Merchants Avenue Historic District facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Merchants Avenue Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Hoard Museum
Location in Wisconsin Show map of Wisconsin Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Roughly bounded by S. Third St. E and S. Milwaukee Ave. E, Foster St., Whitewater, and Merchant Aves
Nearest city	Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
NRHP reference No.	86001303
Added to NRHP	June 13, 1986

The Merchants Avenue Historic District is a special neighborhood in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. It's southeast of the main downtown area. This district has 33 large homes on big lots, spread across six city blocks near Merchants Avenue. It became a protected historic place in the United States in 1986. This means it's important to history and worth preserving!

History of Merchants Avenue Homes

Merchants Avenue was a great place for important people to live. Many businessmen and professionals chose this area. It was close to the shops and businesses on Main Street.

The houses here show off the popular building styles from the late 1800s. This time was called the Gilded Age. People wanted their homes to look grand and impressive! Because of this, you can see many different styles of architecture. These include Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, and Spanish Colonial.

Most of the houses were built using two main materials. They used yellow brick made right there in Fort Atkinson. Or they were made of wood, with clapboard walls and shingled roofs.

Famous Buildings in the District

Here are some of the most interesting buildings in the Merchants Avenue Historic District. They are listed in the order they were built. You can see how building styles changed over time in southern Wisconsin.

Dwight Foster House (1841)

The Dwight Foster house is at 414 Foster Street. It is the oldest wooden house in Fort Atkinson. Charles Rockwell built it in 1841. Dwight Foster bought it a few years later. The house has a simple shape with a pointed roof. It also has details from the Greek Revival style. In its early years, Foster used the house as an inn and a post office. It was first built on Main Street. Later, it was moved to its current spot at the Hoard Museum. The wood for the house came down the Rock River from Watertown. Wooden pegs hold the house together. It even has cherry wood stairs in the cellar!

Peter Craig House (1855)

The Peter Craig house is at 513 Foster Street. It is a small house built from cream-colored brick in 1855. Its style is Gothic Revival. You can tell by its steep roof, delicate decorations, and balanced design.

Arthur R. Hoard House (1853-1898)

The Arthur R. Hoard House at 323 Merchants Avenue is the most fancy building in the district. It was first built between 1853 and 1865 for George P. Marston. It was a two-story house in the Italianate style. Later, in 1898, Arthur R. Hoard made it bigger and changed its style to Queen Anne.

Joseph Winslow House (1861)

The Joseph Winslow house is at 109 S. Third Street. It is a small house built in 1861. It has a Second Empire-style with a tower in the middle of the front.

Hoard Historical Museum (1864)

The Hoard Historical Museum at 407 Merchants Avenue was built in 1864. It was originally for a merchant named Reuben White. It was a two-story brick house with Gothic Revival decorations under the roof. A new part was added in 1875. In 1906, Frank Hoard made the building twice as big. He also updated it with an Arts and Crafts style. The Hoard family gave the building to the city in 1956. It became a museum. Since then, three more large parts have been added. This includes the National Dairy Shrine in 1981.

M.H. Ganong House (1871-1873)

The M.H. Ganong house is at 332 Merchants Avenue. It is a beautiful two-story cream brick house. It was built between 1871 and 1873 in the Italianate style. It has wide eaves (the part of the roof that hangs over the walls). It also has round windows and other windows with carved decorations above them. Ganong was an important merchant. He also ran a stagecoach business and was mayor and postmaster. In the 1930s, Harriet Hoard Becker updated the house.

Frank Allen House (1876)

The Frank Allen house at 507 Foster Street is another two-story cream brick Italianate house. It has wide eaves and decorated frames above the windows. It was built in 1876. It has a two-story bay window on its south side.

Horace Willard/Della & Chester Caswell House (1881)

The Horace Willard/Della & Chester Caswell house is at 303 Merchants Avenue. It is a two-story house with a Second Empire-styled mansard roof. It was built in 1881. Otherwise, it looks a lot like the Italianate houses. It has cream brick walls, decorated frames above the windows, and a two-story bay window. The home also has a garage with a mansard roof. Horace Willard, a doctor, had it built for his daughter Della and her husband Chester Caswell, who was a banker.

George Klein House (Early 1900s)

The George Klein house at 500 Whitewater Avenue is a 2.5-story house. It has a style somewhat like American Craftsman. It also has a carriage house (a building for horses and carriages) out back.

Herbert Vickery House (1908)

The Herbert Vickery house at 430 Whitewater Avenue is a 2.5-story house. It was built in 1908 for Vickery, who was a merchant. It is in a late Queen Anne style. You can spot this style by its uneven design, the tower on the corner, and its complex hip roof. A two-story horse barn sits toward the back of the property.

O.W. Donkle House (1910)

The O.W. Donkle house at 506 Whitewater Avenue is a 2.5-story house. It was built in 1910 for Donkle, who worked at Fort Atkinson Savings Bank. Its overall shape and different textures are like the Queen Anne style. But it also has Palladian windows, returned eaves, and a triangle shape on the front porch. These are Classical Revival details. This mix of styles is common for late Queen Anne homes.

St. Peter's Episcopal Church (1928)

St. Peter's Episcopal Church at 302 Merchants Avenue is a Spanish Colonial Revival church. It was built in 1928. It has an outside made of stucco, strong supports called buttresses, and a special bell tower. The church was designed by Eschweiler and Eschweiler from Milwaukee.