.COM coverage

Spelling mistakes and other inconsistencies in NRHP database

Other

See also

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks