Wisconsin Veterans Home, Part One

At the time of the Civil War, Wisconsin was little more then a pioneer frontier but the state managed to send 12,300 to fright for the cause of the union.  Of the survivors, many of the once health young men returned crippled or in ill health.  The National Solder's Home in Milwaukee would only accommodate the veterans but not their wives.  The Milwaukee home also proved inadequate for the number of veteran wishing to be admitted.  There was as well the question of the widows of veterans who often found the county poor house to be their only recourse.  The Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization, formed a committee and worked with the state to build a home for Wisconsin's veterans.  A search for a suitable location was conducted in 1887 and narrowed to six cities; Berlin, Waupaca, New Lisbon, Evansville, Sheboygan and Watertown.  The Greenwood Park Hotel site on Rainbow Lake was chosen and was purchased by the city of Waupaca along with seventy eight acres which was in turn donated to the Veterans Home.  Remodeling of the 1881 hotel began at once and plans for more building got under way as well.                              

On April 25, 1889 there was an article in the Oshkosh Times which told of Architect Waters' plans for several building to be constructed in the coming season at the home.  There was mention of a hotel like building to house the veterans and ten to twelve cottages.  The next month there was yet another write up quoting Commandant, Captain Woodnorth who had been to see Mr. Waters.  Among the improvements mentioned were a water works system, dining, kitchen and ladies hall, superintendent and doctor's building, store room, ice house, a large barn and twenty cottages. All were to be completed a ready for occupancy by the winter.     

One building not mention was the 21st Regiment Club House, a charming Queen Anne Style structure said to have been one of the finest club houses.  It was later known as Joseph H. Woodnorth Hall and later was used as the nurses quarters before being demolished in 1971.  The superintendents residence was a striking Queen Anne Style building with a long sloping roof and a most unusual corner belvedere.    

Not of a picturesque style, the Dining Hall was utilitarian in form and function.  All meals were cooked and served from this building and the second floor was the women's dormitory.  It was located just behind Marden Hall; the former Greenwood Park Hotel.  

Across the road to Waupaca was Marston Hall a beautiful Queen Anne Style, hotel like building. Two octagon portions flanked the central pavilion with a veranda along the front and at center was a two story portico.  On the back side of the hall were three wings left, right and center which held resident rooms.  Because of the halls distance from the rest of the campus it was known as Canada and it was a hardship in the winter for residences to walk to the dining hall for meals, a kitchen and dining room were then added.  Marston was torn down in July of 1985, after ninety five years of service.  

The Lake House

The economic panic of 1893 had lasted a number of years and recovery was underway by 1896, with more construction of all kinds.  Architect Waters designed a bank in Waupaca, a summer retreat for the Jesuits and a school in Oshkosh.  Styles were changing as well, Queen Anne was passe, replaced by Colonial Revival and Neoclassical styles.  An emerging style of house at that time was what has been dubbed the American  Foursquare but perhaps known by another moniker at the time.  Mr. Waters drew plans for many fine homes based on the Foursquare style, the Frank Lake residence on Menasha's Park Street being one of the best.  It was a large house with many windows, especially on the front elevation which faced the park to the west.  A full porch, five windows on the second floor and grand dormer dominated the front of the building.  The first floor was clad with clapboard and the upper stories with shingles.  It was enlarged at sometime but the addition was seamless.

Mr. Lake was born in New York state in the late 1850's and grew up there, he married, came west to Chicago and became a salesman for Menasha Wooden Ware.  He was a hard worker and savvy businessman, he came a stockholder and in 1889 moved to Menasha to serve as treasurer of the company.  He guided the firm through economic hardship as president and was a tireless promoter of the city of Menasha.  After his retirement from the company he moved to Winnetka, Illinois where he past away in 1939.

E. E. Stevens

The history of Oshkosh could boast of many fine architects: Adam Bell, William Waters, William C. Klapproth and E. E. Stevens are some of the noteworthy names which come to mind.  Ephraim Eldorus Stevens was born in 1851 in Waldo County, Maine and moved with the family to Oshkosh in 1852, one of twelve children born to Hiram and Rosella Stevens.  Hiram operated a lime kiln across the lake and was a dealer of bricks and other building materials.  At the start of the Civil War he and his two eldest sons joined up, Hiram fell ill and died in 1863, Ephraim was thirteen.  The young Stevens attended Oshkosh public schools as well as the Baptist church.  His older brothers taught him masonry and carpentry, by 1876 he went to Green Bay to study architecture in the office D. M. Harteau with whom he later formed a partnership.  He also formed a life partnership that same year when he married Maggie Jacobs of New York.  In 1878 he and his wife returned to Oshkosh and started a family and business.   

                              Several  Oshkosh schools were of his design.

The Stevens family was growing too, in time Maggie would give birth to five daughters, namely; Viola Maude, Gracie May, Catherine Rosalie, Addie D. and Bessie.  Like his brother Edward P, Ephraim worked as a contractor and builder as well as architect. Stevens established his office on the second floor of 158 N. Main Street and did in 1895 employ the services of Wm. C. Klapproth and Alonzo Austin.  As a contractor Stevens worked on a few buildings designed by William Waters, most notably the First Ward School, he also competed with Waters for the design of many buildings, the library, South Park School Merrill School and the High School were just a few.

                                          

                                      The building at 158 North Main Street

The decade of the the 1890's seem to have been the the high water mark for Mr. Stevens' architectural career with commissions for churches, commercial buildings, a hospital and many fine dwelling for wealthy clients.  All his buildings seem to have had a distinctive flair and unusual yet handsome look about them.      

Architect Stevens' residential works were of the most outstanding character, large and impressive, they were noticed as artistic and capacious.  The well to do of Oshkosh sought his services for their housing needs for new construction as well as alterations.  For instance Orville Beach owned an ageing and passe' Italianate style house on Algoma Street, transformed by Stevens to a dwelling more au courant for its' day.     

E. E. Stevens lived most of his life in Oshkosh, so it is little wonder that he would come to love the city and work toward its' improvement.  To that end he became interested in city politics, first winning election as the Forth Ward alderman, not once but twice, in 1881 and 1885.  He didn't stop there however and in 1889 ran for and was elected mayor of the city.  As mayor he saw the need for city parks and was responsible for the acquisition of the land for both North and South Parks, the former being purchased from Col. Lucius Miller for $25,000 and the latter from Samuel Osborn.  Stevens' visionary purchases were not received well by the voter of Oshkosh and Mayor Stevens served but one term.  The voters must have forgiven him as he was elected to the State Senate in 1904 and served until 1905.     

The Stevens lived in a large house on Merritt Avenue near the lake and was likely built in 1878, designed by his own hand.  He died there in 1907.  The city of Oshkosh has much to be thankful for in the legacy left by E. E. Stevens.  His vision and ability made the city what it is today.  

Stevens House

About a year ago I published an elevation of a house which came from a collection of sketches gathered by a young William Waters Jr.  I had no information about the house but concluded that the dwelling dated from the 1870's.  A few months back an astute reader recognized the house as being on Merritt Avenue in Oshkosh.  I'm not one to pass up a good mystery so I started my search with State Historical Society and photos from a 1983 building survey of Oshkosh.  There I found a photograph of  919 Merritt Ave, formerly numbered 274 before 1957.  A comparison of the two show them to be similar but not identical.  Perhaps the house was the work of William Waters or perhaps not, it's hard to say.  

Next I searched old Oshkosh City Directories and made an interesting discovery.  In the 1891 directory, the first one to publish a street directory, Edward P. Stevens, a builder and contractor in list as the resident of 274 Merritt Ave.  Further the 1866 directory lists Mrs. Stevens, (sic) s s Merritt b Bowen and Hazel and indeed 274 cum 919 Merritt is on the south side of the street between Bowen and Hazel.  Rosella Stevens was widow of Hiram Stevens who in 1852 moved his family from Waldo County, Maine to the village of Oshkosh.  Hiram became a dealer of wood and lime, operating a kiln across the lake at Clifton (High Cliff).

In 1861 he and his eldest son William enlisted in Oshkosh Company B, Third Wisconsin Cavalry and served a three year attachment with Western army in Missouri, his younger son Edward joined the next year.  The riggers of service took a harsh toll on Hiram and he returned to Oshkosh and died in March of 1863.

Rosella had twelve children four of whom died as infants the rest grew to be adults.  William O. Stevens survived the war and became a successful stone cutter and mason.  Edward P. also a war survivor was a mason, builder and contractor.  Daughters Addie and Lilly married and moved to Milwaukee and Missouri, respectively. Sons Fredrick B. and Charles O. moved to Suamico in Brown county, while George a lumberman lived in Menominee, Michigan.  Ephraim Eldorus Stevens worked as a carpenter, mason and apprenticed with architect with D. M. Harteau of Green Bay, later forming a partnership.  In 1878 he returned to Oshkosh to open his own office.  There is so much to tell of E. E. Stevens, I intend to devote more posts him and his work. 

Bills' Banks, Part Six

This post will be the last in the series about the banks of William Waters.  All but one of the buildings in this post have been covered in other entries.  The First National Bank of Marshfield was mentioned in the 2/21/14 post "Marshfield Rebuilt".  The bank was adjacent to the Tremont Hotel and was stylistically similar,

featuring Queen Anne details.  The structure was of cream colored brick, two stories high.  Like many of architect Waters' banks it had a chamfered corner capped by a stylish pediment.  There were along the top of the walls recessed panel, about a foot square, the same as those seen on the Old National Bank of Waupaca. Eventually the building was annex by the hotel and a third story was added but the pediment remained.  

The subject of the post "Buildings of the North, Part One" were the banks at Phillips and Merrill, with photographic records of only of the building at Merrill.  Built in 1881 for Ross, McCord and Company the edifice had space for a bank, three stores and second floor offices.  It's typical of many of Mr. Waters' commercial structures of the time, with a chamfered corner and small triplet windows just below a date inscribed pediment.  

Only the Shawano County bank was neglected.  The bank was  organized in 1886, with C. M. Upham as president.  The Oshkosh Weekly Northwestern of February 3, 1887, under the heading "Short Notes" cites architect Waters as having drawn plans for a $6,000 structure in Shawano, the newspaper has no more specific information than that.  A notice in December of 1887 speaks of the plans the architect had drawn for a new school house, from which I concluded the $6,000 in the earlier article to be the Shawano County Bank.    

The bank was two stories high, built of cream colored brick and Queen Anne Style. There were shops in the basement, offices on the first and second floors with the bank occupying most of the first floor.  Entry to the bank was gained through double door set in a chamfered corner above which was a set of double windows with an art glass transom.  A brick work cornice run along the building top and the corner was an elegant pediment.  It was unclear as to the precise location of the building, only to say it stood on a corner.  At some time the building was enlarged with a sympathetic addition which may or may not have been the work of Mr. Waters.  It was perhaps about 1910 when the bank became known as the First National Bank of Shawano with W. C. Zachow as president.

Bills' Banks, Part Five

These next two banks were both in Waupaca county, sort of.  One was in Waupaca and the other was New London.  New London was one of those rare communities which lay in two counties and the bank was on the Waupaca side.  There wasn't much information on Farmers State Bank of New London, except to say it was organized in 1912 with local businessman Silas Wright as president.  The bank was located on the southwest corner of N. Pearl Street and E. Water Street just across the street from city hall.  The name of the bank appeared on a list of blue prints inventoried from the Waters' office after his passing.  It is unclear to what extent Mr. Waters was responsible for the bank building, photographic evidence suggest a job of remodeling and the building looks as if it dated from the nineteenth century rather than the early twentieth century.  The altered front had a large arched window, the entrance was also changed to an arch like that of many other Waters' buildings.  The first  floor was remodeled yet again when it became jewelry store and the building was demolished many years ago to improve traffic movement over the Wolf River bridge.     

In 1893 William Waters got the commission to design a new building for the Old National Bank of Waupaca.  The building constructed of pressed red brick with limestone trim was located on a prominent Main Street corner.  The structure rose three stories and in addition to the bank, had two retail spaces on the ground floor, offices on the second floor and on the third floor Knights of Pythias' Castle Hall.  Of a different style, the building was very similar in size and lay out to the Commercial Bank of Appleton.  The bank entrance was an arched opening in a chamfered corner and to the right was a large arched window next to a store leased to a pharmacist.  There was in the pediment of the chamfered corner a set of triplet windows with arched lintels of limestone.  

Along the side of the building was a row of windows, a stairway to the upper floors and another store front. At the top of the walls there was brick work of recessed square panels layout in row and topped the a limestone capstone.  In 1914 the druggists' lease ended and the bank took over the erstwhile drug store, expanding and remodeling the first floors' front.  In the mid 1970's the bank moved to a new building and the old building nearly met the wrecking ball but was purchased and renovated.  

Bills' Banks, Part Four

I've chosen to pair the two banks in this post, not for their proximity in location but for their proximity of design.   One was in Ripon and the other in Stevens Point, both were Romanesque in style.  In the Oshkosh Northwestern Weekly's biographical article about architect Waters of June 25, 1891 a Ripon bank is listed but not a bank in Stevens Point.  Among the many images found in the Waters archives of the Oshkosh Public Museum was a building of rough hewn stone with a pediment holding a set of small arched topped windows but no identification.  While researching the Ripon opera house I noticed in a photograph of the town square a similar building and concluded it was the Waters' designed bank listed in the newspaper. 

       

The bank in Ripon was the German National Bank which was built in 1891, its' construction unheralded by any of the Oshkosh press.  Constructed of rough hewn limestone it was perhaps thirty feet wide and two stories high.  On the ground floor to the left was the entrance; double doors with an arched transom, flanked by twin columns which supported a stone lintel and pediment and to the right of the doors was a large square window.  Above the first floor window were two windows and another set of smaller windows to the left just above the doors.  The stone work was of regular shaped blocks, either rectangular or square and laid in even courses.  With the onset of World War one the bank changed its' name to the First National Bank and replaced the building in the early 1920's with a large Art Deco Style edifice.

The mystery of the unidentified bank remained. I had no idea where to look but searched old images from cities around the state, old postcards of Stevens Point brought an answer when I spotted the building in a picture of Main Street.  The accompanying explanation designated the building as the Citizens National Bank, built in 1895.  The bank was a  tour de force of Romanesque Style architecture with retail space in the basement and two floors above for banking and office use.  The first floor sat on a high foundation and the front elevation was dominated by two features; to the left a large arched window and at the right the front door.  The entrance was gained by a short flight of steps and as with the Ripon bank there was a set double doors with an arched transom set in a portico with twin pillars on each side supporting brackets.  These brackets held up a stone lintel inscribed the the word "BANK" and above that  was a pediment rising past the windows of the second floor.  The fenestration of the second floor was like that of the Ripon bank with two large windows above the arched window of the first floor and two smaller windows above the door.  The second floor widows were double hung window with transoms, above the windows to the left were two square lights and three lights above the smaller windows to the right.  A pediment with a set of triplet window capped the facade.  The stone work was of regular shaped blocks, either square or rectangular not laid in even courses but in a random pattern.  Large stone lintels topped the openings of the second floor. In the 1907 book Along the Wisconsin River by A. Decker there was this quote, " Few banks in the country are housed in finer quarters, the elegant building it occupies being not an enduring monument to the business sagacity of its backers, but it is a rich and magnificent acquisition to the architectural splendor of the city."  The splendor of the architecture was appreciated only until 1921 when the facade was replaced by a neoclassical style front.