352 W PRAIRIE ST | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

Property Record

352 W PRAIRIE ST

Architecture and History Inventory
352 W PRAIRIE ST | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:JOHN WILLIAMS HOUSE
Other Name:
Contributing: Yes
Reference Number:3509
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):352 W PRAIRIE ST
County:Columbia
City:Columbus
Township/Village:
Unincorporated Community:
Town:
Range:
Direction:
Section:
Quarter Section:
Quarter/Quarter Section:
PROPERTY FEATURES
Year Built:1869
Additions:
Survey Date:
Historic Use:house
Architectural Style:Italianate
Structural System:
Wall Material:Cream Brick
Architect: Kernel and Growler; O.F. Roberts
Other Buildings On Site:
Demolished?:No
Demolished Date:
NATIONAL AND STATE REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
National/State Register Listing Name: Prairie Street Historic District
National Register Listing Date:1/7/1999
State Register Listing Date:7/26/1998
National Register Multiple Property Name:
NOTES
Additional Information:ROUND ARCHED WINDOWS. WILLIAMS WAS BORN IN 1842 IN SOUTH WALES. HE APPRENTICED IN APOTHECARY THERE AND CAME TO AMERICA WITH HIS BROTHER IN 1860. HE MOVED TO COLUMBUS AND OPENED THE THIRD DRUG STORE IN THE CITY, CALLED THE CORNER DRUG STORE. IT IS PROBABLE THAT THE HOUSE ORIGINALLY HAD A SMALL, DECORATIVE PORCH ON EITHER SIDE OF THE FRONT PROJECTION; THE PORCH AT LEFT IS A LATER ADDITION. Built in 1869 for John Williams, with Kernel & Growler of Beaver Dam, WI, being the masonry contractors and O. F. Roberts of Columbus the carpenter contractor.

John Williams was born in 1842 in South Wales. he was apprenticed to an apothecary there and emigrated to America with his brother in 1860. He moved to Columbus and opened the third drug store in the city, called the Corner Drug store. John was a doting father and was known for spoiling his children.

This early Italianate Style residence with tall, round-arched windows, widely overhanging eaves and symmetrical massing is a good example of its type. Its crisp, almost severe appearance, with no ornamentation at the roofline or building corners, is quite typical or early versions of this popular style. The symmetry is reinforced by the presernce of an ornamented bay window in each side of the facade. It is probable that the residence originally had a small, decorative porch on either side of the front projection; the porch at the left is a later addition." Columbus Historic Architecture Tours, undated.
Bibliographic References:COLUMBUS HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE TOURS, COLUMBUS HISTORIC LANDMARKS AND PRESERVATION COMMISSION, 1994. Butterfield, C. W. History of Columbia County, WI. Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1880, p. 981. City of Columbus Real Estate Tax Rolls. Columbus Democrat: May 27, 1869, p. 1. Columbus Republican: September 9, 1869, p. 1. Stare, Frederick A. The Story of Columbus. Installment Nos. 237-243 (pp. 352-363. Columbus Historic Architecture Tours, undated.
RECORD LOCATION
Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

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