| Additional Information: | THIS RAMBLING TWO AND A HALF-STORY HOUSE HAS HIGHLY VARIED MASSING. IT IS DESIGNED WITH AN IRREGULARLY-SHAPED PLAN CONFIGURATION AND A BRICK EXTERIOR. THE UNDERLYING ROOF IS TRUNCATED AND HIPPED, BUT SEVERAL GABLED BAYS, A FACETED ROOF DORMER, AND A "STRETCHED" CANDLE-SNUFFER TOWER WITH A FINIAL COMPLICATE THE BASIC COMPOSITION. ON THE SECOND FLOOR, A DENTICULATED CORNICE RUNS BELOW THE ROOF-LINE, AND SEVERAL ORIEL WINDOWS PROJECT OUTWARD. THE FIRST STORY IS DOMINATED BY A WRAP-AROUND PORCH, THE ACCESS TO WHICH IS MARKED BY THE PLACEMENT OF A PEDIMENT WITH A DECORATED TYMPANUM. THIS DWELLING, CONSTRUCTED FROM 1897 TO 1899, IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN GOOD CONDITION. (SEE BIB. REF. A, B). ALSO LOCATED ON THE PROPERTY IS A GARAGE, BUT NO INTENSIVE SURVEY DESCRIBES THIS BUILDING.
ORVILLE STRONG IS THE INDIVIDUAL HISTORICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE RESIDENCE FROM THE YEAR 1899 TO AN UNKNOWN DATE.
ARCHITECTURAL/ENGINEERING STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE:
THE ORVILLE STRONG HOUSE, ERECTED AT THE CLOSE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY FOR ONE OF THE COMMUNITY'S MOST PROMINENT CITIZENS, IS DODGEVILLE'S PREMIERE ILLUSTRATION OF THE QUEEN ANNE STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE. A TWO AND A HALF-STORY BRICK STRUCTURE, THE STRONG RESIDENCE EXHIBITS THE MAJOR STYLISTIC CHARACTERISTICS -- IRREGULAR MASSING AND PLAN, PROJECTING GABLES, "WRAP-AROUND" VERANDA -- IN A SOPHISTICATED DESIGN THAT IS UNEQUALED BY OTHER QUEEN ANNE EXAMPLES IN THE CITY.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
ORVILLE STRONG, SON OF JUDGE LUMAN STRONG (106 N. MAIN STREET, 44/24), WAS BORN IN MARION, IOWA, IN 1843. THE STRONG FAMILY LATER MOVED TO IOWA COUNTY, SETTLING NEAR HIGHLAND WHERE ORVILLE ATTENDED THE PUBLIC SCHOOL. A STINT AT THE PLATTEVILLE ACADEMY CONCLUDED HIS FORMAL EDUCATION.
AT THE OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR, STRONG ENLISTED IN THE UNION ARMY AND SERVED UNTIL THE WAR'S END. HE RETURNED TO DODGEVILLE FOLLOWING HIS MILITARY SERVICE AND WORKED FOR HIS FATHER IN A BUSINESS THAT INCLUDED LAW, COLLECTIONS, LOANS, AND REAL ESTATE. IN 1881, AFTER A NUMBER OF SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS VENTURES, STRONG ESTABLISHED A FINANCIAL ENTERPRISE ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS ORVILLE STRONG & CO. THREE YEARS LATER, A BRICK STRUCTURE AT THE CORNER OF NORTH IOWA AND CHAPEL STREETS (302 N. IOWA STREET, 44/17) WAS OPENED AS STRONG'S BANK.
IN ADDITION TO HIS BUSINESS PURSUITS, STRONG SERVED AS VILLAGE CLERK FOR ELEVEN YEARS, AS COUNTY CLERK FOR SIX YEARS, AND AS DEPUTY COUNTY TREASURER. (SEE BIB. REF. B, C). STRONG DIED IN DODGEVILLE IN 1931.
BEFORE BUILDING THIS RESIDENCE, ORVILLE STRONG AND HIS FAMILY LIVED IN TH LUMAN STRONG HOUSE. (SEE ABOVE). |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. TAX ASSESSMENT RECORDS, AREA RESEARCH CENTER, UW-PLATTEVILLE.
B. GEORGE AND ROBERT CRAWFORD, EDS. MEMOIRS OF IOWA COUNTY, WISCONSIN, 2 VOLS. (CHICAGO: NORTHWESTERN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, 1913), 2:96-99.
C. COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF THE COUNTIES OF ROCK, GREEN, GRANT, IOWA AND LAFAYETTE, WISCONSIN. (CHCAGO: J. H. BEERS & CO., 1901), P. 637.
D. WALKING TOUR OF HISTORIC DODGEVILLE, WISCONSIN, DODGEVILLE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION, 1995. |
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