Waldwic

Edgar Sawyer was a shrewd man of business, a bank president, owner of the Oshkosh Gas Light Company and the Sawyer Cattle Company of Texas; he was wealthy man.  Mr. Sawyer had a mansion designed by William Waters and built on Oshkosh's Algoma Street in 1908, replacing a dwelling from the 1870's.  In addition the Sawyers had long maintained a summer house along the south shore of Lake Butte des Morts just west of Oshkosh.  The first house, Oakley Cottage was quite rustic and was replace by something less so. Known as Waldwic, the story goes that when the gas light company refused to run a line to the place, Mr. Sawyer bought the company and his summer home soon had gas lights.  The new structure was eventually expanded upon with several additions but by 1914 Edger Sawyer wanted a summer place that was up to date, comfortable, capacious and commodious.  

He again turned to William Waters for what the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern of April 23rd, 1915 called a "A substantial addition".  The article describes recent improvements in landscaping and new entry gate as well as the new house. " The addition includes a spacious veranda along the front, a reception room to the right of the entrance and a big living room, and, on the second floor, four commodious bedrooms. A sleeping porch for Mr. Sawyer has been built off his bedroom on the second floor."  The veranda was twenty three by twenty five feet and was said to be of a colonial style.  The lake end had a fireplace flanked by swings windows and the front was open but could be screened or windowed in cool weather.  The aforementioned reception room was fifteen feet square and the living room seventeen by forty feet with a fireplace like that on the veranda and finished off with quarter sawed oak.  Mr. Sawyer's sleeping porch was just above the entry and was supported by brick columns. There were two bedrooms above the veranda and two above the living room, all had white enamel trim and mahogany doors.  In 1947 the Sawyer family sold the place to William M. Brown of Missouri and since that time it may have had many owners, some of whom have made changes such as; bricking up veranda openings and placing mismatched windows in there place.  But all in all the house looks much as it did nearly one hundred years ago.