Term: cobblestone (architecture)
Definition:
a construction method that veneered rubble walls with rows of cobblestones imbedded in mortar, brought to the Midwest by Yankee immigrants during the mid-nineteenth century. Cobblestone buildings were constructed in Wisconsin for approximately thirty years, beginning in the 1840s, with most found in Racine, Rock, Walworth, and Waukesha counties. Typically, cobblestones were laid in horizontal bands with each stone supported by a V-shaped mortar joint. Some cobblestone facades exhibit stones painstakingly matched in size, shape, and tonality of color. A banded or striped effect was achieved by laying alternate rows of stone of contrasting color. The Bradley H. Marcy House (1866) (NRHP 1974) in Eau Claire is a late example that alludes to the Gothic Revival style with its steep proportions and pointed arches. Wisconsin also has two excellent examples of commercial cobblestone construction: the three-story Buena Vista House (NRHP 1978) built in 1843 in East Troy, Walworth County, as a hotel and tavern and the smaller Enterprise Building (1845) (NRHP 1975) in Palmyra, Jefferson County. View more information elsewhere at wisconsinhistory.org
View pictures relating to architecture at Wisconsin Historical Images.
[Source: Cultural Resource Management in Wisconsin (Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1986).]
