From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Aug. 15, 1988:

Douglas County Commissioners today joined the owners of an East Lawrence house in opposing the house’s nomination to the state historic register. In a letter sent to the state historical society the previous week, members of the Barland family asked a review board to table a proposal to add their house at 1106 Rhode Island to the state’s historic register. The building had been nominated by a neighborhood group called the Rhode Island Street Preservation Committee. While acknowledging that the house may have “some historical significance,” the Barlands said that they had never heard of or been contacted by the committee prior to the nomination. County commissioners sided with the Barlands, formally lodging an objection to the historic nomination. However, commissioners also voted to ask the city to force the owners to clean up the property, which was in a state of disrepair.