East Side Walking Tour
“Note: The following ‘online tour’ has been adapted from The East Side Historic District: A Walking Tour, a booklet produced by Landscape Research, Ltd for the Commission in 2001.
The East Side Historic District rests atop the plateau south of the bend of the Yahara River, just above Stoughton’s cluster of old tobacco warehouses, lumber yards, and the Milwaukee and St. Paul Depot.
When the plat of Stoughton was made in 1847 by town founder Luke Stoughton, this area was farmland and remained in agricultural use for more than forty years. During this period the community grew steadily, with wagon manufacture, tobacco, lumber and the railroad providing employment for many of its residents. In 1868 Stoughton was incorporated as a village, and in 1881 as a city.
Stoughton’s early residential districts grew on the west side of the Yahara, and near Main Street and the wagon factories east of the river. On the far east side atop the hill and across the railroad tracks, however, only a few houses were along E. Main Street until the 1890s, when several Stoughton land owners laid out blocks and lots in this area.
Between 1890 and 1915, when all of Stoughton enjoyed a building boom, the fourteen blocks comprising the present-day East Side Historic District were built up with about eighty houses. Unlike the west side of the city, there are few buildings here dating from earlier than the 1880s. The brick house at 924 S. Ridge (just outside the district) appears to be the only remaining farmhouse.
East Side residents were a cross-section of merchants, businessmen, and laborers and their families. Many were employed in wagon factories or tobacco warehouses, or worked on the railroad. Nearly all were natives of Norway, or were of the first generation born to Norwegian parents. Many families owned their houses for decades, and some houses remained in one family’s ownership well into the twentieth century. A few are still owned by descendants of the original builder.
When the Bird’s Eye View of Stoughton was published in 1883, only a few houses and the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Christ Church (1875) stood on the rise of land east of the railroad tracks. Just to the west of the present-day historic district the land was owned by Luke Stoughton. In 1875 Stoughton’s land was divided by his son-in-law, O.M. Turner; several other additions followed including those of John Nelson in 1885 and Bjoin and Gunderson in 1900. However, by 1883 only the house of Christen (Christian) Hanson at 924 E. Main St. appears to have been built within the boundaries of the present-day district. The area was so uncharted that the 1882 Stoughton City Directory gave Hanson’s address as “Main, over railroad.”
For a few years, a small frame church stood alone on the east side hill. In 1875 the Norwegian Evangelical Lutherans of the Stoughton and McFarland districts of the West Koshkonong Church founded a new congregation of thirty-two families. Their new church was completed in 1875 at 848 E. Main Street. By 1882 the church had 280 members. (Stoughton’s other Norwegian Lutheran congregation erected a church at 414 E. Jefferson St. in 1872; in 1882 they numbered 325.) A new brick building was erected over the old in 1914; it was razed for the present Christ Lutheran Church.
Louis Severson (908 E. Main), Abraham H. Severson (921 E. Main), and Edwin Bjoin (1001 E. Main) were among the first house builders after Christen Hanson. Many chose the hipped-roof Italianate Style, with its ornate trim and cube-like shape. In the next decade, Queen Anne Style houses with generous porches, patterned shingle trim, and multiple gable-and-hip roofs and balconies were popular with builders including Ole Simonson at 224 N. Franklin St.
Over one-half of the district houses were constructed between 1900 and 1910
The Queen Anne Style remained popular, but the Classical Revival, Arts and Crafts bungalow and American Foursquare styles are also well represented. The Henry and Mary Severson House at 1124 E. Main (1903) is an exceptional example of a Classical Revival building.
Many residents of this area were employed in the wagon or tobacco industries. When freight and passenger service between Stoughton and Milwaukee began in 1853, it ensured the success of these industries, although both had significant downturns in the 1920s. The T.G. Mandt Wagon Works were established in 1865. In 1889 the company reorganized as the Stoughton Wagon Company. T.G. Mandt began another wagon firm in 1896, which was sold to the Moline Plow Company after Mandt’s death in 1902. After the decline of the Stoughton wagon industry in the 1920s, new vehicle and part factories such as Highway Trailer and the Stoughton Cab and Body Company were established. Semi-truck trailer manufacture remains an important part of the local economy.
The weathered tobacco sheds of Jefferson, Rock and southern Dane counties are testament to this important industry in southeastern Wisconsin. Tobacco cultivation began near Edgerton in the 1850s, and the tobacco trade began in Stoughton about 1871. After harvesting, tobacco is cured in specially-designed sheds and then stored in warehouses before shipping. In Stoughton, the first warehouse was erected in 1877; by 1882 there were ten and by 1898 there were seventeen. (Three remain, at 515, 524, and 567 E. Main St.) By 1926, at least thirty tobacco firms had done business in the city. Many residents were involved in growing, harvesting, sorting and shipping; Severson, Bjoin, Halverson, and Holtan stand out among early individuals and families from the East Side Historic District area associated with tobacco.
The decline of the tobacco industry was evident in the 1920s, with soil depletion and poor crop yields in addition to less consumer demand. The industry rebounded by 1950. Today, tobacco remains a cash crop in the townships surrounding Stoughton.
Academy Street is named for an early east side institution. The Stoughton Academy and Business Institute was organized in 1888 by its principal, K.A. Kasberg. The school provided a college preparatory program as well as business, music and farming courses. In 1889 a large, three-story brick and stone building was erected at 811 Ridge St., one of the highest points in the city. The school appears to have been affiliated with the Norwegian Lutheran Synod from its earliest years; the synod took over its direction in 1895. In 1900, a fire partially destroyed the building and the school relocated to Albion, Wisconsin. The structure was later rebuilt and used as the Stoughton Surgical Hospital and Sanitarium. The hospital was founded by Michael Iverson, a native of Norway who arrived in Stoughton in 1891. The Iverson family and the hospital staff all resided in the hospital building during its earliest years of operation. The hospital was purchased by the city in 1924 and was renamed the Stoughton Community Hospital. The original Academy building was razed in 1958.
Situated on a hillside just outside the district, the two-story, cream brick house at 924 Ridge St. dates from the early 1870s. It was built by Steener Halverson, who burned the brick in a kiln on this property. Halverson was a farmer, and was also a partner in a Stoughton brickyard. Andrew and Clara Asbjornson resided here from the 1930s until the 1980s. The original Halverson farm is now part of the Stoughton Community Hospital and the Skaalen Sunset Home.
Stoughton Academy, from the school catalogue of 1891 - 92.
225 N. Academy St.
Halver and Bergit Christenson
1905
The peaked lintels at the windows of the Christenson House appear to be original features. Although tax and building records suggest a 1905 date, the house resembles others (like 117 S. Academy) of an earlier date.
The Christensons were natives of Norway. Halver came to the U.S. in 1885 as a child. He became a Stoughton jeweler.
In 1910 Halver and Birgit Christenson shared this house with their 2-year-old son, Christen; a 15-year old servant girl, and another Norwegian-born couple who were boarders.
117 S. Academy St.
Lars and Augusta Skau
1888
The Skau House has a steep gable roof, an L-shaped plan and windows trimmed with ornate lintels. These are characteristics of Stoughton's simple houses called "gabled ells."
The Skaus were natives of Norway and both arrived in the U.S. in 1883. Lars was a wagon shop foreman. In about 1899 the family moved to 209 Franklin Street. Lars and Augusta's son Alfred, a wagon shop machinist, also lived at 209.
125 S. Academy St.
Osev and Tone Overland
1905
This Queen Anne Style building, like the Holtan-Rue House at 117 S. Franklin, has a steeply-pitched hipped roof, projecting gables, and narrow siding. This was a very popular style on the East Side after the turn of the century.
Three generations of Overlands lived in this house. Osev was a carpenter. His son Oscar was in the local gasoline business for fifty years, and operated the Mobil station at W. Main and Page streets. Ed, another son, operated a Mobil station at E. Main and Academy streets.
201 S. Academy St.
East Side Public School
1892
The East Side Public School was built to serve the growing east side population. The mansard-roofed, cream brick exterior is crowned by a four-story square tower rising above the west elevation. The tower has a straight mansard roof; the round-arched openings surrounded the school bell. William Gould, a local contractor, erected the building.
An addition was made in 1908. The school remained in use until 1981, and was then converted to rental units known as the "East School Apartments."
125 N. Franklin St.
Lena Alme
1895
The design of this American Foursquare Style house relies on simple massing and classical trim including cornice moldings for its solid appearance. There is a flared hipped roof and flared dormers, broad overhanging eaves, and a porch carried by four columns.
According to Chris Erickson, the current owner, this house was extensively remodeled in the early twentieth century, from an L-shaped house into its present form. The Osgam family resided here for much of the twentieth century.
224 N. Franklin St.
Ole and Josephine Simonson
1906
The Simonson's Queen Anne house, like many of its neighbors in the district, has a steeply-pitched hipped roof with projecting gables. One unique feature is the three-story round tower at the northeast corner; it is topped with an onion-domed roof and clad in decorative wood shingles. There is also a small oriel window with a hipped roof on the south side of the house.
Ole Simonson was a carpenter. Born in Norway, he arrived in the United States in 1886. Josephine was a native of Wisconsin. The Simonson family lived here until the 1920s. This was originally a single-family house, and was later a duplex. Current owners Patti and Chuck Cross have lived here since 1986 and have restored it to single-family use.
117 S. Franklin St.
Holtan-Rue
1906
This late Queen Anne Style house has a full porch that wraps around the front bay. Round columns and a spool-and-spindle balustrade complete the design.
George Holtan, his wife Susan, and their three children were the original residents of this house. George, a tobacco dealer, was a brother of John H. Holtan, manager of the Stoughton branch of the American Cigar Company (see 1004 E. Main St.).
Later owners, John and Katie Rue, were retired farmers. They resided here until the 1950s.
201 S. Franklin St.
Lewis Rinde
1904
The Rinde House has been called "the most elaborate and well-preserved of the Queen Anne Style houses in the East Side Historic District. The 1906 City Directory showed Lewis Rinde as a real estate broker. Complex gables and bays, patterned shingles, a classically-decorated tin frieze, and ten original stained glass windows are of note. An upper and lower front porch and a side porch all have Doric columns.
The Rinde property once included the lot at 1021 Park Street, where the Rinde carriage house stood.
Later owners of the property were Mrs. Inger Quale (1911-1920) and Carl Berg (ca. 1920-1950).
1101 Giles St.
Austin and Tilla Holtan
1901
Most of the houses along the three blocks of Giles Street within the district were built between 1901 and 1913; the Holtan House was among the first.
The spacious building on a corner lot has many fine details on its late Queen Anne exterior. The broad end-gable is filled with narrow half timbering. There are wide bargeboards at the gable ends and at the third-story dormers. A wrap-around porch has columns with Doric capitols.
Austin Holtan was a tobacco dealer. John Holtan, Austin's brother, resided at 1004 E. Main. Ole Holtan, another brother, resided at 1016 E. Main St. Ole was also a tobacco dealer and he and his wife Sophia Holtan had five children.
1109 Giles St.
Benjamin and Anna Jenson
1905
The Jenson House is another variation of the Queen Anne style popular in Stoughton after 1900. The combination of projecting bays and gables, open porches, and turned and scroll-sawn trim could be arranged in many combinations to suit the builder.
In 1910, Benjamin and Anna Jenson resided here with their four children. Benjamin was a trimmer at a local shoe factory. The Joseph and Anna Malecka family were boarders in the house and natives of Poland. Joseph Malecka was also a shoemaker.
1116 Giles St.
Orrin and Iva Alderman
1909
Like a number of houses in the district, the Alderman House has a distinctive central balcony at the second story. This one is sheltered by a gable with flared bargeboards.
1124 Giles St.
Thomas and Susan Asleson
1906-07
Sited on a prominent corner lot, the Asleson House has a large rounded corner bay clad in shingles and narrow clapboards. The graceful front porch has Doric columns, a feature of many porches in the district.
A view of the south side of Giles Street from N. Henry Street, 2001.
848 E. Main St.
Christ Lutheran Church
1914 (razed)
This late Gothic Revival building was erected over the earlier frame church of 1875. The brown brick and stone structure rested on a concrete foundation. (Photo courtesy of Alaine Johnson.)
916 E. Main St.
Halvor and Tilla Lee
1917
One of the district's best examples of an Arts and Crafts bungalow, this house has a shed roof with knee braces under the eaves, splayed posts at the porch, and multi-paned sash. Such well-detailed bungalows were popular in Stoughton in the teens and early twenties.
921 E. Main St.
Abraham L. Severson
1887
The original roofline of the Severson House was lost in a fire many years ago, along with a mansard-roofed tower on the west side. (See first page.) The now-restored building retains many other original details, including a bracketed cornice and elaborate window enframements.
According to local tradition, this house was a wedding gift from Sever H. Severson (1840-1897) to his son Abraham Lincoln Severson and his wife Emma. Abraham, a real estate dealer, and Emma Asbjornson had two children, Gladys and Ingebor.
1001 E. Main St.
Edwin H. Bjoin
1885
Edwin H. Bjoin owned this house between about 1885 and 1902. Susan Leverson was the next owner. It is one of the earliest houses in the district, and one of few Italianate examples. The hipped roof with a deck, delicate single and paired brackets, and windows decorated with carved, pedimented lintels are among its distinctive features.
1001 E. Main St. (background). Photo ca. 1910, taken from the front yard of the John and Hattie Holtan House at 1004 E. Main St. Photo courtesy of Gurina Linnerud.
Sever H. Severson was a native of Norway and was raised on a Dunkirk Township farm. His career included work in a Stoughton dry goods store, gold mining in Colorado in the early 1860s, and a partnership in Severson and Bronson’s Planing Mill. He entered this business in 1867, and was subsequently involved in a number of other enterprises including real estate, groceries and tobacco. Sever and Gurina Severson had four children including Abraham and Hattie. Hattie was the wife of John Holtan (1004 E. Main St.). After Gurina’s death, Sever married Carrie Peterson; they lived on the Severson farm east of the city.
Severson’s planing mill was the exclusive Wisconsin manufacturer of Fawcett’s Patent blinds. In 1880 the firm made about 8,000 pairs of blinds and employed 12 men.
1004 E. Main St.
John and Hattie Holtan
1896; 1911
Frank H. Kemp, architect (1911)
The present Prairie Style appearance of the Holtan House dates from its 1911 remodeling by well-known Beloit architect Frank H. Kemp. The horizontal emphasis, grouped windows, and large trellis supported by round columns sets it apart from its neighbors. Kemp was the designer of Stoughton City Hall.
John H. Holtan was manager of the Stoughton branch of the American Cigar Company and President of the First National Bank. He also served as Stoughton mayor. A native of Dane County, he grew up on a farm and first became involved in the cigar business in 1891 with his brother Austin. Holtan then joined the American Cigar company. The firm employed over 250 people in Stoughton, and owned a large complex of buildings.
Hattie Belle Severson was a native of Stoughton and the daughter of Sever H. and Gurina Severson (921 E. Main St.). The Holtans had four children. From left, Theodora, Clarise, Gurina, and Harold Holtan about 1912. In 1910, the U. S.census taker recorded eight people in the Holtan household. In addition to the Holtans, cousin Daisy Lewis (28), and a domestic servant named Anna (30) lived here.
1100 E. Main St.
Louis and Helen Jorgenson
1905
1108 E. Main St.
Mons Olson
1906
The similar plans and details of the houses in the 1100 block of E. Main St. suggest a common builder or plan book. Many builders worked from standard plans in this period, with variations in the detailing of the roof, a porch, or windows adding desired variety. Hip or cross-gable roofs were popular, along with a projecting front gable and canted bay (one with clipped corners) like that seen on the Jorgenson House (left). The builder of the Olson House (right) arranged a bay with canted corners under broad overhanging eaves. According to Lisa Root, the current owner, the original roof and chimney were destroyed by a lighting strike in 1907.
Louis Jorgenson, at 1100, was employed as a painter. The property was in the family until the 1950s. Mons Olson was the first owner of 1108, followed by Lars Kravik in the 1920s. From the 1930s until the 1970s, it was owned by Aagot Sannes. The Sannes family owned the Stoughton bakery that is now Fosdals.
1124 E. Main St.
Henry and Mary Severson
1903
Attributed to Frank H. Kemp, architect
A prominent landmark at an eastern gateway to Stoughton, the Severson House is a fine example of the Classical Revival Style. The two-story portico has colossal columns crowned with Ionic capitals, and graceful balustrades.
A brother of Sever H. Severson and uncle of Abraham (921 E. Main), Henry Severson was raised in Dunkirk Township. Severson operated two tobacco farms and reportedly owned the first automobile in Stoughton. Henry married Mary Halverson in 1882. One of the Severson’s children, Della, lived here for many years and the building was locally known as “Della’s House.” The house remained in the Severson family until 1976. The current residents, the Lewis family, are only the third owners. At the interior, intact features include many of the original light fixtures and even the maid’s bell (although the Seversons reportedly had no servants). The carriage house--one of few surviving in the district--is now used as a garage but the location of the old horse stalls can still be seen.
116 S. Morris St.
Ole and Ellen Uglum
1903
The Uglum House is another good example of one variety of the Queen Anne Style popular with Stoughton builders. It has a steep hipped roof and a porch which partially wraps around the front bay. The porch roof is supported by square posts and slender brackets, and is trimmed with a spool-and-spindle balustrade.
Ole was born in Norway and arrived in the United States in 1884. He was a wagon maker. Ellen was born in Wisconsin. The household in 1920 included two teen-aged sons and an elderly lodger, Amund Hanson.
124 S. Morris St.
Ole Amble
1904
This house has simple details and good proportions representative of the Classical Revival Style. The square posts, simple porch balustrades, and the prominent pedimented gable are notable features.
Ole Amble was a native of Norway and worked as a laborer for the City of Stoughton. (His last name was sometimes spelled Amle.) In 1920 he lived here with his daughter, Clara.
225 S. Morris St.
A.M. Peterson
1907
The Peterson House has much in common with other large Queen Anne Style houses in the district, but its projecting corner bay sets it apart from some. The building rests on a rusticated concrete foundation; by 1907, many builders were using this type of concrete block for foundations instead of limestone. Some was locally manufactured by the Mandt Powell Concrete Company.
1109 Park St.
Christian and Mattie Hanson
1905
Like the Skau House at 117 S. Academy St., this building has a steep gable roof and an L-shaped plan. These features are typical of the simple houses called “gabled ells. This house was built almost twenty years later than the Skau House, showing the persistence of this popular building type.
120 N. Henry St.
Evan K. and Anna Midtbon
1909-10
The 1997 National Register nomination study for the East Side Historic District noted that this handsome Queen Anne house also had elements of the Colonial Revival and American Foursquare styles. The wide overhanging eaves of the main roof and dormers are of note, as are the full length front porch and columned side porch.
The Midtbons owned this house until the 1940s and their daughter Selida was the next owner. Selida, who worked at the First National Bank for many years, lived here until 1981, when the house was sold to Fred and Lorraine Ingersoll, the present owners.