Wittenberg High School

The Shawano county village of Wittenberg was founded in the early 1880's with the Rev. E. L. Homme as one of its' prime movers.  He's even credited with naming the place and like its' German name sake it was a center of learning and hot bed of Lutheranism. The Reverend Homme, in 1881 formed Wittenbergs' first house of worship, Immanual's Church.  Later he built an orphanage and home for the aged.  There was a time when the village had seven schools; Wittenberg Public School, Wittenberg High School, St Paul Lutheran School, The Government Indian School, Bethany Indian Mission, Homme's Orphan School and The Wittenberg Academy 

The subject of this posting will be the Wittenberg High School.  It was February 19, 1897 when a note appeared in the Oshkosh Northwestern regarding sealed bids for the construction of a new high school in Wittenberg.  The plan  for which could be viewed at the office of William Waters and the office of contractor W. G. Heins in Wittenberg.  That's all the newspaper had to say on the subject.  The proposed structure was based on the same plan used for Oshkosh's Smith School built in 1895.  With but a few minor differences the schools were identical, with the biggest contrast being the brick color; Smith School was a light hue and the high school was a dark shade.  The building had a transverse layout, a central pavilion had two arched entrances behind which steps led to the front door. Above were sets of three arched windows while the wings on either side included two arched double windows on the first floor and four single arched window above.  This pattern was repeated along the sides.  The building was topped with a hip roof with ample eves supported by long brackets.  For nearly ninety years the building served the community but was replaced, falling to the wrecking ball in the mid 1980's.

Kewaunee County Jail

The available histories on Kewaunee County don't provide much information on the founding of the county or the subsequent building of the jail.  The county was partitioned from Door County in 1852 and Kewaunee was named the county seat.  Elections were held, a board was put into place and in 1856 they held their first meeting.  Shortly after the county organization, building were erected in Kewaunee for government use and served for a time. In 1873 a substantial court house was constructed and in 1876 the county hired William Waters to design a Sheriff's residence and jail.  The concept of combining the sheriff's residence and jail was not uncommon in the Midwest and was seen in several Wisconsin counties.

The jail was of Italianate design very much in vogue at the time.  The brick building employed a transverse layout with a symmetrical front elevation.  A central portico and ornate canopy covered entry with a window above dominated the front.  On either side of the portico were large window on the first floor and petite windows above.  A noteworthy feature was the board and batten siding which formed a frieze just below the eves which were supported by large brackets.  The hipped roof had a flat top with a low balustrade around the perimeter and several chimneys   On the back side was the jail wing of the structure.  The fenestration consisted of small bared windows along the sides.  The wing had a  low sloped hip roof with a large chimney at the center of the back wall. The building was used until 1969 and survives to this day as a museum.  It's had minor alterations with the removal of the canopy, steps and a chimney. This is one of three Waters' designed structures to be converted to museum use; others being the Rogers' residence or "Hearthstone" in Appleton and the Edger Sawyer's residence, now the Oshkosh Public Museum.  

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