An Intensive Architectural and Historical Survey Report of La Crosse County. Containing three reports of surveys of the La Crosse County Heritage Corridor, Southern La Crosse County, and Northern La Crosse County compiled in 1995,1998, and 2002. Provided by: La Crosse County Historic Sites Preservation Commission 400 4th St. N. La Crosse, WI 54601 2004 LaCrosse River Valley Heritage Corridor LaCrosse County, Wisconsin Intensive Survey Report Architectural and Historical Survey Report Principal Investigator, Barbara M. Kooiman, M.A. Historian, Ty VanCuick, B.S. Prepared for the LaCrosse County Historic Preservation Sites Commission LaCrosse County, Wisconsin August 1995 The LaCrosse River Valley Heritage Corridor Intensive Architectural/Historical Survey Project has been funded with the assistance of a grant-in-aid from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, under the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. Historic Preservation grants-in-aid are administered in Wisconsin in conjunction with the National Register of Historic Places program by the Historic Preservation Division of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. However, the contents and opinions in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the National Park Service or the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Intensive Survey Project Staff U.S. West Research, Inc. Public Historians, LaCrosse, Wisconsin Principal Investigator: Barbara M. Kooiman, M.A. Project Historian: Ty VanCuick, B.S. Project Administrator: Anthony Godfrey, Ph.D. All field work, including photography, was conducted by Barbara Kooiman. Methodology, architecture, historic overview and survey results were prepared by Barbara Kooiman. Thematic chapters were written by Ty VanCuick and edited by Barbara Kooiman. Acknowledgements U.S. West Research, Inc. appreciates the assistance and support of the many people who have assisted on this report. The following list of institutions, organizations and individuals contributed to the final outcome of this report. We wish to thank anyone who may have been inadvertently omitted from this acknowledgement. LaCrosse County Board James Ersham, County Board Chair Paul Weber Cheryl Stephens, County Board Chair secretery LaCrosse Historic Preservation Sites Commission Carl Pedretti, Chair Robert "Ernie'' Boszhardt, Project Director James Brindley Brenda Jordan King Holley Hilbert "Bandy" Siegler Barbara M. Kooiman, ex-officio Table of Contents Chapter 1 Survey Methodology 1 Field Survey 1 Historical Research 2 Identification and Evaluation of Significant Properties 3 Criteria for Evaluation 3 Criteria Considerations 3 Preparation of Inventory Cards and Intensive Survey 4 Preparation of District Survey Forms 5 Chapter 2 Historical Overview 7 Chapter 3 Settlement 11 The Land 11 Ethnic Settlement 12 Germans 13 Norwegians 14 British-Irish 14 Bohemians 14 Chapter 4 Agriculture 17 Grain and Livestock Production 18 Dairy Production 19 Tobacco 20 Milling 20 Cooperatives 21 Influence of the Railroad 21 Chapter 5 Industry 23 Milling 24 Lumber 24 Canning 26 Brewing 27 Manufacturing 28 Chapter 6 Transportation 29 Mississippi River 29 Railroads 30 Roads 30 Chapter 7 Education 35 Primary Schools 36 Secondary Schools 38 LaCrosse County School of Agriculture and Domestic Economy 38 Chapter 8 Commerce 41 Goods and Services 41 Specialty Stores 42 Hotels and Saloons 42 Utilities 43 Chapter 9 Religion 45 Methodists 45 Baptists 46 Lutherans 47 Presbyterians 48 Chapter 10 Architecture 49 Residential Architecture • 49 Commercial and Industrial Architecture 56 Religious Architecture 57 Educational Architecture 58 Engineered Structures 59 Chapter 11 Notable People 63 Nichols Family 63 Hamlin Garland 63 Thomas Leonard 64 Joseph Hussa 65 Chapter 12 Survey Results 67 List of Intensive Surveyed Properties 67 Proposed National Register Historic Districts 71 Chapter 12 Recommendations 73 General Observations 73 Social and Economic Benefits of Historic Preservation. 73 Tax Incentives for Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings. 74 Protection from Federal Projects 75 Wisconsin Historic Building Code 75 Recommendations for Future Action on Preservation ... 75 Bibliography Appendix Chapter 1 Survey Methdology The LaCrosse River Valley Heritage Corridor Architectural and Historical Intensive Survey was conducted between November 1994 and Jury 1995 by historical consultants U.S. West Research, Inc., based in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. The survey consisted of a number of final products: Intensive Survey Forms Intensive Survey Report The scope of work for this project was initially established through the reconnaissance survey of the LaCrosse River Valley Heritage Corridor, which had been conducted in 1992-93 by U.S. West Research, Inc. The final recommendations and findings of that previous inventory were outlined in the document entitled LaCrosse River Valley Heritage Corridor Project, LaCrosse County, Wisconsin, dated 30 June 1993. Among the recommendations pertinent to this study are the following: ' Intensive Architecture/Historical Survey The reconnaissance survey which was conducted in 1992-93 was not inclusive, due to limitations o the project USWR (the consultant) suggests that an intensive architectural/historical survey be completed before future work is begun. The intensive survey insures that all historic resources within the project boundary are identified and recorded, and that potential National Register eligible properties are more intensively researched for development of historic context. Future survey work should also include the city of LaCrosse and the city of Sparta as anchors at each end of the corridor. • Historic Context Themes In order to place all historic resources in their proper context, the historic context themes must be developed. The State Historical Society of Wisconsin has developed a Cultural Resource Management program which has identified the historic themes which are prevalent in the state. These themes are developed within a statewide context, and are used to develop local contexts... Development of historic themes also assists historical resource organizations, such as the LaCrosse County Historic Sites Commission, in identifying rare and unusual property types and styles. Based upon the recommendations mentioned above, the scope of work for this project included an intensive survey of properties within the boundaries of the LaCrosse River Valley Heritage Corridor and the development of historic contextual themes which are pertinent to events and properties located within the boundaries of the LaCrosse River Valley Heritage Corridor. The methodology for producing the final survey report will be outlined below. Field Survey The field work for the intensive survey was conducted in November-December 1994. Among the recommendations in that earlier report was to intensively inventory the fifty properties identified as potentially eligible, and add approximately twenty more to the intensive survey list. During the 2 field inventory, an additional 17 properties were identified by the field staff, including properties in the villages of West Salem, Bangor and Onalaska, as well as the rural areas. Additional houses, farmsteads, parks and bridges were added to the inventory. Black and white photographs were taken of each property, as well as notes were taken for each property on description, date, and other pertinent information. All properties were plotted on a site map. Photo inventory cards were generated and all information about each property was entered into the State Historical Society of Wisconsin's database, HistoriBase. Burns Town Hall, LC 104/20 Historical Research Historical research related to the LaCrosse River Valley Heritage Corridor project was tailored to meet a couple of different goals. First, general historical sources about the history of LaCrosse County were consulted in order to write the historic overview section. These same histories, as well as specific community histories, and sources about ethnic populations in the area, were utilized to write the thematic chapters. Finally, city and county tax rolls, Register of Deeds records and oral interviews were utilized to established construction dates and first owner names for many of the specific properties. Most of the information utilized to compile this report was obtained from the LaCrosse Public r Library, Murphy Library at University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, and the LaCrosse County offices. The historical content of this report and intensive survey is not intended to present the definitive r history of the LaCrosse River Valley. The intent of this report is to document periods of the region's historical development in relationship to existing standing buildings and structures. It should be noted that sites of an archaeological nature were not included in this report, however a r number of pertinent studies have been made about the prehistory of the LaCrosse River Valley. r Identification and Evaluation of Significant Properties As part of an ongoing evaluation of properties for intensive historical research, an analysis of r historical data on particular buildings was determined by the consultant in terms of their historical and architectural significance. Opinions of significance are based on National Register of Historic Places criteria utilized to guide State and Federal agencies in evaluating nominations for the r National Register. The criteria are as follows, according to National Register Bulletin 15: How r to Apply