Property Record
1018 SULLIVAN AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Klein Dairy Farmhouse |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 51894 |
| Location (Address): | 1018 SULLIVAN AVE |
|---|---|
| County: | Outagamie |
| City: | Kaukauna |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1892 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | 1933 |
| Survey Date: | 1983 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Queen Anne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Klein Dairy Farmhouse |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | 3/29/1984 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: | Multiple Resources of Kaukauna |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' (Kaukauna Historic Properties) exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. "Now situated on a small lot near a large apartment complex, this house is the lone reminder of the once vast Klein Dairy farm. A central turret with a finial distinguishes this two story frame Queen Anne which retains its original porch, exterior siding, and fish-scale shingles. Small multi-colored glass panes with incised designs depicting animals (deers, ect.) and plants adorns some of the upper and lower floor windows. Most of the fenestration is original although some openings have been altered when the house was converted into two apartments. This change in function also necessitated the addition of a back staircase and the revamping of the interior. However, the curved oak staircase and most of the interior bullseye door and window moldings remain intact. A room once used to store dairy prducts (located off the kitchen of the lower apartment) remains intact. Although some changes have been made to this house, it still retains many of its original features including its turret, exterior siding, and interesting multi-colored glass panes with incised designs. The house is one of the best examples of the popular Queen Anne style. 1018 Sullivan Ave. is the surviving farmhouse of the first dairy in Kaukauna. Dairying is a key local and state industry and was prominent among the Dutch and German farmers of the Kaukauna area. The Klein family, however, went one step further and actually delivered milk door to door. This farmhouse represnts three generations of agriculture-related industry on the part of one of Kaukauna's pioneer German-American families. It was built in 1892 by Michael Klein, the son of pioneer Michael Klein (1803-1889), who came to America from Germany in 1842 with his brother Mathias and six other German farmers who settled in the Town of Buchanan south of Kaukauna. Pioneer Michael bought 40 acres of wild land, and by 1888 he owned an accumulated 120 acres of well improved land including the present Eden and LaFollette Parks on the south side riverbank. In the second generation, Michael began the dairy business at the homestead farm and Joseph began a large flour and feed mill business on the north side. Joseph and Michael platted Klein's Addition on the south side. The second generation Michael also had two sons named Joseph and Michael. The third generation, Joseph and Michael, continued the dairy business according to Joseph's son Cyril. Cyril recalls that a can of milk was placed on a horse-drawn cart and customers along the route would bring out a container and request milk from a pint dipper or a quart dipper. The third generation Michael took over the business after his father's death in 1921, and it was "Klein's Dairy" in the directories of the 1930's and 1940's with impressive outbuildings such as a milkhouse and icehouse, now destroyed. The second and third generation Michaels Klein, assisted by the third generation Joseph Klein, brought a new type of agriculture-related industry to Kaukauna, based at this handsome Klein farmhouse." Walking Tour Through Old Kaukauna: Two Self-Guided Historic Tours Kaukauna, Wisconsin, City of Kaukauna, 1983. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | (A) Pioneers of Outagamie County, pp. 288-89. (B) Commemorative Biographical Record, p. 650. (C) History of the Streets of Kaukauna, p. 35. (D) Telephone conversation with Cyril Klein - 5/8/83. Walking Tour Through Old Kaukauna: Two Self-Guided Historic Tours Kaukauna, Wisconsin, City of Kaukauna, 1983. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |