733 Lakewood Blvd. | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

National or State Registers Record

733 Lakewood Blvd.

National or State Register of Historic Places
733 Lakewood Blvd. | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:LaFollette, Robert M., House
Reference Number:66000020
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):733 Lakewood Blvd.
County:Dane
City/Village:Maple Bluff
Township:
SUMMARY
Robert M. La Follette House
733 Lakewood Boulevard, Maple Bluff, Dane County
Architect: unknown
Date of Construction: c. 1849

Wisconsin governor Robert M. La Follette and his wife Belle moved from downtown Madison in 1905 to rural Maple Bluff near Madison's east side. They resided in a two-story, brick house on a 60-acre farm for the last twenty years of La Follette's life. The house remained in the La Follette family for three generations.

Robert M. La Follette was a prominent State and National political figure. He practiced law in Madison until he was elected to Congress, where he remained until his defeat in 1890. He went back to law while staying in state politics. He became a progressive leader in the Republican Party. In 1900, La Follette was elected governor of Wisconsin. He developed progressive ideas for the state that made Wisconsin a national leader in reform politics such as the "Wisconsin Idea" and curbing the political power of special interest groups.

The year he moved to Maple Bluff he was elected to the United States Senate. While serving four terms as senator, La Follette fought hard to combat conservatism. He broke from the Republican Party in 1924 to form a new Progressive Party. It was through the support of many labor groups and the Socialist Party that La Follette accepted the 1924 presidential nomination, carrying one-sixth the popular vote. The very next year he died in Washington, D.C. of heart disease.

The house is a privately owned; please respect the privacy rights of the owners.

PROPERTY FEATURES
Period of Significance:1925-1949
Period of Significance:1900-1924
Area of Significance:Politics/Government
Applicable Criteria:Person
Historic Use:Domestic: Single Dwelling
Architectural Style:Late Victorian
Resource Type:Building
DESIGNATIONS
Historic Status:Listed in the National Register
Historic Status:Listed in the State Register
Historic Status:National Historic Landmark Status Granted
National Register Listing Date:10/15/1966
State Register Listing Date:01/01/1989
NUMBER OF RESOURCES WITHIN PROPERTY
Number of Contributing Buildings:1
Number of Contributing Sites:0
Number of Contributing Structures:0
Number of Contributing Objects:0
Number of Non-Contributing Sites:0
Number of Non-Contributing Structures:0
Number of Non-Contributing Objects:0
RECORD LOCATION
National Register and State Register of Historic Places, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

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