
Historic Homes
Jump to | Lincoln Street Historic District | Algard House 1890 | Rose House 1894 |Palmer House 1879 | Warner House 1871 | Gilbert 1870 |Marvin House 1897 | Thomson House 1889 |Gilbert House 1907 |
The Lincoln Street Historic District
The Lincoln Street Historic District in Oregon contains a cohesive collection of five single-family residential properties dated from c1870 to 1894.
The Setting
At the end of 1842, Bartley Runey, his wife, three boys and four girls, and Robert Thompson were the only residents in the Township of Oregon.
The next year, 1843, C. P. Moseley settled on the present site of the Village of Oregon, built a cabin and opened a tavern on the old territorial road running from the lead regions near Dodgeville to Milwaukee. This log cabin-tavern became the stopping place for teamsters drawing lead to market. This stop became the nucleus of the thriving Village of Oregon.
The population of the Village was enlarged in the year 1844 by the arrival of Reuben Boyce and family in Section 36, Stoddard Johnson in Section 1, W. F. Lee and Schuyler Gilbert in Section 10. By 1845 Joseph Algard and family had settled on Section 17. Also in 1845, Nathaniel Ames, his three sons and grandson, arrived in the area. These early pioneers are identified with the history of Oregon, having witnessed its gradual development and growth. Other families prominent among the first settlers were J. S. Frary, S. J. Pratt, Abraham Kierstad, W. S. Bedford, Roswell Babbitt, Phineas Baldwin, R. P. Main,E. W. Dwight, Tipple, Hook and Fox.
The original plat of this Village was surveyed on the lands of Charles C. Waterman, William S. Bedford, A. S. Mygatt and John D. Tipple. Additions were made by S. S. Johnson, Abraham Kierstad, E. E. Bedford, William S. Bedford and L. W. Parson.
Johnson’s Addition
The West Lincoln Street Historic District is a part of the Stoddard Johnson Addition to the Village of Oregon. At the time the surveyed land was recorded, on September 10, 1863, the street name was listed as Third Street. The map indicates the location of the various properties surveyed within the Johnson Addition. This property was originally part of Mr. Johnson’s 40-acre farm. It was when the Methodist church was first organized that Mr. Johnson had his property surveyed. He gifted his property on the corner of First Street and North Main Street to the Methodists for them to build their church.
Stoddard Johnson was born in 1807, location unknown, and died in Oregon in 1879. He is buried in Prairie Mound Cemetery, Section 2, Lot 153 and Grave 2. Also in Section 2, Lot 153, Grave 3 is a Patty Waite Johnson, born 1789 and died 1852, and an infant Isaacs Johnson, born 1847 and died in 1848, buried in Grave 4.
Today, the Lincoln Street Historic District is located along West Lincoln Street in downtown Oregon. The district consists of five single family residential properties dating from c. 1870 to c. 1894. All of these residences are contributing elements within the historic district, which is located west of North Main Street and east of Market Street. The architectural style of the district is predominantly Queen Anne but a vernacular hip roof house and Gothic Revival home add stylistic variety.
The properties along West Lincoln Street are primarily residential with the exception of the Oregon Area Historical Society, which was historically a railroad hotel. The Chicago and North Western Railroad, finished in 1864, runs parallel to Market Street. The depot was located at the intersection of Lincoln and Market Streets, west of the railroad tracks. The setbacks within the district average 25 feet, and mature trees line the sidewalk terrace. Four properties feature clapboard siding and the remaining house is constructed of brick. The properties display limited changes or alterations and retain good integrity. The district also includes one contributing garage and three noncontributing garages and sheds that were constructed outside the period of significance.
The district contains a cohesive collection of residential properties built by prosperous individuals whose involvement in local commerce and politics enabled them to build significant residences in the late nineteenth century. The homes are of a similar size and scale, and collectively represent the period of late nineteenth century residential development in the village.
Algard House C. 1890
145 West Lincoln Street
Builder: Henry N. Algard
Born: February 20, 1832, Cayuga County, New York
Died: September 19, 1911, Oregon
Married: Phoebe Smith on September 22, 1857
Parents: Joseph and Eliza Reemer Algard
Sisters: Mrs. Margaret Patchin, Oregon
Mrs. Manietta Dohms, Winona, MN
Children: None listed
Henry Algard came to the township of Oregon with his parents in the fall of 1846. Here is where his father began farming on Government land in the openings. Henry learned blacksmithing and was the Storytown blacksmith two years prior to 1867. He was able to purchase some 202 acres, build a good barn and handsome farmhouse. He served as one of the Supervisors of Oregon for four terms. Henry and his wife Phoebe bred Durham grade cattle and merino sheep and he was associated in several retail stores.
The 1870 Census only lists Henry and Phoebe, with no children. Mr. Algard built and owned the home until 1906. Henry and George Algard were said to have the first automobile in Oregon! The Henry and George Algard families are buried in Prairie Mound Cemetery.
The residence at 145 West Lincoln Street is located at the western edge of the district on the north side of the street. Built c. 1890, the two-story frame house rests on a cut-stone foundation and is sheathed in clapboard. The house possesses elements of the Queen Anne style, including patterned shingles, decorative brackets, and an irregular plan. Gable ends on the front and side elevations are clad in patterned shingles and display bargeboards with decorative details and are supported by ornamental brackets. Windows are predominantly one-over-one double-hung sash with wood surrounds and crowns accented with decorative scroll-cut swags. Two original fixed-frame picture windows with headers are located on the front (south) and west elevations. Shed-roof awnings supported by decorative brackets shelter each window.
The historic shed-roof front porch has been enclosed and rebuilt with a concrete block foundation. A modern bay window accented with decorative brackets has been added to the porch facade. An exterior staircase, located on the west elevation, accesses a second-story entrance. A modern garage with concrete foundation has been attached to the rear. This house retains its historic form, siding material, and decorative Queen Anne details.
A carriage house, c. 1890, is located at the rear of the property. According to Sanborn maps, this building was converted into a residence on a subdivided lot by 1928. Because this building no longer retains its original appearance or function, and does not contribute to the residential character of the district, it was omitted from the district boundary.
Rose House c. 1894
133 West Lincoln Street
Builder Oliver O. Rose
Born: 1820
Died: November 22, 1886
Married: Edna Rose
Parents: Eunice and J. Rose
Children: Emeline and Lillian
Oliver Rose was a hard-working, prosperous farmer who lived in the Oak Hall area of Fitchburg (Greenfield) as early as the 1850s. In 1853, along with Salisbury, Palmer, Rose, Richardson, Pritchard, Booth, Gilbert, Wallace, Spink, Titus, Showers, Nott, Roe, Blizzard, Adams and McCune, he was one of the first to purchase space (Section 1, Lot 9) in the Oak Hall Cemetery. He was active in the Cemetery organization as late as 1871 when he served as a Sexton. The family lived in Fitchburg 58 years, retiring to the Village of Oregon. Oliver and his wife Edna had two daughters, Emeline and Lillian.
The residence at 133 West Lincoln Street is oriented to the south and stands on the north side of the street. Built c. 1894, the two-story house has a truncated hip roof with a central interior brick chimney and an irregular plan. It rests on a stone foundation and exterior walls are clad in clapboard.
The house possesses many elements of the Queen Anne style, including a dominant front-facing gable clad in patterned wood shingles with decorative bargeboards displaying a sunburst motif and a narrow band of dentils delineating the attic story. Queen Anne windows with colored glass panels are located on the east elevation and in the attic story of the front-facing gable. The east elevation also features a paneled bay. A second-story balcony above the bay is enclosed with a scroll-cut balustrade and sheltered by a small projecting gable supported by turned posts and accented with decorative brackets and spindlework.
Windows are predominately one-over-one double-hung sash with crowns; some windows are paired. Windows on the west elevation are replacements and some of the crowns have been removed. Basement windows are three-light awning. The front porch, rebuilt with a concrete block foundation, is partially enclosed. The enclosed portion features a band of modern one-over-one double hung sash windows. The open portion retains turned post support columns. A historic shed-roof side porch with turned post supports protrudes from the north end of the east elevation. A partially enclosed hip roof porch is located at the northwest elevation. A modern shed-roof addition clad in vertical siding is located on the rear. A two-bay noncontributing garage, c. 1950, is also located on the property.
Palmer House c. 1879
121 West Lincoln Street
Builder Oliver M. Palmer
Born: January 28, 1821 in Northeast Erie Co., PA
Died: March 22, 1898
Married: Huldah Hall
Parents: Daniel and Beulah Warner Palmer
Children: Mary Palmer Kierstead, daughter
Cassius and John, sons
Oliver Palmer, a prominent figure in the early history of the Methodist Episcopal church of Oregon, came to Wisconsin in September, 1853. He owned and farmed several farms in the township of Oregon where he served as a Supervisor in 1855 and 1871. He took no active part in politics until the breaking out of the Civil War, when he became exceedingly influential in the matter of raising troops. He sold his farm in 1878 when he and his wife settled in the Village. They built and lived in one of the finest of the many pleasant homes in the Village.
This Gothic Revival style residence is located at the eastern edge of the district on the north side of the street. Built c. 1879, the cross-gable brick house is one-and-one-half stories, has a central brick chimney and rests on a stone foundation. Each of the four steeply pitched gables is identical and features a triangular vent near the gable apex, decorative bargeboards, and kingposts. A flat-roof screened-in-porch with the original balustrade spans the facade.
The front (south) facade has twin entrance doors, each with two panels and transoms. The front entrances are flanked by original fixed-frame picture windows with headers. Windows are predominantly replacement one-over-one double-hung sash with segmental arch lintels, stone sills, decorative hoods with protruding keystones and arched brickwork and louvered shutters. Small decorative detailing is incised into the head of each window frame, just below the lintel. Basement windows have been downsized.
A flat-roof portion with a decorative cornice and replacement support posts is located on the east elevation. It shelters a two-light door with a header that is accented with a segmental arch lintel and keystone.
A c. 1970 flat-roof brick addition is attached to the rear elevation. Windows on the addition are fixed on the top and awning on the bottom. A one-panel, one-light door is located on the west elevation and sliding glass patio doors on the north elevation open to a modern redwood deck. The addition does not detract from the historic integrity of the house. It is brick construction and windows are arched and similar in size to windows on the historic section of the house. The brick on all elevations has been painted white.
A c. 1900 contributing horse barn with a shed roof rear addition is also located on the property. It has been converted into a garage and two overhead doors are located on the facade.
Warner House c. 1871
126 West Lincoln Street
Builder Jacob Warner
Born: September 22, 1822 in Wurtemberg, Germany
Died: January 20, 1879
Married: Mary Werlich, August 1845
Parents: Rev. Jacob Warner, father
Children: James, John, Samuel, William, sons
Alma, Mary J., Louisa, Emily (Mrs. T. Algard), daughters
Jacob “Jake” and Mary Warner came to the Township of Oregon in 1846. He worked in the old Dayton sawmill and cleared his own land in Fisher Valley. Jacob and family moved from one section to another, increasing their acreage, clearing and improving their land. Jacob succeeded, after a long struggle with poverty and sickness, and built the home in the Village in 1871, where his sons attended the Oregon schools. Mary Warner died in 1879 leaving eight children. The family is buried in the Storytown Cemetery.
The residence at 126 West Lincoln Street is oriented to the north and stands on the south side of the street. Built c. 1871, the cross-gable frame house is clad in clapboard, has an interior corbelled brick chimney, and rests on a cut-stone foundation. The house reflects elements of the Queen Anne style in its overall vertical emphasis, steeply pitched roof with a dominant front-facing gable, and turned posts.
First-floor windows are a combination of two-light, fixed-frame and one-over-one double-hung sash. Second-story windows are one-over-one double hung sash with aluminum storms. Most windows have louvered shutters. Simple wood crowns accent all windows and doorways. A historic shed-roof front porch located on the northeast corner has a wood balustrade, turned post supports, and decorative brackets.
A modern shed roof addition clad in artificial siding is located on the southwest corner. A modern screened porch is attached to the rear elevation. These small additions do not detract from the historic integrity of the house. A single-bay garage, c. 1920, is located at the southeast corner of the property. With the exception of the rear addition and screened porch, this house is relatively unaltered.
Gilbert House c. 1870
116 West Lincoln Street
Builder John Gilbert
Born: March 31, 1861 in Oregon
Died: September 21, 1956
Married: Flora B. Lockwood on Dec. 27, 1888
Parents: Schuyler and Hansy Hill Gilbert
Children: Henry Schuyler, son and Cora Gilbert Fairbanks, daughter
When John and Flora Gilbert built their new home at 357 North Main Street, they tore down the log shack built by John’s parents, Schuyler and Hansy Hill Gilbert. John was a farmer who retired to Oregon. In 1870, they built the house at 116 West Lincoln for his parents. The carriage house (now the garage) was for the house on Main Street and this home on Lincoln. After the death of John and Flora, his son Henry Schuyler was willed the house on the corner of North Main and Lincoln Street (also listed on the National Register) and their daughter Cora Gilbert Fairbanks was given the house and lot located on Lincoln Street.
The residence at 116 West Lincoln Street is located on the eastern edge of the district on the south side of the street. Built c. 1870, the vernacular frame house is a two-story cube and rests on a rusticated concrete block foundation. Exterior walls are sheathed in clapboard. It has a truncated hip roof with a central brick interior chimney. Gabled wall dormers are located on the front (north) facade and east elevation, and a single hip roof dormer is located on the west elevation. A wide band of trim accented with a series of small brackets delineates the second story from the attic story.
The cutaway front porch at the northeast corner of the house has a simple balustrade and square wood support columns. First-floor windows are original paired wood-frame casements with smaller upper sashes. Second-story windows are one-over-one double-hung sash. Fixed windows are located in the gable ends. All windows have small crowns and wood surrounds.
A modern shed-roof porch is attached to the rear elevation. A c. 1940 side gable garage is attached to the west elevation. With the exception of the garage addition, the house remains relatively unaltered. A small modern noncontributing shed is located at the rear of the property.
The Marvin House 1897
248 N. Main Street
One of the older homes in Oregon is the Queen Anne style house built in 1897 for Mr. and Mrs. (Mabel) L. B. Marvin. L.B. Marvin was then 23 and the eldest son of local hardware merchant, H. H. Marvin. The lot was purchased from his grandfather, Oregon pioneer, A. B. Marvin. By May 20th of 1897, C. B. Kellor and Rasmus Anderson were laying the foundation walls for the new house. By July 22nd the house was ready for window and door casings and its floor, and by August 26, the Marvins were at home in the house that the local paper called, “One of the finest in town.”
The Marvins lived at 248 N. Main until 1901 when they traded this house for another owned by Mabel Marvin’s father, M. R. Terwilliger. Terwilliger then rented the “Marvin” house to Franklin Gould. Gould added a summer kitchen to the back of the house 1902, then purchased it for $1800 and lived in it until 1906, when he sold the house to retired farmer, Sheldon Tusler and his wife. The Tuslers lived here until Mrs. Tusler’s death, and the house was afterwards occupied for many years by their daughter, Hattie Tusler Black.
Edward and Sally Jo Quamme purchased the house in 1985 and restored the interior and exterior of the home. Fortunately, the house was still in largely original condition and the restoration consisted mainly of redecorating in a historically appropriate fashion and updating the kitchen and bathrooms. The Quammes did most of the work and Mr. Quamme’s brother crafted the beautiful wood kitchen cabinets. The result of the renovation is one of Oregon’s most intact and best kept Queen Anne style houses.
After the Quamme’s, Kathie and Bruce Bahman owned the home for three years. Edward Lyon purchased the home in 2007. The entire landscape has been transformed into a garden. Lyon is the director of the Allen Centennial Gardens on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
The Thomson House 1889
Originally at 808 Janesville Street
One of Oregon’s earliest settlers, Robert Thomson, settled in section 12 of Oregon township in 1841. He purchased 46 acres from the government and built a log cabin on the bank of what is now Thomson’s Creek, near Janesville and S. Perry Parkway. He died in 1882, leaving 42 acres to his daughters, who in turn sold it to Robert’s nephew, George Thomson (a carpenter) and his wife Ella.
George built the larger home in 1889 at that same location, next to the current site of WISCO Industries. The house was built during a time when “gingerbread,” an architectural style that consists of elaborately detailed embellishment known as gingerbread trim, was popular. George Thomson added scrollwork and Victorian decorative features. There is a stained glass window lighting the stairway to the second floor. A small balcony opens from the stairway, over the front entrance. That is where they would shake rugs.
George and Ella farmed the land and lived there until George died in 1927. Ella remained there until she died in 1938. The house and farm were left to their daughter, Janet Thomson, who was teaching in Michigan. She lived in the house only in the summers and she rented out the land. Janet Thomson married Charles Friday in 1947. By 1948, an attached garage, and an upstairs bathroom were added. A fireplace was built in the 1950’s. When Janet died in 1958, the home was left to her husband, Charles Friday, and her niece, Ellen Peterson Robinson, and Ellen’s son, Keith Robinson. Charles Friday died in 1973 and Ellen moved into the home in April of 1974, after several improvements had been made. Ellen Peterson Robinson, George Thomson’s granddaughter, was the last family descendent to live in the house, until her death in 1992.
Her son, Keith Robinson sold the house in 1993 to WISCO Industries, Inc., which is located next door. WISCO needed the land for future expansion, and wanted a buyer to move the historic home, saving demolition costs, and saving this historic Oregon home.
Jim and Sandy Ness purchased the house and arranged to have it moved in 1995 to a 7.5 acre lot overlooking the Town of Oregon, south of Autumn Woods on Highway MM. Phil Harms, of Advantage Builders in Oregon, served as the general contractor for restoring the unique home.
Jim’s dad, Peter, and friends, Thor Gotrick and Marlene Winters, helped with tearing down and putting it all back together. It was 16 months before they could move in, and around 6 years before every room was completed. The extensively landscaped lot makes the house look like it has always been at the top of the hill where it is situated.
The Gilbert House 1907
357 N Main St
American Queen Anne style houses are characterized by an irregularity of plan and massing and by a variety of surface textures, roofs, and wall projections. Shingle or clapboard siding predominates and sometimes is used above a brick ground story. Roofs are steeply pitches, usually with a dominant front-facing gable; and cutaway bay windows are frequently employed, as are round or polygonal turrets. The asymmetrical facades often display wrap-around verandas as well. Architectural details are normally of a classical nature and tend to be small in scale, overwhelmed by the building itself.
All of these stylistic characteristics can be seen in the imposing house that retired farmer John Gilbert built for himself and his wife Flora on North Main Street in 1906. Gilbert was born in 1861, the son of Dane County pioneer Schuyler Gilbert. John had farmed 250 acres near Oregon for 25 years before moving into town in March of 1906.
As construction of his new house was beginning, word spread that Gilbert’s house was to be something special and in December the finishing touches were being applied. By January 17, 1907 the house was finished and the Oregon Observer notes that “It is a beautiful home and has all the modern improvements. It is the most expensive dwelling in town.”
Gilbert died in 1956 at the age of 95 and this largely intact home was acquired by Michael and Alice Seeliger in 1977. They did an extensive amount of work to restore the home.
Jan and John Bonsett-Veal bought the Gilbert home in 2001 from the Seeliger’s. John is a practicing optometrist in Madison, WI and Jan retired from the Oregon School District in July 2011 after holding several administrative positions in the school district over the previous 23 years. They have four children who enjoyed growing up in this lovely home. Since living here, Jan and John have continued the remodeling that the Seeliger family began. The kitchen and bathrooms have had complete updates and the upstairs attic has had heating and air conditioning added so that it is a useable space year round. Over the past few summers, the exterior of the home has undergone major repairs, all with approval of the Wisconsin State Historical Society, and experienced a new color scheme. The three shades of teal, accented with rust, gold and red make it a true “Painted Lady,” a Victorian or Edwardian house that was repainted with three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details.
Presently, the second floor of the home is undergoing renovation. Carpeting has been removed and the original wooden floors refinished to reveal the original, beautiful knotted wood (pine or fir) throughout.
Reference: Historic House Walks, May 19, 1991, Village of Oregon Sesquicentennial Celebration, Pamphlet. Pers. Comm. –Bonsett-Veal family 2012.
SOURCE
“The Village of Oregon, West Lincoln Street Historic District. Entered on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Place by the State of Wisconsin Historical Society on January 20, 2006. Entered on the National Register of Historic Places by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Interior on April 12, 2006 (copy available at OAHS).
RESEARCHERS
Emily Pettis, Historic Preservation, Mead & Hunt, Inc.
Joe DeRose, Historic Preservation, Wisconsin Historical Society
Joan Gefke, Commission, Vice Chair Oregon Historic Preservation
SOURCES
A Walk Back in History: Did You Know?, Florice Paulson
Ancestry.com, Joan Wethal, Online Census, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900
Heritage Quest.com, Oregon Public Library, Census 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900
Fitchburg Oakhall Cemetery Records, Fitchburg Historical Society, January, 1988
Funeral Records, Lindsey Funeral Home, 1886
Gilbert, John and Flora, Abstract of Residence; Last Will and Testament, John Gilbert
History of Dane County, 1880
History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical, 1906
History of Madison and Dane County, published by Wm. J. Park & Co., 1877
Maps, Village of Oregon, 1863, 1899
Oregon Observer, Obituaries, various dates
Oregon Centennial Souvenir Book, 1841 – 1941
State of Wisconsin Historic Preservation Archives, Madison, Tax Rolls 1800 forward
Tax Rolls, Village of Oregon, 1900 forward