James Sheeley House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Sheeley House
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 Location in Wisconsin
Location in the United States
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| Location | Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin |
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| Built | 1884 |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 85001949 |
| Added to NRHP | September 5, 1985 |
The James Sheeley House is a historic building in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. It was built in the Italianate style. This means it has a classic, fancy look often seen in Italy. Originally, it was a place where people could rent rooms and get meals, called a boarding house. Today, it is a restaurant.
Contents
A Look Back in Time
The story of the Sheeley House property began even before the American Civil War. The first buildings were put up there a long time ago.
Early Owners
In 1868, a man named Carl Hering bought the land. He moved his family into a small house on River Street. Carl also had a shop behind the house. In this shop, he worked with carriages and as a blacksmith.
In 1884, John B. Paul bought the property from Carl Hering. John Paul already ran a boarding house nearby. He removed the small shop. Then, he covered the entire building with local red bricks. This new building was called the Paul House.
The Paul House had a place to buy drinks on the ground floor. It also had living areas for the family. There was a big kitchen and a dining room for the boarders. Upstairs, there were rooms where people could sleep.
The Sheeley Family Takes Over
James Sheeley, an immigrant from Ireland, stayed at the Paul House. He was working on the railroad that went from Wabasha, Minnesota to Chippewa Falls. In 1905, James and his wife, Kate, bought the property.
James worked at the bar. Kate and their children, Anna, William, and Howard, cooked meals. They also took care of the rooms for the boarders. When James passed away in 1913, Kate continued to serve meals and rent out rooms. However, she rented out the bar area to someone else.
The bar closed in 1967. Before it closed, a man named Frank "Frenchy" LaCour had worked there for 28 years. After Kate died in 1934, her daughter Anna Sheeley stopped serving food. But she kept renting rooms to boarders. Anna Sheeley lived in the house for 76 years. She had to leave her home in 1981.
Saving a Piece of History
By 1981, the Sheeley House needed a lot of repairs. Its original purpose as a boarding house was not common anymore. However, the building was still strong. David and Sharon Raihle saw its potential. They decided to restore it and save one of the last boarding houses in the Chippewa Valley.
They used information and old pictures from the Sheeley family. This helped them figure out what the inside and outside of the building looked like originally. They were very careful to keep the old parts of the building. They also made sure it could still work as the Sheeley House Restaurant and Saloon.
Jim Bloms bought the Sheeley House on August 23, 2001. In November 2013, the Sheeley House announced it would close on November 30th. This was because of a possible change in ownership.
On April 1, 2016, Jes and Brian Jensen bought the Sheeley House Saloon.
Building Design
The Sheeley House we see today started to take its current shape in 1884. This was when John B. Paul bought the property. He covered the building with local red bricks.
Big renovations began in 1981. The goal was to bring back the original look of the building. They used old photographs to restore the inside and outside. New decorative wood pieces were made to match the old ones. A new roof was put on using cedar shingles.
Some parts of the building are still original. The metal ceiling in the bar area is from the past. So is the French tile floor. A new bar was built. It was made to look exactly like the bar in an old picture of the Paul House Saloon.
