Green Lake County Courthouse

The Territory of  Wisconsin was made up of a few very large counties, as a state these were divided into smaller units as the population grew and more efficient government was needed.  Brown County covered an eminence amount of real-estate, from which Marquette County was formed and in 1858, Green Lake County split from Marquette with Berlin as the governmental seat of the embryonic county.  Some growing pains were to follow.  In 1862, by a vote of the citizens the seat was moved to Dartford a more centrally located; all be it smaller community.  The following year a courthouse was built there and the matter seemed to be settled.  In 1866 a faction favoring Princeton seized county records and moved the seat to that city but the state Supreme Court ordered the return of government to Dartford.  Attempts to bring Ripon into the county and make it the county seat failed as well.

Dartford survived as the home of county government and in January of 1899 a newspaper article announced the intention of the county to build a new courthouse and jail as planned by William Waters.  The drawings had been done by architect Waters sometime earlier but no action was taken until 1899.  The plans called for a two story structure with basement, 81' x 43' of red pressed brick and gray limestone trim, steam heat and all modern improvements.  The total cost of the courthouse was to be $15,000, the separate jail and sheriff's residence adjacent to the courthouse was priced at $10,000.  Both buildings were of a similar style; the courthouse was neoclassical with a front portico replete with ionic columns.  The fenestration was symmetrical, with the first floor window featuring jack arch lintels and the second floor with  roman arches and  keystone of limestone.  The buildings' hip roof was capped by a demure bell tower of an appropriate style. 

The jail had fewer classical trapping than the courthouse but was built of the same red brick.  It too was a study in symmetry with a central porch and balcony gracing the front elevation flanked by eight windows.  The windows on the lower level had jack arch lintels with a limestone key, brick work on that floor had recessed courses every two feet or so giving the wall a segmented look. The windows of the upper floor were topped by a frieze and the substantial eves were supported by numerous brackets, atop it all was a bell-cast hip roof.  Over the years changes were made to the building; in 1914 a Waters planned addition was erected along with other repairs, this may have been when the bell tower was removed.  Later there were other changes as well, Dratford was renamed Green Lake and another addition was built in the 60's or 70's.  The courthouse continued to serve for well over a century, in 2008 the county board voted to build a new courthouse which was completed in 2010, the erstwhile courthouse was sold and may find new life as a community center.  

Wood County Courthouse

Wood County Wisconsin was once part of Brown County and by the 1860's had grown in population enough to warrant independence.  The lumber industry was the catalyst for this growth with many mills located along the Wisconsin River.  The twin cities of Grand Rapids and Centralia were prominent communities and Grand Rapids received the coveted honor as the seat of county government.  In 1866 a wooden courthouse was built and was useful for a time but by 1881 it was clear that a new building was needed.

Plans for brick structure were drawn by William Waters and the construction contract let to a Green Bay firm.  The former courthouse was sold and put to use as a cigar factory which went up in smoke in 1885. The new courthouse sat on a high limestone foundation with a main pavilion to the left of a soaring tower.  At the center of the pavilion was the front entrance, gained by a flight of nine steps.  Limestone accents graced the top of the arched opening.  Above there was a large triplet window with a Roman arch with limestone accents as well.  Along each side of the pavilion at its center was a cross gable with triplet window on the first floor and an arched triplet window on the second floor, echoing that on the front elevation.  Small double windows occupied the peak of each gable.  The tower above the roof line had eight side and four louvered openings also with Roman arches matching the windows of the second floor.  A domed roof capped the tower.  The building's floor plan seemed to be the reverse of that use in the Price, Oneida and Waushara County courthouses used later that same decade.       

The histories I've research are vague about the exact date but at some point, perhaps in the 1890's Mr. Waters was asked to draw plan for a substantial addition to the courthouse.  The size of the courthouse was doubled and went from asymmetrical to symmetrical.  The tower now at the center of the structure was given  even greater height with the addition of an octagonal peaked roof. The wings on either side of the central turret were mirror images.  When completed, one was unaware that the courthouse had been altered.  The years past and the two cites became one; Wisconsin Rapids.  The building continued to serve Wood County  until it was replaced in the 1950's

Three Wisconsin Courthouses

In all William Waters drew planes for six courthouses as well as additions to the Winnebago County Courthouse.  The architect had remarkable years from 1880 to 1888 for in that time three courthouses of his design were erected.   The preliminary drawings upon which all three were based were done perhaps in 1880; a Queen Anne style building with a tower to the left of a main pavilion and gabled dormers along each side.  They were the Oneida, Price and Waushara county courthouses. 

The first of these triplet building was the Price County Courthouse in Phillips built in 1880; of wooden frame construction, with a Mansard roof atop the tower but in general of a Queen Style.  The trip north proved good for business as architect Waters drew up plans for a bank and school in the same village.  All three building served until the summer of 1894 which was hot and dry; on July 24th wind driven forest fires moved toward Phillips.  Many residences fled the flame via a south bound freight train while the conflagration consumed the community.  In 1887 a very similar courthouse was built in Rhinelander, Oneida County.  After years of service a new, larger replacement was built and the former courthouse became the Oneida County Normal School but was later demolished.

Also in 1888 Waushara County built a new courthouse based on the same set of plans.  Although Queen Anne in style this building was of brick or had a brick veneer with a bell shaped tower roof similar to that of the Oneida Courthouse.  The light colored brick was accented with decorative bands of dark brick.  The fenestration matched that of the other two buildings, with arched windows on the second floor.  For the next forty years the courthouse was a landmark in Wautoma, until April 30th, 1928 when a fire started in the basement and quickly engulfed the entire structure.  After the blaze, a chimney left standing and swaying in the wind was dynamited out of concern it might fall and do harm.  What remained of the walls soon collapsed, the building was a total loss.

Waupaca County Courthouse

The first count courthouse Mr. Waters planed was in Waupaca.  The county was formed in the early 1850's and by 1880 had become a prosperous center of industry and commerce.  Such a county would need a modern and substantial edifice from which to conduct county affairs.  The county board selected a square in the center of the city of Waupaca as the site of the new courthouse and William Waters won the job of designing the building.  Construction began in 1880 and was finished before January 1, 1882.  The courthouse was in the Queen Anne Style; two stories high of a light colored red brick with contrasting bands at the window tops and bottoms.  On the front elevation a central tower with an entrance was flanked by wings with a high hipped roof with dormers.  Each side of the building also had entrances and a three story tower capped a peaked hip roof.  The building continued to serve for nearly a century with some additions and alterations.  A large wing was add in 1903 and at sometime the hipped roof and towers were removed, perhaps for easy of  maintenance.  The removal of the roof gave the building an odd unfinished look.  The county built a new courthouse in 1978 and demolished the old one making way for a new library.  Architect Waters' foray to Waupaca also garnered more business with commissions in Waupaca for commercial buildings, homes and various projects on the Chain-O-Lakes. 

Oshkosh Churches, P. S.

This missive will be two posts in one, both dealing with Trinity Episcopal Church.  The first part should have appeared in the post " Oshkosh Flats, Real or Imagined."   Of all the churches covered in the preceding entries Trinity Episcopal had the most colorful construction history.  The church had long occupied the corner 

of Algoma and Light Streets and also owned the the lot behind the church where the the Women's Guild Hall now stands.  Shortly after the new church was finished, in February of 1891 the vestry announced its intention to build a row of flats on the property.  William Waters drew up plans which called for four brick buildings of three floors each.  Each floors' flat would have a parlor, dining room, kitchen, three bedrooms and closets.  The monthly rent for the first floor was to be $8, the second $12 and the top floor for $10 thus making for a tidy income.  A fifth building with a hall for church event and rental space above was also part of the scheme.  The Oshkosh newspapers were enthusiastic supporters of the building project, citing the need for that style of housing and the general up building of the city.  However by May the project was abandoned and there was no reason given. Instead Mr. Waters was asked to plan a rectory for the site.  He drew a modified Queen Anne Style, 50' by 50' fronting on Light Street with verandas on the front and north sides of the house.  In early June there was another development; Capt Bowen offered to sell his house on Church St. for use as the rectory.  It was tempting offer and was accepted by the vestry in mid July.  In 1917 the Women's Guild Hall was built on the lot.  

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Trinity Episcopal Church is its uncanny resemblance to St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Lynchburg Virginia. St. Paul's was designed by prominent Philadelphia architect 

Frank Miles Day.  Architect Day was fourteen years the junior of Mr. Waters and received his early education at home, taught by his father.  In 1883 he graduated from the Towne School of the University of Pennsylvania and then went on to study in England, followed by apprenticeships under two architects.  He distinguished himself in 1885 by winning a prize from the Architectural Association of London.  In 1887 Mr. Day opened his own office in Philadelphia and soon became a sought after architect known for his Ivy League academic buildings and county homes.  Mr. Day was the architect of the Carnegie endowed Madison Public Library on Williamson St.built in 1904; now the Grieg Club. 

The St. Paul commission would have come early in Mr. Day's career for the decision to build the new church wasn't made until 1887 with the edifice being completed in 1895 and the steeple in 1906.  What connection if any Frank Miles Day had to William Waters is unclear.  Mr. Waters was a well established regional architect by the time Day commenced to practice his craft and Waters may have gained Day's notice.  Perhaps members of St. Paul's congregation had seen the exquisite Oshkosh church and asked that it serve as a model for their new structure, both are Episcopal churches.  It is impossible to say what accounts for the similarities but it's undeniable 

Oshkosh Churches, Part Three

In part one of the Churches of Oshkosh  I stated that Mr. Waters designed twelve and one half churches in that city.  That half church was his first religious building of the twentieth century and was more school than church; it was an addition to the First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Church and Division Streets.  The  original structure built in 1893 was designed by W.A. Holbrook an architect who started out in Oshkosh but moved to Milwaukee and partnered with E. T. Mix.   The congregation was growing and by mid May of 1906 a committee announced it's intention to build an addition to hold Sunday school rooms.  William Waters was hired to provide a suitably plan.  The process moved rapidly; bids were accepted and the job was let to J. T. Raycraft and C. R. Meyer who had teamed up for the task.  Architect Waters was careful in his design and material selection in order to produce an addition that was harmonious with the rest of the building.  The addition measured thirty seven feet on Church Street and one hundred fifteen feet on the adjacent wall, holding twenty four class rooms and a kindergarten room.  In the recent past alterations were made but deftly handled  as to be sympathetic with the extant structure. 

The next two churches Waters designed in Oshkosh have an English appearance to them.  Both have short steeples when compared to his churches of the 1870's with their soaring spires.  The walls and towers are buttressed as of old, with Tudor or Gothic arched openings.  In 1908 the First Congregational Church once again sought the services of Waters for the plans of a new church.  The building planned by him in 1873 was only thirty five years old but the congregation needed more space.  As early as July of 1899 there were discussions of a new church or an addition.  Mr. Waters had even drawn plans for such an addition but nothing came of it.  The church seemed ready to proceed in 1908, the thought being to build a new church to the west and remodel the old as social hall and Sunday school,  In July of 1909 a description of the proposed edifice as drawn by Mr. Waters was published.  The building was said to be Gothic in style; 72' x 115' and connected to the old structure by two cloisters, front and back.  The next month saw the notice for sealed bids on the foundation work, with the job going to C. R. Meyer & Sons.  There was yet another notice posted in May of 1910 for the construction of the "superstructure".  Once again C. R. Meyer got the job and the building moved a pace.  By September of 1911 the interior work was nearly finished with the work being done by Mr. Raycraft.  The building remains much as it was with minor alterations; the porte cochere was removed from the west side of the church and the clock no longer grace the steeple.  In the 1960's the old church was razed and replaced by a new hall with class rooms and offices.      

St. John Evangelical Lutheran congregation was formed in September of 1907.  Needing a place to worship a house was purchased at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and Union Street, in 1908 and re-purposed as a chapel.  By 1913 the congregants were ready for a more permanent home and asked William Waters to devise a plan for a new church to be located on the corner of North Main St. and Lincoln Avenue.  Ground was broken in April of 1914, followed in June by the laying of the corner stone.  The first service was held in the basement in December of that year. Work continued on the church for nearly another year, culminating with the dedication on Thanksgiving Day, 1915.     

Mr. Waters employed a building material he was familiar with, rough hewn lime stone.  The design showed an asymmetrical front elevation with a spire less steeple at the right.  The nave had a gabled roof and a large Gothic arched window occupied the front wall, below there was a three arched opening behind which were the front doors.  The design included buttresses at the corners of the nave and steeple as well as between each window along the side walls.  A modern hall and Sunday school stand adjacent to the church which remains as it was constructed.  

Oshkosh Churches, Part Two

The decade of the eighteen eighties saw the end of the economic recession that had plagued the county for many years.  The Waters' firm was doing great business, getting commissions from all over the state.  Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque were the latest styles in vogue and Waters embraced them wholeheartedly.                                                                     

In August of 1882 there appeared a notice for bids on a church for Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, the bids to be received and the plans viewed a the office of William Waters.  The newspapers didn't pick up on the story again until 1884 with an article on the dedication of the new church.  The description states construction began a year earlier on a Light St. lot which cost $1,200.  The structure itself cost $6,000, so enthusiastic was the congregation that by the time of the dedication half the debt was retired.  The building was in the Queen Anne Style with two entrances on the front elevation above which were a set triplet windows.  The roof was topped this a stout yet elegant steeple.  Inside there was seating for 250 people, the walls were frescoed, windows were of rolled cathedral glass and carpeting throughout.  Movable panels behind the pulpit separated the Sunday School rooms from the church proper.  Also known as the Salem Church, the congregation was active until 1933 when it closed due to declining membership.  The land was sold to the city and became part of the high school campus.    

Also in September of 1882 came word that the Reverend C. Dowidat of Peace Lutheran Church was intent on forming a new congregation and build a new church at Nebraska and Ninth Streets.  William Waters had prepared the drawing for a structure which was to be 42' x 65' with a 16' x 16' x 100' tower at a total cost $5,000.  The following day there was a notice for reception of bids at architect Waters' office.  That was about all the Oshkosh press had to say on the subject.  The church was wooden frame construction in the Queen Anne style and served Grace Lutheran parish until it was replaced in 1933 by a large Lannon stone edifice.

Perhaps one of the most magnificent building ever conceived by Mr. Waters was Trinity Episcopal Church; a paragon of Richardsonian Romanesque design.  The Oshkosh Episcopal community of the mid nineteenth century worshiped at several locations, the main church being Trinity Episcopal a Carpenter Gothic Style building erected in 1857 on the corner of Algoma and Light Streets.  After some time the church wished to consolidated worship in one venue and the satellite chaples were closed.  This relieved the inadequacies of the old church and by April of 1886 there was talk of a new church, the talk vanished by the first part of May, only to reappear by the end of the month.  On June third of 1886 it was announced the the building committee was considering plans drawn by William Waters and adopted them a week later.  Work began almost at once on the lime stone structure that would seat 750 parishioners and work continued for the next three years. Throughout that time the press was devoted to covering the progress of construction, culminating in December of 1889 with a lengthy article on the dedication of the new church.  The church has endured and looks as it did when built save for a new entrance added to the west side of the building.  The addition was done with such care and sensitivity that it appears to be part of the original design   

In December of  1888 the St. John Universalist Church Society was looking to build a house of worship.  It was reported that a lot at the intersection of Union and Church Streets had been purchased and plans for a building prepared by architect Waters.  The next month the papers revealed that work would start in the spring; Queen Anne would be the style and the church was to be 38' x 58' with two front entrances at a total cost of $4,000.  The church was dedicated in November of 1889 and was well attended at first.  By the turn of the twentieth century however the congregation was in financial trouble but managed to limp along until disbanding in 1921.  The building was sold to the Seventh Day Adventists and later became The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel.  The church still serves but  perhaps to avoid frequent and costly exterior painting  the building was covered in maintenance free siding, the effect of which was to obliterate much of the architectural detail and charm.    

Another Waters master work in lime stone was the Algoma Street Methodist Church, a large yet graceful structure built in 1891 trough '92, in the Richardsonian Romanesque Style.  The congregation had been worshiping in a wooden frame building erected in 1872 at the corner of Algoma and James Streets; James would later become New York Avenue. In May of 1885 there were rumors that the church was to build a new bigger house of worship.  Not until January of 1890 was any news made public about plans and in April an advertisement for bids appeared in the local press.  Bids would be received and plans could be viewed at the office of William Waters.  Construction was shortly undertaken by C. R. Meyer Construction Company, a long description was printed in July of 1890 in which it states the outside dimensions to be eighty one and a half feet by eighty feet.  The tower was called out at eighty feet high and was to hold a 1,600 pound bell with accommodations for a clock.  The clock was never installed but there was a drawing of the tower with clock faces.  The new "Temple" was dedicated on June 4th 1892, the building remains much as it was built and has been meticulously maintained over the past century.