Property Record
1301 MACARTHUR AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Jefferson F. Van Dooser Investment Property |
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| Other Name: | |
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| Reference Number: | 4353 |
| Location (Address): | 1301 MACARTHUR AVE |
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| County: | Ashland |
| City: | Ashland |
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| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1895 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19822016 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Queen Anne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
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| Additional Information: | 1982: Large Late Picturesque style cream brick house with brownstone corners, stickwork in gables with many Queen Anne style elements. 2017 report information: Rising from a brownstone foundation, this two-and-one-half-story, Queen Anne-style house is topped with a multi-gabled, asphalt-shingled roof. The brick-clad house is defined by a liberal use of materials, including brownstone beltcourses that define the basement, as well as act as sills and headers for most of the windows throughout the house. A tall brick chimney with brownstone detailing breaks through the roofline. The home’s entrance is sheltered by a one-story, gabled and open porch that was not extant when the house was previously surveyed in 1975 or 1983 although the ghosting of the former gabled porch roofline was evident. A notable feature of the home’s primary (east) elevation is the gabled peak which is defined by a carved wooden bargeboard and includes two quarter-round, multiple-light windows that are set within patterned brick. To the north, a two-and-one-half-story, canted corner bay (with raked brickwork) projects from the home’s core; however, in this case, the upper half-story is sheathed with clapboard and decorative shinglework and decorative wooden brackets accent the corners. Windows throughout the house are generally double-hung, replacement sash with Low-E glass. Previous information (recorded in the 2001 survey report) cited that the house was built in 1893 by mason contractor Albert H. Oakey. While Oakey may well have been responsible for its construction (although perhaps not until 1895), deeds indicate that the lot was purchased in 1892 by real estate man Jefferson F. Van Dooser who maintained the property, presumably as a rental, until it was sold by the executor of Van Dooser’s will to Archie Reynolds in 1912. However, Okey did reside in the home with his family from circa 1897 through circa 1907, at which time the city directory indicated that he had moved to Madison, where he died on 21 September 1908. The house then passed in 1917 from the Reynolds’ to the Deniston family, after which it was purchased by the Sharps, who remained in the home until 1947. In 1969, the Robert Gleeson family purchased the house; it continues to remain in the Gleeson family. According to a Gleeson family member, a grandson of Albert Okey came to the house at one point (prior to 2000), at which time he shared that the brick for the house was reportedly “stolen” from the Wilmarth School site (the Wilmarth School was, in fact, constructed in 1895 and assessor’s information for the subject house does cite an 1895 date of construction). |
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| Bibliographic References: | Citations for 2017 report information below: “Historical and Architectural Resources Survey, City of Ashland, Ashland County, WI,” Prepared by Heritage Research, Ltd., for the City of Ashland, 2001, page 106-107; A.D. Polk and wife to J.F. Van Dooser, WD (11 August 1892), 51/71, #116; Executors of Will of J.F. Van Dooser to Archie Reynolds, WD (2 May 1912); Ashland City Directory, 1893, 1895, 1897, 1907. It was noted, however, that the 1900 census identified Oakey as a homeowner (while residing in the subject house with his wife and six children, ages 4 to 20) as opposed to renting, U.S. Federal Census, Population, 1900; Death date cited in various probate records for Oakey, in “Wisconsin, Wills and Probate Records, 1800-1987, Available online at www.ancestry.com, Accessed July 2017. Please note that tax rolls were not reviewed for this property, which could more specifically date the construction of the home. Archie and Ethel Reynolds to L.C. Ward and Gilbert W. Deniston, WD (19 October 1917), 116/272, #54566; Luther W. Deniston to James W. Sharp Jr., WD (9 May 1925), 121/535, #75651; James W. Jr. and Clara Sharp to Clyde and Clara S. Carter, WD (24 July 1947), 183/100, #121699; Howard M. and Patricia Ann Johnson, Price County, to Robert C. and Muriel D. Gleeson, WD (17 July 1969), 275/114, #172383; Julie Gleeson, Current co-owner of 1301 MacArthur Avenue, Conversation with Traci E. Schnell, September 2016. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |