Northwest Side Walking Tour
“Note: The following ‘online tour’ has been adapted from The Northwest Side Historic District: A Walking Tour, a booklet produced by Landscape Research, Ltd. for the Commission in 2000.
The Northwest Side Historic District is located on a gently sloping ridge that rises above Stoughton’s Main Street and the Yahara River. It is an attractive neighborhood that has largely retained its historic character. Today, this approximately eighteen-block area between the Yahara River, McKinley, Van Buren and main streets is testament to the city’s Golden Age – the years between about 1885 and 1915 when local businesses flourished and many residents built handsome houses. In 1998, this area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Northwest Side Historic District.
Luke Stoughton, a native of Vermont, laid out the Stoughton town site in 1847. He platted the original town on the Yahara with the vision of future flour mills and factories. Hoping to capitalize on the Dane County wheat boom of the 1850’s, DeWitt Davis erected a gristmill, the first built on the site. In 1853, the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad reached Stoughton from Milwaukee with freight and passenger service. Served by a rail connection and enjoying its good location as a small milling town and agricultural trade center, Stoughton’s early settlers included many New Englanders. Norwegian immigrants were drawn here after the Civil War in great number, encouraged by jobs in the expanding wagon industry. The leading wagon firm was founded by Norwegian born T.G. Mandt.
In 1880, there were nine tobacco warehouses in the city, and hundreds were employed in the industry. Stoughton was the state’s tobacco capitol in this period and as the city boomed, so did the northwest side and other residential areas.
By 1915 there were seventeen tobacco warehouses and a number of other prosperous manufacturers based in the city. Residents also enjoyed a modern water and electric lighting system, a hospital, a new high school and a new City Hall that one writer praised as having “no superior in the state.”
Era H. and Harriet Gerard House, 118 N. Page Street. Photograph ca. 1900. Gerard was a lumber dealer during Stoughton’s Golden Age when many houses were built on the Northwest side.
After 1880, some of the first new houses on the northwest side were built along Page Street, a well-traveled route to the north. By the 1890s, a number of professionals built here, around the Italianate villa of dry goods dealer Ole O. Forton. Page Street eventually became a sort of “doctor’s row,” with several residing here by 1915. Other nearby streets were built up incrementally and some lots were platted from farmland, rather than as part of subdivisions. Carriage houses were built at the rear of some of the lots; many were later converted to automobile garages.
Over two-thirds of the houses in the Northwest Side Historic District were constructed between 1880 and 1915. This area, like its neighbor to the south (the Southwest Side Historic District), housed many Norwegian immigrants and their families, including those who became prominent businessmen and professionals. A number of streets – such as Brickson, Forton, Harrison, and Van Buren – are apparently named for early residents. During Stoughton’s building boom, at least eleven older houses were moved to make room for larger buildings.
Stoughton’s Golden Age came to an end with World War I. Area farmers found their soil depleted, and the market for tobacco collapsed. Wagons were supplanted by automobiles and tractors, ending a mainstay of the local economy. These changes are reflected in the lack of new construction on the northwest side in the 1920s. After World War II, Cape Cod and ranch style houses filled vacant lots; nearly fifty new houses were built. Many of the larger, older houses were converted into two-family houses or apartments. On some, historic architectural features such as porches and trim details gradually disappeared. By the end of the twentieth century, however, many of these changes were reversed by restoration – minded new owners. Today, some of these homeowners have interesting stories to tell about the adventure of restoring their historic houses.
There are several examples of Greek Revival and Italianate Style houses in the Northwest Stoughton Historic District, but the area is most distinguished by its many examples of the exuberant Queen Anne style. Here, heavily ornamented, picturesque houses stand next to those from the less decorative Free Classic phase of the style. In the latter, classical columns and more compact, boxier massing reveal the impact of the also – popular Colonial Revival Style.
Wood was the choice of owners and builders, with only a few examples of brick and concrete block construction. House plans for all types of styles were available in newspapers, at lumber dealers, and from local contractors.
Contractor – carpenters A.E. Ovren, Fred Hill, Knute Jenson, and John J. Holmstad completed many houses in the district. Holmstad was responsible for some of the twentieth –century Craftsman Style houses which feature simple exteriors, low rooflines with overhanging eaves, and exposed structural details such as rafter ends. Several twentieth –century houses originated with Sears, Roebuck and Company’s popular line of plans.
Fred G. Hill,
Contractor and Builder.
Estimates given in all branches of carpenter work and building, and satisfaction guaranteed. A close inspection of work solicited and parisons invited. Fred Hill was a popular builder and a neighborhood resident.
George M. and Sarah Patterson House, 617 W. Hamilton St. (1897/1902). The eye-catching Queen Anne exterior has twin spindlework proches with wheel fretwork.
516 Hamilton St
Ole S. and Bessie Torgerson
1888
A crested, bellcast tower adorns the mansard roof of the Torgerson House, Stoughton’s best example of the Second Empire style (and one of very few in the city). The twin Queen Anne style porches are a later addition and show the layering of another and even more popular style. At one time this house had six porches and is said to have had the first electric service in Stoughton.
Ole Torgerson (1856-1936) was born in Wisconsin to Norwegian parents. He was the Stoughton Postmaster, and one of the first in the city to own an automobile, which was housed in a garage at the rear.
After the Torgerson’s occupancy, the house passed briefly out of the family but in 1919 it was purchased by their daughter Maude Torgerson Olson and her husband Henry. It remained in their family until 1965.
“Choir practices for the Methodist Church used to be held in the spacious parlors in the front of the house.”
Judy Leonard, present owner
716 Hamilton St.
Roy W. and Hazel Patterson
1912
Three types of siding arranged in distinct horizontal tiers graduating from wide weatherboards to smoothe stucco are notable Prairie-school inspired features of this house. The Northwest Side National Register nomination called it the best example of the Prairie Style in the district.
Roy (sometimes written as Ray) Patterson was a son of George M. and Sarah Patterson (617 W. Hamilton Street). By 1915, Roy served as Assistant Cashier of the First National Bank.
This house has been in the ownership of the present owner’s family for most of the twentieth century. Roy Patterson died a few years after the construction of the house. It was sold to another family, and then to Charles McCarthy, great uncle of the present owner. It has remained in the family since.
208 North Harrison St.
Knute and Johanna Kvam Jenson
1904
This was home to the Jensons and their ten children as well as Mrs. Jensen’s father. The Norwegian-born Jenson (1864-1941) arrived in the U.S. in 1884. In Stoughton, Knute (or Knut) was a carpenter and contractor and built many houses in the area. He also served as Fourth Ward alderman. At the time of his death the Jensons lived on North Division Street.
The hip-and-gable roof, Ionic porch and arched loggia at the second story are motifs seen on a number of Queen Anne style houses in the district.
The house was converted to a two-flat rental property in the 1920s, the first of a number of major alterations. In the 1990s it was converted back to a single-family house. The restoration of the long-enclosed porch was an important recent project.
225 North Harrison St.
Knute Jenson
1911
About seven years after completing the house at 208, Jenson built this one. It is a good example of the American Foursquare, a style characterized by a hipped roof, square proportions, slightly overhanging eaves, and simple exterior decoration.
The well-detailed building has a handsome porch with square posts and a spacious porch.
“As a contractor he has here been most successful, having erected anumber of fine buildings in the city and surrounding districts and having also remodeled the Stoughton Water Works.
History of DaneCounty (1906)
504 Jackson St.
William C. and Elizabeth Dallmeyer
1893
With its hipped roof and incised brackets at the eaves as well as a spindled porch, the Dallmeyer House shows elements of both the Italianate and Queen Anne styles. The present owners have restored the exterior to its historic appearance.
William and Elizabeth Dallmeyer were natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio. They were married in Madison in 1891 and came to Stoughton shortly thereafter. William was a tobacco dealer and hotel owner. Later owners converted the property to a two family house; it has again been restored to single-family.
Group portrait taken in front of the Dallmeyer House, ca. 1930. Photo courtesy Pat Murphy.
616 and 624 Jackson St.
Dahlby (616) and Flom (624)
1902, 1904
The Queen Anne Style Dahlby and Flom houses are typical of many of those built around 1900 throughout the area. Likely constructed by one of the Stoughton builders (such as Holmstad, Hill, or Jenson), the designs were usually derived from popular pattern books. A spindled front porch, irregular plan, and hip-and-gable roof were standard features. Although this house style was quite standard in the 1890s, a revolution was underway. Nearby, the Swan House at 105 W. Prospect (1911) and the Patterson House (1912) at 716 W. Patterson well demonstrate the new ideas.
The Dahlbys and Floms were all natives of Norway. Ole, a tailor, and Anna Dahlby owned 616. Ole and Martha Flom were retired when the 1906 Stoughton directory was published.
216 North Madison St.
Dr. B. Atwood
1892
With its complex massing, clipped gable roofs, and variety of wooden trim, this compact house is an excellent example of a popular version of the Queen Anne style. Such designs were usually derived from one of the many pattern books of the period.
Atwood is not listed in the 1906 directory or 1900 census.
224 North Madison St.
Sever P. and Mary Egtvedt
1902
Graced with a faceted corner tower and a classical porch, the Egtvedt house shows the influence of classical styles on the Queen Anne.
Sever was born in Norway in Voss, 1839 and arrived in the U.S. in 1844 with his parents. The first settled at Koshkonong. Mary Egtvedt was born in Wisconsin about 1855 to Norwegian parents.
The Egtvedts had seven children. In 1911 they moved to Ballard, Washington, were three of their children were living.
600 West Main St.
Naham Parker House
ca. 1854-55
The Parker House is an excellent example of the Greek Revival style and is one of the city’s oldest remaining houses. Features such as corner pilasters, a deep classical cornice, and the side-lit entry are of particular note.
This house was erected long before the residential area to the north and south had much development. It appears on the 1871 Bird’s Eye View of Stoughton.
Naham Parker was born in Vermont; prior to his Stoughton residence he lived near Cooksville. Parker dies in 1880 at the age of 68. The house was later owned by his daughter, Francella Dearborn.
424 West Main St.
Ernest Brewer
1922
The brick and stucco exterior of this Craftsman style house shows attention to natural finishes and simplicity. This characteristic is seen on many houses influenced by the American Arts and crafts movement. The low hipped roof is typical of the style.
Ernest Brewer was a salesman, according to city directories. After about 1900, house construction along busy Main Street outside the downtown area was mixed in with a variety of other uses, including churches and businesses.
125 South Monroe St.
J. Hartley and Ella Criddle
1915
The brick Criddle House is a handsome example of the American Foursquare Style. This term includes the many simple, hip-roofed houses that were built in Stoughton about 1910-1920, as well as more elaborately detailed houses such as this one. Hers, two shades of brick, a spacious porch, and prominent overhanging eaves enhance the exterior.
Criddle, a florist, operated a greenhouse on the site that is now Criddle Park. The household included Perley, the Criddle’s son. Later, the house was used as a funeral home. It is now a private residence.
225 North Monroe St.
John C. and Bertina Sampson
1904
With its wrap-around, Ionic-columned porch overlooking the Monroe Street hill, the Sampson House exemplifies a popular version of the Queen Anne Style built throughout the city at the turn of the century. The hipped-roof carriage barn at the rear is also of note.
The Sampsons were natives of Norway. Both arrived in the United States while in their twenties. John was the manager of a Stoughton hardware store.
113 South Page St.
Dr. David D. and Eulissa Culham
1907
The spacious Culham House has a broad porch with classical columns, and an oversized half-round gable window. These and other Colonial Revival style features are seen on local houses built after 1900.
Culham, a veterinary surgeon, and his wife were both Canadian. They came to the U.S. in the early 1890s. At the time this house was built, the household included the Culham’s four children: Muriel, Claire, Ivan, and Vida.
131 South Page St.
Allen-Falk House
1858/69/98
This cream brick house is associated with two prominent early owners, Frank Allen and later, Fred Falk. The brick is trimmed with limestone, the material used for the foundation. The hipped roof is finished with a balustrade at the deck and a pair of dormers. Brackets at the eaves and an Ionic-columned porch further enhance the design.
Frank Allen served as one of the first officers of Stoughton when the village government was created in 1868. He was an attorney and the publisher of the Stoughton Reporter. A native of New York, he and Norwegian-born Anna Allen had four children: Flora, Lewis B., Minnie, and Ralph.
It appears that the earliest house on the site was extensively rebuilt by later owners including Fred Falk, a druggist. Sophia and Fred Falk had one daughter, Karen.
116 South Page St.
Janes M. and Emma Clancey
ca. 1885
Built originally as an Italianate style house, 116 S. Page was updated with a Queen Anne style porch and additions in 1893. With its hipped roof, bracketed eaves, and arched windows, it is one of the best remaining examples of the Italianate style in the district. Like the Scheldrup House, it illustrates the late date at which the style was still locally popular.
Emma Hill Clancey was the sister of carpenter-contractor Fred Hill, who lived on the same block. James Clancey was a native of Cottage Grove and a prominent Democrat. He became a Stoughton attorney in private practice and also Wisconsin assistant attorney general. President of First National Bank, he also served three terms as Stoughton’s mayor. In later years, the Clancey House was converted to a two-family house and has been since returned to its original single- family use. Restoration has highlighted its fine features such as stained glass, ornate chimneys, and elaborate millwork trim.
118 North Page St.
Era H. and Harriet Grout Gerard
1886
E. H. Gerard was born in Canada in 1850. His lumber firm, Gerard & Farrington, moved to Stoughton from Grand Rapids, Michigan. When the house was under construction, the Stoughton Courier Hub followed its progress. At its completion, the newspaper noted that it was one of the “handsomest on the street.”
Era and Harriet Grout were married in 1872 and adopted three children. Gerard was later the Vice President of Stoughton Light and Fuel. The property remained in the Gerard family for more than 75 years.
A fine spindle work porch, many kinds of millwork trim and a corner gazebo are among the eye-catching features of this Queen Anne style house. A. E. Ovren of Stoughton was the contractor.
124 North Page St.
Andrew F. and Thea Olay Scheldrup
1882
The Scheldrup House is a good example of the Italianate style. With its rectangular plan, three-bay façade, and hipped roof, it is typical of houses built in Stoughton in the 1870s and 1880s.
Andreq F. Scheldrup was born in Norway in 1846. He came to Stoughton in 1866. After working for local druggist C.J. Melaas, he began his own drugstore in 1879. He married Thea (Severena) Olay in 1872. Their sons Clarence and Sidney also became pharmacists.
133 North Page St.
Ole O. and Marie Forton
1885
This house occupied a corner of Ole O. Forton’s Page Street farm until about 1912, when the land was divided and a number of new houses were erected nearby. Forton Street bears the family’s name.
The nansard-roofed tower is a distinctive feature of the Italianate design. Norwegian born Ole Forton was a Stoughton dry goods dealer. Ole and Marie’s son Oscar J., who served as a Fourth Ward alderman, continued as a clothing dealer in the firm of Forton and Eriksmoen.
134 North Page St.
George and Ann Parish
1882
An ornate Italianate bay embellishes the south side of this vernacular house. It was among the first houses constructed on North Page Street.
George Parish (1821-1895) was born in Oxfordshire, England. He arrived in Stoughton in 1851 and farmed by nearby for nearly thirty years. He built two other houses in the area, at 110 N. Prairie St. (1885) and 135 N. Prairie (1891). George and Ann Parish had seven children.
After George’s death, the extended family of Eunicy Tipple, her daughter, Linnea Carr, and grandchildren were the next long-term residents of the house.
George Parish’s residence in the First Ward is nearing completed, as fine a residence as there is in the city.
Stoughton Courier Hub, June 14, 1882
131 South Prairie St.
Erick A. and Emma Lewis
1906
Erick (or Eric) and Emma Lewis farmed in the area before building this house on the steep slope of S. Prairie Street. Erick (1863-1942) later worked as a mechanic. Both were natives of Wisconsin, or Norwegian parentage. In 1910, their household included three Lewis children and a boarder, Joseph Hollenbeck.
Olaf and Lena Skaalen purchased the house in the 1920s. Skaalen purchased the house in the 1920s. Skaalen was the Stoughton police chief. The building was converted to a two-flat by the family. From the 1940s through the late 1950s the house became the “Little Bit O’Norway” restaurant.
The handsome porch that was originally wrapped around the building was among features restored by the present owners.
216 North Prairie St.
James Hart
1902
The Hart House retains the original surfaces of its Queen Anne Style exterior, and also has a carriage barn at rear. Such carriage barns were a standard feature of many turn-of-the-century Stoughton homes. The house has hip-and-gable roofs, slender columns at the porch, and shingle-covered gable ends. It demonstrates local builder’s interest in the decorative possibilities of wood.
An example of a different scale of building stands at the top of the Prairie Street hill. 232 N. Prairie (1886) is a picturesque gingerbread cottage with many of its original details still intact. It was originally owned by Julius Fix. In 1883, the city directory listed Fix as a cigar maker.
102 West Prospect St.
O.M. and Sarah Ellen Turner
1890
The Turner House is the only brick Queen Anne Style house in the district. Built of cream brick imported from the Milwaukee area, it has a fine spindlework porch. The first flush toilet in Stoughton was reportedly installed in this house.
Sarah Ellen was a daughter of Luke Stoughton and O.M. was the president of Stoughton State Bank. Previously he worked for the railroad, and had interests in lumber and tobacco. The Turners subdivided a large tract of land here called Sarah E. Turner’s Addition. The Turners had five children.
In 1893 the house was sold to Christ Olson. About 1903 Our Savior’s Lutheran Church purchased it for use as a parsonage and between 1915 and 1955 it housed a number of pastors and their families. It is now a single-family home.
“The parsonage provided a special setting for many a Stoughton wedding.”
Theresa Ganshert, present owner
105 West Prospect St.
Henry R. Swan
1911
James R. Law, architect
At the time of its construction this house was likely quite talked about. The PrairieSchool influence is evident in the smooth stucco exterior, low overhanging eaves, and flared base. Henry R. Swan was a Stoughton mail carrier.
James Law (1885-1952) was a well-known Madison architect noted for his progressive turn-of-the-century designs. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Law first worked for the Madison firm of Claude and Starck and Arthur Peabody. He opened his own office in 1914 and was later joined by his brother Edward J. Law and Ellis C. Porter. The firm completed many commissions in Madison and across the state, spanning diverse styles and building types. Notable Madison commissions included the University Club, a number of fraternity and sorority houses along Langdon Street, and Manchester’s Department Store (razed).
James Law was married to a daughter of Stoughton residents James and Katherine Campbell of N. Monroe Street. Campbell was a tobacco buyer.
206 West Prospect St.
Ole and Clara Terry
1905
The Terry House is Stoughton’s best remaining example of the Colonial Revival Style. With its monumental Corinthian portico and four columns supporting a balcony, it shows the impact of the 1893 Columbian World’s Fair (held in Chicago) on local architecture. The many white classical buildings at the fair were influential in turning taste from Victorian bric-a-brac to classical as well as Colonial Revival features. At least three houses were built in this impressive mode around 1905. In addition to the Terry House, the Johnson House on South page and the Henry Severson House on E. Main were illustrated in the Souvenir of StoughtonWis. and LakeKegonsa (1908).
Terry, a native of Illinois, was the president of the Department Company Store in the Hyland Block on Main Street. He died in a train accident soon after the completion of this house. Clara Terry (born 1874) resided here with her two sons Owen and Grassie, her mother Ellen Rockefeller, and her sister, Helen Rockefeller. Helen was a Stoughton school teacher. The house was later converted to its current use; it is now the Olson, Holzhuter and Cress Funeral Home.
Ole and Clara Terry House. From Souvenir of Stoughton Wis. and Lake Kegonsa, 1908. Courtesy of Melissa Lampe.
324 West Prospect St.
Angus Owen
1896
As seen in the photo above, this house originally had a steep hipped roof, a picturesque corner tower (hidden by the tree), and several parapets which rose above the roofline. A fire destroyed the original roofline, and it was rebuilt with a low hipped roof. The boulder stone base and other original features remain from the original construction.
Angus Owen, the apparent first owner, was difficult to trace in local records. He may have been the owner of the Stoughton milk condensery plant.
340 West Prospect St.
Henry A. and Minnie Huber
1908
The grounds of the Huber House once included a fruit orchard and extensive flower beds. The house originally had a one-story porch on the prospect Street side of the building.
A native of Pennsylvania, Henry Huber (1869-1933) was a Stoughton attorney. His family moved to Dane County in 1879. He attended Albion Academy and taught school before receiving a law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1896.
Huber was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 1904 and in 1913 was elected to the Senate. In 1925 he was elected Lieutenant Governor. He was a supporter of Governor Robert M. LaFollette, who received national attention for not supporting the war against Germany. Huber is also associated with the Huber Law. This house was in the news in April 1942 when a fire caused damage to the front and interior. At that time it was owned by Mrs. Nettie Barasantee of Madison, a sister of Minnie Huber. It was later converted to a two-family house, and is now in the process of being restored to single-family.
100 South Van Buren St.
Edward and Gjertrud Erickson
1902
”Nickel Palace”
The Queen Anne Erickson House appears to announce the success of its first owner. It has a prominent arched porch or loggia at the second story, a feature seen on a number of Stoughton houses of this period. Also notable are the ionic veranda and a soaring bellcast gabled roof. The shells above the attic windows and a garland frieze on the porch are other interesting details.
This house has long been known as the “Nickel Palace.” The story is that the house was built from the sale of the many nickel beers that Ed Erickson sold at his downtown tavern. Erickson was a native of Norway and came to Dane County in 1871. He began his career in Stoughton at the T. G. Mandt Wagon Works. Later he had a restaurant and tavern and sold real estate in Wisconsin and Minnesota. In 1906 he built the Erickson Block on the northeast corner of Main and Water Streets. (One contemporary writer called it “the finest business block in the city.”)
This house was reportedly built for $8,000. Edward and Gjertrud Erickson had two daughters, Alma and Amy.
200 South Van Buren St.
Concrete Block House
1915
This attractive building stands out in an area of wood and a few brick houses. It was built from concrete blocks likely manufactured in Stoughton. After about 1900, plans for rusticated concrete block buildings were sold by Sears, Roebuck and Co. and other firms. In Stoughton, the Mandt Concrete Co. advertised their product in the 1906 city directory.
This example, one of only a few in Stoughton, has a decorative frieze under the eaves, and Ionic columns at the front porch.
1906 Stoughton City Director.
