In 1850 Vermont-born Ira Hazeltine bought 160 acres along the Pine River and platted a town of Richland Center. A year or two later he got it chosen as the county seat.[3] By 1854 Hazeltine had built a dam on the river which powered a sawmill and gristmill, and around this industry a little commercial center had taken shape, with a hotel, a post office, three stores, a blacksmith, and eight homes. By 1858 a newspaper was added, "a hardware store, a wagon shop, a cobbler, and brick yard, a baker, a jewelry store, a cabinet shop, and several tanneries and asheries." Most of this development was near the river, to the west of the current historic district.[2]
The town grew slowly until the mid-1870s due to lack of good transportation. In 1856 the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad had built its line along the Wisconsin River valley to the south, bypassing Richland Center, and refused to build a spur up to the town. In the early 1870s the town finally built its own spur 16 miles down the Pine River valley to Lone Rock - 16 miles of wooden narrow-gauge track.[4] With that connection to the outside world completed in 1876, the town began growing faster, with the downtown expanding east into what is now the historic district.[2]
The surrounding farms transitioned from growing wheat to dairy, with Richland Center providing supplies, services and connection to markets for the surrounding countryside. Butter production moved from the farms into town in the 1880s. Banks opened in 1870, 1881 and 1891. Wholesalers in town traded in cheese, groceries, fruits, tobacco, lumber, produce, livestock, poultry, eggs, wool and feed. The city was chartered in 1887, soon providing lighting, fire protection, and public water.[2]
Many of the buildings still standing along Court Street were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many of their storefronts at street level have been remodeled, but the upper stories are largely as originally built, with brick detail and elaborate cornices intact. Following are some examples, roughly in the order built.[2]
The Park Hotel at 213 S. Central Ave was built of wood in 1873, then veneered with brick in 1900, then expanded in 1926 and 1930. It is three stories, with a square tower on the north end and an octagonal tower on the south. The round arches suggest Romanesque Revival style; the mansard roof on the one tower is from Second Empire style. Now apartments.[5]
The 1883 H.T. Bailey Store and Opera House at 194 E. Court St. is a large 2-story Italianate-styled building with white stone trim and a bracketed cornice topped with a triangular pediment. It was designed by David Jones of Madison and built of brick from the local Hyatt Brickyard. Bailey initially ran a dry goods store at street level, with storage and a public meeting hall above. In addition to his retail business, Bailey bought wool and pork, but his store didn't make the transition from an exchange system to a credit system, and he went bankrupt in 1899. The meeting hall hosted dances, concerts, minstrel shows, plays, speeches, church events, meetings of the Modern Woodmen, and in 1886 a speech by Susan B. Anthony.[6][2]
The 1883 A.A. Bulard Jewelry Store at 155b E Court St. is a 2-story Italianate-influenced brick building with a projecting, bracketed metal cornice. It originally housed a jewelry store, but in 1906 Pratt Brothers bought it for their furniture store.[7][2]
The 1885-1892 A.A. Bulard building at 155a E Court St. is another 2-story structure very much like Bulard's building next door at 155b, but the windows on the second story are different, with iron pilasters flanking four recessed windows. It too later became part of Pratt Brothers furniture store.[8][2]
The 1889 O.J. Burnham Building at 159 E. Court St. is yet another 2-story structure matching the adjacent Bulard buildings. It housed a produce store until the 1970s.[9][2]
The 1889 D.G. James Building at 172 E. Court St. is a 2-story Italianate-influenced building with brackets and modillions supporting a projecting metal cornice. Initially it housed James' harness shop and a bank; later the Richland Observer newspaper office.[10][2]
The 1889-92 Burnham and Burnham Drug Store at 182 E. Court St. is a 2-story building matched to the James building next door. Iron columns flank the front door. It housed a drug store until 1962.[11][2]
Hartz Building-Mehaffey's Saloon at 131 W. Court St. is a 2-story building built in the late 1880s, cream brick walls ornamented with red brick in the arches above the windows and the cornice. It housed Mehaffey's "upper class" saloon starting in 1892; later a clothing store.[12][2]
The 1889 Richland County Courthouse at 179a West Seminary St. sits in its own block separate from the business district. It was designed by J.D. Allen of Madison, with classic Richardsonian Romanesque style in its asymmetry, round arches, and the rough stonework in the lower half.[13] Its red brick came from the local Mininski Brickyard.[2][14]
The 1892 Union Block at 100-124 N. Main St. is a 2-story building with walls, pilasters, cornice and parapet all built from brick. It was built as an investment by W.H. Pier and Laura McCarthy, and by 1899 housed a dry goods and clothing store. The Grand Army of the Republic met in the building from 1894 to 1906. T.H. Costello ran a meat market there, Joseph Wolf a shoe store, and the Dieter Brothers a drug store. In 1911 the Dieter Brothers expanded their northern third of the building with an addition to the north in a similar style.[15][2]
The 1892 Pier Building and Opera House is an eclectic 2-story brick building with brick pilasters, cornice, and pediment-shaped moldings above the windows. It housed the Coffland Brothers Mercantile Company from 1892 to 1928.[16][2]
The 1895 Barnes and Toms Jewelry Store at 155c E Court St. is a 1-story brick building with a wooden store-front with cast iron columns flanking the door, and with brick and a small cornice above. It housed Toms Jewelry store until 1945, and later became part of C. Meadows Furniture Store.[17][2]
The 1904 Richland County Sheriff's Office and Jail at 179b West Seminary Street is a Romanesque Revival design by Andrew Lew Porter, red brick with a hipped roof and two corner towers, round with conical roofs.[18][2]
The 1911-12 W.H. Pier Building at 195 W. Court St. is a 2-story built of dark brown brick. The street level has been changed extensively, but the second story still shows the Classical Revival/Beaux Arts influence. The building initially housed the post office, and was remodeled as a bank in 1921.[19][2]
City Auditorium
The 1911-12 Richland Center City Auditorium at 812 N. Central Ave is a 3-story municipal building designed by Percy Bentley of La Crosse. Before its construction, Wisconsin municipalities were forbade to operate income-generating properties, but the Federated Women's League, including the Richland Center chapter, lobbied the State Legislature to revoke that statute. With that statute gone, the local women spurred the city, and Richland Center was the first city in Wisconsin to take advantage of the rule change. Offices of city officials are in the front of the building, the basement holds a women's club room, the third floor holds meeting rooms and a rec room, and the rest of the building holds a 900-seat auditorium. In the first year, the auditorium hosted 51 events, from which the city made $2000.[20][21]
The 1912-13 Edwards Block at 101 S. Church St. is a 3-story building with the window bands of 20th Century Commercial-style. It initially housed a clothes store and the McNitt Business School.[22][2]
The 1927 Le Hew Filling Station at 208 S. Church St is a gas station built by Dell Beaty, with a steeply pitched roof that suggests Tudor Revival covered with tiles that suggest Mediterranean Revival.[25][2]
The 1928 Klinzing and Banker Plumbing Shop at 130 S. Main St. is a modest 2-story brown brick shop with a recessed facade with a full-length transom and plate glass windows. It still houses a plumbing business.[26][2]
The 1935 U.S. Post Office at 213 N. Central Ave. is red brick, Georgian Revival-styled. Inside is a Works Progress Administration mural (see accompanying photos #39 and #40) The mural, titled "The Post Unites America" was painted in 1937 by artist Richard Brooks.[2][27]
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxJoan Rausch; Jovce McKay (August 29, 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Court Street Commercial Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved March 7, 2018. With 40 photos.
^"Hazeltine [Haseltine], Ira Sherwin 1821-1899". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
^"Richland Center - The Pine River Valley and Steven's Point Rail Road". Train Web. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
^"Park Hotel". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
^"H.T. Bailey Store and Opera House". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
^"Mehaffey's Saloon; Smiths Mens Store". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
^"Richland County Courthouse [A, B, E]". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
^"Richland County Courthouse" (PDF). City of Richland Center. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
^"Union Block; W.H. Pier and Mrs. T.M. McCarthy Building". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
^"W.H. Pier Building & Opera House; Coffland Bros". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
^"Barnes and Toms Jewelry Store". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
^"Richland County Sheriff's Office and Jail [A, B, D]". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
^"W.H. Pier Building". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
^"Richland Center City Auditorium". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
^Terry L. Shoptaugh (February 20, 1980). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Richland Center City Auditorium". National Park Service. Retrieved March 10, 2018. With one photo.
^"Klinzing and Banker Plumbing Shop". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
^"United States Post Office". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
External linksedit
"Court Street Commercial Historic District". Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved January 11, 2013. (includes photos)
October 28, 2023
court, street, commercial, historic, district, largely, intact, part, downtown, richland, center, wisconsin, added, national, register, historic, places, 1989, acres, historic, district, which, included, contributing, buildings, contributing, ones, buildings, . The Court Street Commercial Historic District is a largely intact part of the old downtown of Richland Center Wisconsin It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 a 11 2 acres 4 5 ha historic district which included 51 contributing buildings and 20 non contributing ones 1 The buildings are commercial mostly in Late Victorian styles constructed from 1870 to 1938 Most are brick two story buildings a few one story and three story brick buildings are interspersed 2 Court Street Commercial Historic DistrictU S National Register of Historic PlacesU S Historic districtA portion of the districtShow map of WisconsinShow map of the United StatesLocationRoughly bounded by Mill Church Haseltine and Main Sts Richland Center WisconsinCoordinates43 20 10 N 90 23 06 W 43 336 N 90 385 W 43 336 90 385Area11 2 acres 4 5 ha ArchitectMultipleArchitectural styleLate 19th And 20th Century Revivals Late Victorian Commercial StyleNRHP reference No 89001955 1 Added to NRHPNovember 13 1989In 1850 Vermont born Ira Hazeltine bought 160 acres along the Pine River and platted a town of Richland Center A year or two later he got it chosen as the county seat 3 By 1854 Hazeltine had built a dam on the river which powered a sawmill and gristmill and around this industry a little commercial center had taken shape with a hotel a post office three stores a blacksmith and eight homes By 1858 a newspaper was added a hardware store a wagon shop a cobbler and brick yard a baker a jewelry store a cabinet shop and several tanneries and asheries Most of this development was near the river to the west of the current historic district 2 The town grew slowly until the mid 1870s due to lack of good transportation In 1856 the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad had built its line along the Wisconsin River valley to the south bypassing Richland Center and refused to build a spur up to the town In the early 1870s the town finally built its own spur 16 miles down the Pine River valley to Lone Rock 16 miles of wooden narrow gauge track 4 With that connection to the outside world completed in 1876 the town began growing faster with the downtown expanding east into what is now the historic district 2 The surrounding farms transitioned from growing wheat to dairy with Richland Center providing supplies services and connection to markets for the surrounding countryside Butter production moved from the farms into town in the 1880s Banks opened in 1870 1881 and 1891 Wholesalers in town traded in cheese groceries fruits tobacco lumber produce livestock poultry eggs wool and feed The city was chartered in 1887 soon providing lighting fire protection and public water 2 Many of the buildings still standing along Court Street were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s Many of their storefronts at street level have been remodeled but the upper stories are largely as originally built with brick detail and elaborate cornices intact Following are some examples roughly in the order built 2 The Park Hotel at 213 S Central Ave was built of wood in 1873 then veneered with brick in 1900 then expanded in 1926 and 1930 It is three stories with a square tower on the north end and an octagonal tower on the south The round arches suggest Romanesque Revival style the mansard roof on the one tower is from Second Empire style Now apartments 5 The 1883 H T Bailey Store and Opera House at 194 E Court St is a large 2 story Italianate styled building with white stone trim and a bracketed cornice topped with a triangular pediment It was designed by David Jones of Madison and built of brick from the local Hyatt Brickyard Bailey initially ran a dry goods store at street level with storage and a public meeting hall above In addition to his retail business Bailey bought wool and pork but his store didn t make the transition from an exchange system to a credit system and he went bankrupt in 1899 The meeting hall hosted dances concerts minstrel shows plays speeches church events meetings of the Modern Woodmen and in 1886 a speech by Susan B Anthony 6 2 The 1883 A A Bulard Jewelry Store at 155b E Court St is a 2 story Italianate influenced brick building with a projecting bracketed metal cornice It originally housed a jewelry store but in 1906 Pratt Brothers bought it for their furniture store 7 2 The 1885 1892 A A Bulard building at 155a E Court St is another 2 story structure very much like Bulard s building next door at 155b but the windows on the second story are different with iron pilasters flanking four recessed windows It too later became part of Pratt Brothers furniture store 8 2 The 1889 O J Burnham Building at 159 E Court St is yet another 2 story structure matching the adjacent Bulard buildings It housed a produce store until the 1970s 9 2 The 1889 D G James Building at 172 E Court St is a 2 story Italianate influenced building with brackets and modillions supporting a projecting metal cornice Initially it housed James harness shop and a bank later the Richland Observer newspaper office 10 2 The 1889 92 Burnham and Burnham Drug Store at 182 E Court St is a 2 story building matched to the James building next door Iron columns flank the front door It housed a drug store until 1962 11 2 Hartz Building Mehaffey s Saloon at 131 W Court St is a 2 story building built in the late 1880s cream brick walls ornamented with red brick in the arches above the windows and the cornice It housed Mehaffey s upper class saloon starting in 1892 later a clothing store 12 2 The 1889 Richland County Courthouse at 179a West Seminary St sits in its own block separate from the business district It was designed by J D Allen of Madison with classic Richardsonian Romanesque style in its asymmetry round arches and the rough stonework in the lower half 13 Its red brick came from the local Mininski Brickyard 2 14 The 1892 Union Block at 100 124 N Main St is a 2 story building with walls pilasters cornice and parapet all built from brick It was built as an investment by W H Pier and Laura McCarthy and by 1899 housed a dry goods and clothing store The Grand Army of the Republic met in the building from 1894 to 1906 T H Costello ran a meat market there Joseph Wolf a shoe store and the Dieter Brothers a drug store In 1911 the Dieter Brothers expanded their northern third of the building with an addition to the north in a similar style 15 2 The 1892 Pier Building and Opera House is an eclectic 2 story brick building with brick pilasters cornice and pediment shaped moldings above the windows It housed the Coffland Brothers Mercantile Company from 1892 to 1928 16 2 The 1895 Barnes and Toms Jewelry Store at 155c E Court St is a 1 story brick building with a wooden store front with cast iron columns flanking the door and with brick and a small cornice above It housed Toms Jewelry store until 1945 and later became part of C Meadows Furniture Store 17 2 The 1904 Richland County Sheriff s Office and Jail at 179b West Seminary Street is a Romanesque Revival design by Andrew Lew Porter red brick with a hipped roof and two corner towers round with conical roofs 18 2 The 1911 12 W H Pier Building at 195 W Court St is a 2 story built of dark brown brick The street level has been changed extensively but the second story still shows the Classical Revival Beaux Arts influence The building initially housed the post office and was remodeled as a bank in 1921 19 2 City AuditoriumThe 1911 12 Richland Center City Auditorium at 812 N Central Ave is a 3 story municipal building designed by Percy Bentley of La Crosse Before its construction Wisconsin municipalities were forbade to operate income generating properties but the Federated Women s League including the Richland Center chapter lobbied the State Legislature to revoke that statute With that statute gone the local women spurred the city and Richland Center was the first city in Wisconsin to take advantage of the rule change Offices of city officials are in the front of the building the basement holds a women s club room the third floor holds meeting rooms and a rec room and the rest of the building holds a 900 seat auditorium In the first year the auditorium hosted 51 events from which the city made 2000 20 21 The 1912 13 Edwards Block at 101 S Church St is a 3 story building with the window bands of 20th Century Commercial style It initially housed a clothes store and the McNitt Business School 22 2 The 1920 Masonic Temple at 189 N Central Ave is a well preserved 3 story meeting hall designed by Edward Tough in Beaux Arts style 23 2 The 1920 First National Bank at 108 E Court St is a Neoclassical styled building with colossal Ionic columns and pilasters designed by A Moorman and Company 24 2 The 1927 Le Hew Filling Station at 208 S Church St is a gas station built by Dell Beaty with a steeply pitched roof that suggests Tudor Revival covered with tiles that suggest Mediterranean Revival 25 2 The 1928 Klinzing and Banker Plumbing Shop at 130 S Main St is a modest 2 story brown brick shop with a recessed facade with a full length transom and plate glass windows It still houses a plumbing business 26 2 The 1935 U S Post Office at 213 N Central Ave is red brick Georgian Revival styled Inside is a Works Progress Administration mural see accompanying photos 39 and 40 The mural titled The Post Unites America was painted in 1937 by artist Richard Brooks 2 27 References edit a b National Register Information System 89001955 National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Joan Rausch Jovce McKay August 29 1988 National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Court Street Commercial Historic District National Park Service Retrieved March 7 2018 With 40 photos Hazeltine Haseltine Ira Sherwin 1821 1899 Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 9 2018 Richland Center The Pine River Valley and Steven s Point Rail Road Train Web Retrieved March 9 2018 Park Hotel Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 9 2018 H T Bailey Store and Opera House Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 A A Bulard Jewelry Pratt Bros Furniture Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 A A Bulard Building Pratt Bros Furniture Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 Burnham Building Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 D G James Building Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 Burnham Drug Bailey Building Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 Mehaffey s Saloon Smiths Mens Store Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 Richland County Courthouse A B E Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 Richland County Courthouse PDF City of Richland Center Retrieved March 10 2018 Union Block W H Pier and Mrs T M McCarthy Building Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 W H Pier Building amp Opera House Coffland Bros Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 Barnes and Toms Jewelry Store Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 Richland County Sheriff s Office and Jail A B D Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 W H Pier Building Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 Richland Center City Auditorium Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 9 2018 Terry L Shoptaugh February 20 1980 National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Richland Center City Auditorium National Park Service Retrieved March 10 2018 With one photo Edwards Block E H Edwards McNitt s Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 9 2018 Masonic Temple Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 9 2018 First National Bank Farmers and Merchants Bank Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 9 2018 Le Hew Filling Station Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 9 2018 Klinzing and Banker Plumbing Shop Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 10 2018 United States Post Office Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved March 9 2018 External links edit Court Street Commercial Historic District Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved January 11 2013 includes photos Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Court Street Commercial Historic District amp oldid 1168959356, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
