237 North Main Street | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

National or State Registers Record

237 North Main Street

National or State Register of Historic Places
237 North Main Street | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:Rosholt, John Gilbert, House
Reference Number:10000232
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):237 North Main Street
County:Portage
City/Village:Rosholt
Township:
SUMMARY
John Gilbert Rosholt House
237 North Main Street, Rosholt, Portage County
Date of construction: 1906

The John Gilbert Rosholt house, completed in 1906, is a two and one half story, wood-frame late Queen Anne style house with classical detailing. It has a wrap around porch and massive rusticated granite foundation. It has been occupied continuously since its completion by members of the Rosholt family. In 2008-2009, Glen Lockery, grandson of J.G. Rosholt, restored the porch, which had been enclosed in 1930. The house stands on a one acre lot adjacent to J.G. Rosholt's State Bank building constructed in 1920. Behind the house, in the northwest corner of the lot, is a garage built ca. 1908 when Rosholt purchased the first automobile in town.

J.G. Rosholt came to Alban Township in 1884 and built a sawmill on a site next to a former beaver dam on the Flume Creek. He invested his earnings from his sawmill in land forested by virgin white pine. He eventually sold 2,500 acres to a lumber company in Schofield, but made the sale contingent on bringing the railroad to Rosholt which stimulated a building boom in the Rosholt settlement.

In 1893 a post office was established in the young settlement and was officially named Rosholt. J.G. Rosholt created the first plat in the future village of Rosholt, which determined the street grid of the business district. In 1904, he founded the State Bank of Rosholt, today Community First Bank. In 1907 Rosholt was established as the third village in Portage County with J.G. Rosholt as the first village president.

J.G. Rosholt played a pivotal role in attracting new businesses to town as well as a Lutheran Church—which was important to the Norwegian settlers in the area. He donated a lot where the church was built, land for the church's cemetery, and a lot for the first public school. He also leased land, for a nominal sum, to the local fair association for fair grounds, where to the present day the Portage County Fair is held. In 1948, his descendants donated, from his residual estate, the fair grounds and an additional five acres for a new K-12 school.

The house is a private residence and is not open to the public. Please respect the rights and privacy of the residents.

PROPERTY FEATURES
Period of Significance:1906-1929
Area of Significance:Commerce
Area of Significance:Community Planning And Development
Applicable Criteria:Person
Historic Use:Domestic: Secondary Structure
Historic Use:Domestic: Single Dwelling
Architectural Style:Queen Anne
Resource Type:Building
Architect:unknown
DESIGNATIONS
Historic Status:Listed in the National Register
Historic Status:Listed in the State Register
National Register Listing Date:04/27/2010
State Register Listing Date:02/19/2010
NUMBER OF RESOURCES WITHIN PROPERTY
Number of Contributing Buildings:2
Number of Contributing Sites:0
Number of Contributing Structures:0
Number of Contributing Objects:0
Number of Non-Contributing Sites:0
Number of Non-Contributing Structures:0
Number of Non-Contributing Objects:0
RECORD LOCATION
National Register and State Register of Historic Places, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

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National Register of Historic Places Citation
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