Property Record
6420 RIVER RD
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Sabin Farmstead - house |
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| Other Name: | Ellen Sabin House |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 5137 |
| Location (Address): | 6420 RIVER RD |
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| County: | Dane |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Windsor |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 9 |
| Range: | 10 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 31 |
| Quarter Section: | NW |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: | NW |
| Year Built: | 1880 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19772014201420202022 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Gabled Ell |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Aluminum/Vinyl Siding |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | Y |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | ELLEN SABIN WAS PRESIDENT OF MILWAUKEE DOWNER COLLEGE; SEE "HISTORIC SPOTS IN DANE COUNTY", SITE #3. As of the 2014 survey, the asphalt-shingle roof has been replaced with a metal roof, the front porch has been enclosed and a garage has been attached to the northeast corner of the rear addition to the east gable end. Resources associated with the Sabin Farmstead include the house (#5137), small animal building (#227638), corn crib (#227639), basement barn (#227640), gambrel roof barn (#227641), gambrel agricultural outbuilding (#227642), storage outbuilding (#227643), and shed (#227644). November 2014: The Sabin Farmstead includes a house and several agricultural outbuildings. The farmhouse is a c.1880, two-story cross-gable with a concrete foundation, replacement siding, and standing seam metal roof. Windows are replacement one-over-one-sashes. A bank of four casement windows has been added to the south (side) elevation. A one-and-one-half-story side gable wing with an enclosed hip roof porch is attached to the north (side) elevation. An attached garage has been added to the rear of the house. Samuel Sabin is identified in the 1861 atlas as the owner of the subject property, but the house is shown in a different location than in the 1873 atlas. Based on this information and the form and appearance of the house, it does not appear to be the original residence on the property. The farmstead is also the birthplace of Ellen C. Sabin (1850-1949), a notable Wisconsin educator. Sabin began teaching in Sun Prairie at age 18 and rose to prominence in her field as the principal of Madison’s Doty School. She relocated to the state of Oregon in 1872 and became the first female school superintendent in the country. She returned to Wisconsin and served as president of the Milwaukee-Downer College from 1890 to 1921. 2014- "The Sabin farmhouse (AHI #5137) is a gabled ell vernacular house constructed circa 1854. The house is irregular in plan with a metal gable roof, vinyl siding on the exterior and 1-over-1, double hung windows. The front elevation faces west toward River Road. The west facade of the front gable is symmetrical in plan with two evenly spaced windows located in both the lower and upper stories. A brick chimney is attached at the north elevation of the gable mass and pierces the north roof plane. A one-story, hipped roof porch is located at the juncture of the gable and ell masses of the house. The porch is enclosed and contains an entrance and three windows in the west elevation. A garage is attached at the northeast corner of a rear addition to the gable mass." - "IH 39/STH 19, approx. 1 mile N/S on IH 39 and 0.75 mile E and 0.5 mile W on STH 19 from IH 39", WisDOT ID #1010-02-04, Prepared by Megan Daniels (2014). 2020: Resurveyed - appearance unchanged. 2022: Appearance unchanged. |
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| Bibliographic References: | HISTORIC SPOTS IN DANE CO, #3, FROM 'GUIDE TO HISTORIC DANE COUNTY' PAMPHLET DANE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, MARCH 31, 1975, IN DANE CO INFO FILE “Architecture and History Survey: IH 39/STH 19” WHS project number 14-0708/DA. April 2014. Prepared by Megan Daniels. Walter Gleason, “Ellen Sabin’s 92 Years Mellow Her Mien on a Warring World,” Wisconsin State Journal, 29 November 1942. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |