National Register of Historic Places listings in Sauk County, Wisconsin facts for kids

Sauk County, Wisconsin, is home to many amazing places that are part of the National Register of Historic Places. This special list includes buildings, sites, and objects that are important to history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture. When a place is on this list, it means it's worth protecting and learning about!

In Sauk County, there are 62 places and areas on the National Register. Three of these are even more special and are called National Historic Landmarks. These landmarks are super important to the history of the entire country. Let's explore some of these cool historic spots!

Cool Historic Buildings

Sauk County has many old buildings with interesting stories.

Baraboo Public Library

The Baraboo Public Library, built in 1903, is a beautiful building. It was designed in a style called Neoclassical, which looks like ancient Greek and Roman buildings. During World War II, this library was very important for the workers at the Badger Ordnance plant. It still serves the community today!

Chicago and North Western Depot (Reedsburg)

This red brick train station in Reedsburg was built in 1905. It has a grand entrance in the Classical Revival style. A very important event happened here in 1873: a large group of local people protested when a Ho-Chunk Native American family was being forced to leave their home and move to Nebraska.

City Hotel (Reedsburg)

The City Hotel in Reedsburg was built in 1886. It's a red brick building designed in the Second Empire style, which was popular back then. A German immigrant named William Roper owned and ran this hotel for many years.

William Clark House (Baraboo)

This house in Baraboo was built in the mid-1800s and also features the Second Empire style, known for its unique sloped roof called a mansard roof. William Clark, who lived here, was a railroad engineer for the Chicago and North Western Railway.

J. W. Corwith Livery (Reedsburg)

Built in 1911, this building was once a livery stable. This means it was a place where travelers could rent a horse and buggy, or even keep their own horse while staying in town. Not many livery buildings are left in Wisconsin, making this one quite special!

August W. Derleth House (Sauk City)

This unique home was built around 1939 by famous writer August Derleth. He used local limestone to build it near his favorite place, the Wisconsin River. He loved his home so much he called it Place of Hawks. It was where he wrote many of his books.

Freethinkers' Hall (Sauk City)

This meeting hall was built in 1884. It was designed by a famous architect named Alfred Clas. The Freethinkers' group was started by German immigrants in 1852. This group still meets today, and it's the last one of its kind in North America!

Gust Brothers' Store (Baraboo)

The Gust Brothers' Store is a commercial building made of limestone, built in 1877. It has Italianate features, a style known for its decorative details. It started as a meat market, but later became home to banks and offices.

Edward M. Hackett House (Reedsburg)

This beautiful home was built between 1877 and 1878 in the High Victorian Gothic style. Edward M. Hackett, a local lumberman, builder, and architect, built it for himself.

Otto Sr. and Lisette Hahn House (Sauk City)

This red brick house was built between 1850 and 1857. Otto Hahn, an immigrant who made horse harnesses, bought the house in 1866 and built a workshop next to it. He raised his children there after his wife Lisette passed away.

Abner L. Harris House (Reedsburg)

This large, three-story house was built around 1873 in the Second Empire style. Abner L. Harris was a very important person in Reedsburg. He was the postmaster, mayor, a merchant, and helped promote the town's growth.

Island Woolen Company Office Building (Baraboo)

This building, constructed in 1917-1918, is the only part left of a large textile mill. It was designed in the Prairie School style. In the 1920s, the Island Woolen Company was the biggest employer in Sauk County, making many different fabrics.

Lachmund Family House (Sauk City)

This home was built in 1861 in the Gothic Revival style. It was built by Charles Halasz, who started the Lachmund Lumber Company. Today, this historic house has been turned into apartments.

Marshall Memorial Hall (Lake Delton)

This small municipal building was built in 1928. It was funded by a gift from Roujet D. Marshall, a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who was from the area. The building houses a library, offices, and a meeting room for the community.

Our Lady of Loretto Roman Catholic Church and Cemetery (Honey Creek)

This beautiful Gothic Revival church was built in 1880. It served as a mission church for German and Irish settlers in the area. Inside, you can still see the original pews, an 1887 pump organ, and a pot-bellied stove!

Reedsburg Brewery

A brewery first started at this spot in 1870, using local hops to make beer. The original building burned down in 1903, but it was rebuilt in 1905 and could make 8,000 barrels of beer! It operated until 1950, except during Prohibition (when alcohol was illegal). Today, it's been turned into apartments.

Reedsburg Post Office

Built in 1937, the Reedsburg Post Office is special because it contains a mural called "Dairy Farming." This painting was created by Richard Jansen and was funded by a program from the New Deal, which was a series of programs and reforms in the United States during the Great Depression.

Reedsburg Woolen Mill Office

This mill was very important to Reedsburg. It took local wool and turned it into many products, from army blankets to goods for big stores like Montgomery Ward and Sears. With 200 employees, it was Reedsburg's largest employer for about 80 years, from 1881 to 1967.

Rest Haven Motel (Spring Green)

This motel, built in 1952, was designed by Jesse Caraway, who was a student of the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It's now known as the Usonian Inn and shows some of Wright's design ideas.

William Riggert House (Reedsburg)

William Riggert, a banker and important city leader, had this Queen Anne style house built in 1892. It's still special because it has its original carriage house, where horses and carriages were kept.

Al. Ringling Theatre (Baraboo)

The oldest of the famous Ringling brothers, Al. Ringling, gave this amazing gift to Baraboo in 1915. It's an ornate Beaux-Arts style theater and was one of the very first "movie palaces" in the United States!

Albrecht C. Ringling House (Baraboo)

This Romanesque Revival style home was built in 1905 for Albrecht and Lou Ringling of the Ringling Brothers Circus. Albrecht was known as the "circus genius," and Lou started as a snake charmer in the circus!

Charles Ringling House (Baraboo)

This Neoclassical style home was built in 1900 for Charles Ringling, who was the operating manager of the Ringling Brothers Circus.

Salem Evangelical Church (Plain)

This church, also known as Ragatz Church, was built in 1875 using block and stack masonry. The congregation formed at this site in 1844 and was a central part of the Swiss community in the area.

Sauk City Fire Station

The Sauk City Fire Station was built in 1889, with a hose-drying tower added in 1894. It also served as the village hall. The volunteer fire department here was actually the first in Wisconsin, organized way back in 1854!

Sauk City High School

This brick school building was constructed in 1916. It was designed by Alfred Clas in the Mission style, which often features smooth stucco walls and red tile roofs.

Sauk County Courthouse

The Sauk County Courthouse is a grand Classical Revival building. It was designed by Ferry and Alfred Clas (a local architect) and built in 1905.

Seven Gables (Baraboo)

This Carpenter Gothic style home was built in 1860 for Terrell Thomas, a banker in Baraboo. It's known for its decorative wooden details, typical of the Carpenter Gothic style.

Spellman Granite Works (Sauk City)

The Spellman brothers ran a business here from 1917 to 2005. They finished stone to create gravestones, urns, and statues. It's a cool example of a historic industrial building.

State Bank of Spring Green

This bank building, constructed in 1915, is in the Neoclassical Revival style. It features beautiful terra cotta (a type of baked clay) decorations and was designed by William Hilgen.

William Stolte, Jr., House (Reedsburg)

This Queen Anne style house was built in 1899. William Stolte Jr. was a partner in a large local store and was very active in the community and the Old Settlers Association.

William Stolte, Sr., House (Reedsburg)

William Stolte Sr. built this house in the 1880s, mixing Victorian Gothic and Queen Anne styles. In the backyard, you can still see a smokehouse and a hitching post for horses! Stolte Sr. also built the famous hotel at 204 Main Street.

Thompson House Hotel (Baraboo)

This hotel, built around 1890, is in a style similar to Italianate. It was located near the Chicago and Northwestern Railway depot, making it a convenient stop for travelers. Over the years, it housed different businesses, including the City Hotel and Wilder's Tavern.

Tripp Memorial Library and Hall (Prairie du Sac)

J. S. Tripp, a local banker, lawyer, and public servant, gave money to build this library and village hall. It was designed by William Dresen and Alfred C. Clas in the Neoclassical style and opened in 1913.

A.G. Tuttle Estate (Baraboo)

This Gothic Revival house was built in 1869. A.G. Tuttle started a fruit tree orchard in 1853, showing the agricultural history of the area.

Jacob Van Orden House (Baraboo)

This Tudor Revival style house was designed by Ferry & Clas and built in 1903. Jacob Van Orden worked his way up from a "general utility boy" to become the president of the First National Bank of Baraboo. Today, this house is home to the Sauk County Historical Museum!

Important Natural and Archaeological Sites

Sauk County also has historic places that are not buildings, but important natural spots or ancient sites.

Devil's Lake State Park

Devil's Lake State Park is a beautiful place with a lake nestled between two stone bluffs. This area was sacred to Native Americans, who built effigy mounds (mounds shaped like animals or people) on its shores. The state park was created in 1911. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCCs) built many of the rustic structures you see there today. It's now Wisconsin's largest and most popular state park!

Durst-Bloedau Site

This site is a 50-foot long rock shelter. Archaeologists have found ancient tools and projectile points (like arrowheads) here from the Archaic period (a very old time in North American history) and later. It tells us about early human life in the area.

Hulburt Creek Garden Beds

These raised garden beds were built around 1000 AD. They are the oldest radio-carbon dated (meaning their age was found using a scientific method) ridged fields in the upper Midwest. They show how ancient people farmed the land.

Man Mound

This is a very special place! The Man Mound is the only remaining effigy mound in the shape of a human in the entire Upper Midwest. It was built by the Late Woodland people (an ancient Native American group) between 750 and 1200 AD. It was even named a National Historic Landmark in 2016!

Manchester Street Bridge (Baraboo)

This bridge, built in 1884, is a Camelback through truss bridge across the Baraboo River. It was moved to Ochsner Park around 1987. It's now the last bridge of its kind left in Wisconsin!

Merrimac Ferry

The Merrimac Ferry is a car ferry that crosses the Wisconsin River. Ferries have been operating at this spot since 1844, making it a very old and continuous transportation route!

Point of Rocks (Baraboo)

Point of Rocks is an outcrop of quartzite, a very hard rock. Geologists from the University of Wisconsin–Madison have studied this and other rock formations in the area to learn about how rocks change (metamorphism) and the very old Pre-Cambrian period of Earth's history.

Raddatz Rockshelter (Natural Bridge State Park)

This site is incredibly important because it's the oldest documented place where humans lived in the upper Midwest! Evidence found here shows human occupation dating back 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.

Steam Locomotive #1385 (North Freedom)

Built in 1907, Steam Locomotive #1385 is a very special train. It's the only remaining working steam locomotive from the Chicago & North Western Railway! It's a great example of early 20th-century engineering.

Van Hise Rock (Rock Springs)

Van Hise Rock is a roadside outcrop of quartzite that clearly shows cross-bedding (layers of rock that are angled). Charles Van Hise, a geologist from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, used this rock and others to understand the ancient Precambrian rocks of the Baraboo area. It's a National Historic Landmark!

Historic Districts

Some areas are special because they have many historic buildings together, forming a historic district.

Downtown Baraboo Historic District

This district includes about 75 commercial and civic buildings. You can see many different architectural styles here, from the 1872 Italianate Draper Brothers Meat Market to the 1938 Art Moderne Juliar Theatre. It's like walking through a timeline of Baraboo's history!

Honey Creek Swiss Rural Historic District

This rural area was mainly settled by immigrants from the Graubünden region of Switzerland starting in 1842. Some of their unique stone and timber-framed buildings (buildings made with a strong wooden frame) are still standing today.

Main Street Commercial Historic District (Reedsburg)

This district in Reedsburg features many commercial buildings in various styles. You can see the 1873 Italianate Kelsey Block, the 1888 Romanesque Revival Free Press Block, the large 1896 Queen Anne Hotel Stolte, and the 1920 Neoclassical Reedsburg Bank.

Park Street Historic District (Reedsburg)

This district is mostly residential, meaning it has many homes. These homes were built as early as 1870 and show different architectural styles from that time.

Circus History

Sauk County has a very famous connection to the circus!

Ringling Brothers Circus Headquarters (Baraboo)

This site was the winter home for the famous Ringling Brothers Circus from 1884 to 1919. It includes important buildings like the Ring Barn for horses and the Elephant House. Today, it's part of the Circus World Museum, where you can learn all about circus history! This site is a National Historic Landmark.