Jacob Regez Sr. House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Jacob Regez Sr. House
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 Location in Wisconsin
Location in the United States
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| Location | 2121 7th St. Monroe, Wisconsin |
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| Built | 1901 |
| Architect | Fridolin Heer |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne |
| NRHP reference No. | 80000140 |
| Added to NRHP | January 17, 1980 |
The Jacob Regez Sr. House is a really old and special house in Monroe, Wisconsin. It was built way back in 1901 by a very important local cheesemaker named Jacob Regez Sr. This house is so cool that it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 17, 1980.
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Meet Jacob Regez Sr.
Jacob Regez was born in 1849 in a place called the Canton of Bern in Switzerland. His dad made cheese, and Jacob learned how to make cheese in a big factory.
In 1872, Jacob moved to the United States. By 1875, he started his own cheesemaking business in Monroe. Soon, he owned parts of twenty different cheese factories! He also ran the large Legler Cheese Factory. Later, he worked with the Monroe Milk Condensing Company. Jacob Regez was a very important person in the cheese industry in Monroe.
A House with a History
Jacob Regez had a beautiful house built in 1884. It was designed in the popular Queen Anne style. But sadly, in 1901, lightning struck the house, and it burned down.
Just one week after the fire, Jacob Regez hired a famous architect named Fridolin Heer and his son. They were Swiss architects from Dubuque. They quickly designed a new house for him. The new house was finished in only six months!
What Makes This House Special?
The house built in 1901 sits on the same limestone foundation as the old house. But the new house has a different and very detailed Queen Anne style design. It has 2.5 stories, which means it has two full floors and a half-story on top.
The house has cool features like bay windows that stick out, wide eaves (the parts of the roof that hang over the walls), and fancy pedimented dormers (windows that stick out from the roof). It also has a very interesting and complex roof shape.
On one corner of the house, there's a big, round porch called a veranda. Its roof is held up by seven Doric columns, which are a classic style of pillar. The outside walls are covered in narrow wooden boards called clapboard. There are also bands of sawtooth shingles, which are small, decorative wooden tiles.
Inside the house, you can find beautiful parquet floors, which are made of small pieces of wood arranged in patterns. There's also a built-in cabinet for dishes, a fireplace with pretty tiles, and even a mural (a painting on the wall). The house also has stenciling (patterns painted on the walls) and a very fancy main staircase.
Why is it Important?
The Jacob Regez Sr. House is considered one of the most beautiful old houses in Monroe. It's a great example of the late Queen Anne style of architecture.
Jacob Regez himself was a very important person in making Monroe famous for its Swiss cheese. The house's design is also a significant work by the architect Fridolin Heer. Because of all these reasons, the house is listed on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places and is a special Monroe Landmark.
