Property Record
654 W PRAIRIE ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | REUBEN W. CHADBOURN HOUSE |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 3516 |
| Location (Address): | 654 W PRAIRIE ST |
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| County: | Columbia |
| City: | Columbus |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
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| Year Built: | 1860 |
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| Additions: | 1876 |
| Survey Date: | 1996 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Gabled Ell |
| Structural System: | Balloon Frame |
| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Prairie Street Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 1/7/1999 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 7/26/1998 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | SHUTTERED WINDOWS, TURNED PORCH POLES, ROUND ARCHED WINDOWS IN BAY ON SIDE. CHADBOURN CAME TO COLUMBUS FROM MAINE IN 1849. HE ASSISTED SETTLERS WITH THEIR LAND CLAIMS AND LOANED MONEY AS A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL. HE GOT A CHARTER FOR BANKING AND IN 1861 HIS BANK BECAME THE PRESENT FIRST NATIONAL BANK, THE 178TH CHARTERED BANK IN THE COUNTRY. HIS FAMILY WAS INVOLVED IN COLUMBUS BANKING FOR THREE GENERATIONS. Built ca. 1860 as a Gabled Ell house for banker Reuben W. Chadbourn and later remodeled and expanded by him in 1876, which is probably the date of the elaborate front porch and rear wings. Note that Chadbourn's original carriage house is now itself a separate house at 649 Narrow St. "Reuben W. Chadbourn traveled from Maine to Columbus in 1849, a man of some means. The first years here he assisted settlers with their land claims and loaned money as a private individual. He eventually got a charter for banking and in 1861 it was his bank that became the present First National Bank, the 178th charted bank in the country. Reuben was the first in a family which for three generations was involved in the banking business in Columbus. This early house can be classified as an example of "Vernacular" architecture. In Wisconsin this represents a simple, box-like balloon frame structure sheathed in clapboards and topped by a low-pitched roof. Minor embellishments added later are found in the turned posts and diminutive brackets on the porch, and the shingled gable treatment. The flare at the base of the gable treatment helps shed water away from the windows below, which have no hoods or caps. Note the especially fine masonry work in the chimney." Columbus Historic Architecture Tours, undated. |
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| Bibliographic References: | COLUMBUS HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE TOURS, COLUMBUS HISTORIC LANDMARKS AND PRESERVATION COMMISSION, 1994. Butterfield, C. W. History of Columbia Co., WI. Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1880, p. 958. City of Columbus Historic Landmarks and Preservation Commission site files. City of Columbus Real Estate Tax Rolls. Columbus Republican: May 20, 1876, p. 1. Stare, Frederick A. The Story of Columbus. Installment No. 40 (p. 57-58). Columbus Historic Architecture Tours, undated. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |